☆ District 6 Council hopefuls on balancing homeless solutions with neighborhood needs

Image by Cindy Shebley

Opp Now reached out to SJ D6 City Council candidates to address the following question: How should councilmembers balance requests to increase homeless alternatives (interim housing, sanctioned encampments, etc.) with appeals to preserve vibrant/safe business and residential districts? An Opp Now exclusive with varied takes from Michael Mulcahy and Alex Shoor.

Michael Mulcahy:

Building enough safe shelters and then requiring everyone to come indoors will be good for our business districts, our neighborhoods, and our entire city.

I’ve devoted my career to revitalizing our neighborhoods and business districts, and I have watched with growing concern as San Jose’s homelessness count increased to almost 6,500 people. As a business owner, I can tell you that trying to manage adjacent homeless encampments is costly and distracting. I am sure that our large homeless population discourages business growth, costing our residents jobs and our city tax revenue.

There are immediate solutions like building more of the cost-effective, quick-build units. We can build on public or donated land while also revamping and preserving our neighborhoods. It requires balancing stakeholder interests and viewing this as a comprehensive plan to improve quality of life for every resident.

Alex Shoor:

My approach is called Upstream Public Policy. It means saving taxpayers money by addressing issues early before they become bigger problems.

The City of San Jose spends $60,000 to house a homeless person. Conversely, its new eviction diversion program pays landlords an average of $15,000 (one-time only) to keep folks in their homes (assuming they can pay rent going forward).

Providing enough housing is key to vibrant neighborhoods. My plans include:

• providing safe, clean, sanctioned encampments away from our trails, sidewalks, and creeks;

• building more permanent supportive homes per project; and

• preventing homelessness in the first place through early inventions.

Santa Clara County reports 95% success rates with the latter two programs.

I've staunchly advocated for years for a greater mix of homes, offices, shops, and public space on main streets near public transit to enhance neighborhood vibrancy.

Related:

• How to do a meaningful homelessness audit

• Is homelessness also an opioid addiction crisis?

• Progressive/nonprofit model of treating homelessness and addiction is “mistreatment of the foulest sort” say critics

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