Individuals who received emergency financial assistance were 81% less likely to become homeless within six months, according to a major study from the University of Notre Dame.

But instead of investing in real prevention, San Jose is moving to arrest, cite and displace people for being poor — policies that hurt far more than they help. Mayor Matt Mahan is proposing a series of punitive ordinances aimed at unhoused residents, backed by a new police unit.

As people who have experienced homelessness here in San Jose, we know firsthand why this won’t work. Not because we reject solutions, but because we’ve lived through insufficient systems that left us with few good options.

We are Raymond, Adrianne and Cassandra. Each of us wanted shelter. Each of us tried. And each of us had good reasons

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