Op-ed: Mayor Mahan’s plan hurts Black, brown and disabled communities

As civil rights advocates, we strongly oppose Mayor Mahan’s proposal to arrest homeless individuals who refuse shelter. This policy will disproportionately harm Black and brown people, including those with disabilities, who are overrepresented in the unhoused population due to systemic racism, economic inequality, and a lack of affordable, fair, accessible, and safe housing.

The racial and disability disparities in homelessness

According to the National Alliance to End Homelessness, Black/African Americans make up about 17% of the homeless population despite being only 2.5% of the local population. Latino and Indigenous populations also face high rates of homelessness due to economic disparities and displacement. In 2022, the Latino/a/x community comprised 47% of the estimated homeless population in both Santa Clara and San Mateo counties while representing only 25% of the overall population. Individuals with disabilities make up nearly half of the homeless population, often due to a lack of accessible housing, employment discrimination, and inadequate access to healthcare or other essential supports.

The harms of criminalizing mental illness and substance use disorders

Police interactions with disabled homeless individuals can escalate dangerously, sometimes resulting in excessive force or neglect. Criminalizing mental illness and substance use disorders instead of investing in medical or social support exacerbates these conditions. Jails are ill-equipped to provide adequate mental health or addiction treatment. People with conditions such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, or severe depression often deteriorate in jail, where the environment can exacerbate anxiety, PTSD, and psychosis. Those with substance use disorders frequently undergo forced withdrawal in jail, which can be painful, dangerous, and even fatal. Criminalizing homelessness also reinforces a learned fear of authorities within the unhoused community.

The devastating consequences of arresting homeless individuals

Arresting homeless individuals compounds trauma, creates criminal records that make securing housing and employment even more difficult, and worsens cycles of poverty. Black and brown individuals already face discrimination in these areas, and an arrest record further deepens these disparities. Disabled individuals with criminal records face additional challenges in obtaining disability benefits or healthcare. Upon release from incarceration, many receive no treatment or housing, forcing them back into homelessness.

Why many avoid shelters and authority figures

Many unhoused individuals avoid shelters and law enforcement due to past negative experiences, trauma, and a lack of accommodations for their disabilities. This avoidance is often a rational response rather than a simple refusal of help. Many shelters have historically been overcrowded, unsafe, and lack privacy. Strict rules and curfews conflict with employment schedules; bans on couples, families, or beloved pets force individuals to choose between shelter and staying with loved ones. Survivors of abuse and marginalized groups often have histories of mistreatment by police, social services, and institutions.

Additionally, many shelters are not equipped for people with physical disabilities, mental illnesses, or medical needs. Crowded, noisy environments can worsen PTSD or schizophrenia, while bans on wheelchairs, oxygen tanks, or service animals exclude those with chronic conditions. Living unsheltered can provide more stability and control than a restrictive shelter. Rather than punishing avoidance, solutions should focus on trauma-informed, accessible, and non-punitive support systems that build trust and meet individual needs.

Real solutions: investing in housing and support services

Instead of arresting unhoused individuals whom society has already failed, San Jose should invest in proven, equitable, and effective solutions: permanent housing, mental health care, substance abuse treatment, and policies that address systemic barriers while facilitating wealth-building and economic opportunity. Prevention — such as cash assistance to prevent evictions — remains the least costly and most effective solution. Arrest and incarceration are the most expensive and least effective alternative.

The city should partner with the county to expand investment in innovative, evidence-based approaches to substance abuse treatment, centering the voices of those who have experienced homelessness and understand its harsh realities. For example, locally, Recovery Cafe is a model that should be scaled. And, very importantly, the city should ensure it employs evidence-based, empathetic, and expert outreach strategies.

A call for compassionate and evidence-based approaches

Arresting homeless individuals fails to address the social, economic, and health-related causes of homelessness. This cycle burdens taxpayers, who fund both incarceration and repeated emergency responses. We need proactive solutions that tackle the root causes, not this temporary, harmful approach.

Nelson Mandela’s words are particularly relevant in this moment: “A nation should not be judged by how it treats its highest citizens, but its lowest ones.”

San Jose must choose a path that upholds dignity, equity, and real solutions.

Sean Allen is president of NAACP San Jose/Silicon Valley, a retired Santa Clara County correctional officer of 29 years and co-founder of Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 65. Victor Vasquez is co-executive director of SOMOS Mayfair and a SV@Home board member. Kyra Kazantzis is CEO of Silicon Valley Council of Nonprofits and former directing attorney for Law Foundation of Silicon Valley.