MEDIA CONTACT:
Blake Case
(601) 832-6079
blake@emccommunications.com
SAN FRANCISCO, June 12, 2025 — The San Jose City Council’s decision to add a “responsibility to shelter” provision to the city’s encampment code of conduct will only further entrench underrepresented communities experiencing poverty.
The provision, which will make unhoused neighbors eligible for arrest if they reject offers of shelter, is inhumane and lacks the clarity, safeguards, and public investments needed to truly help San Jose’s unhoused and housing insecure communities. Punishing someone who has suffered the impacts of poverty will increase fear and hardship, ultimately degrading trust in effective solutions and making it even harder for unhoused neighbors to secure stable housing and employment.
The number one cause of homelessness in the United States is the chronic shortage of affordable housing. This is a policy choice, one that our region has chosen again and again by prioritizing market rate housing for the highest income households rather than building affordable housing that serves entire communities. At a time when we risk seeing even more vulnerable residents being pushed into crisis—over 190,000 Santa Clara County families are spending more than 30% of their income on housing—we should be increasing funding proven solutions that attack the problem before it begins.
Criminalization will never solve the homelessness crisis, but providing people with housing and services will. Not only are these methods more humane—they are proven to work. United Way Bay Area will continue to advocate for our San Jose’s unhoused and housing-insecure neighbors. We denounce criminalizing homelessness. We fight for housing justice that promotes affordable housing solutions and supports people experiencing homelessness.
To request an interview with Karen Nemsick, contact Blake Case at (601) 832-6079 or blake@emccommunications.com.
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About United Way Bay Area
United Way Bay Area (UWBA) mobilizes the Bay Area to assist people living in poverty and to dismantle the root causes of poverty. One of the most respected and highly effective philanthropic organizations fighting poverty, UWBA supports workers and students seeking employment and better careers, helps families struggling to meet basic needs, supports our neighbors toward achieving their financial stability goals, and advocates for housing justice for all Bay Area residents. Learn more at uwba.org.
