San Jose council debates ‘responsibility to shelter’ policy as officials press county for treatment and MOU expansion

San Jose city leaders spent a large portion of a May council study session debating a proposed “responsibility to shelter” policy that would push outreach teams to offer shelter earlier, reserve placements for people assessed as highest‑need, and create procedures to connect people for treatment or, in limited cases, pursue enforcement when shelter is repeatedly refused.

Council members and city staff framed the proposal as an attempt to pair expanded shelter capacity and outreach with options to intervene when people are persistently living in public places and appear to be a danger to themselves or others. Mayor Mahan said the goal is to “intervene earlier and get people into shelter or treatment and hold people accountable for engaging with treatment when they’re unwilling to accept shelter.”

The council’s discussion focused on three practical dependencies: an agreement with Santa Clara County to accept some misdemeanor arrestees at the Mission Street Recovery Station instead of jail; available treatment and court diversion options; and higher‑quality data to measure whether outreach leads to placements.

Why it matters: City officials said expanded interim housing—about 1,400 placements scheduled to come online this year—must be paired with a clearer process when outreach fails. Proponents argued earlier offers and the ability to send appropriate arrestees to a county recovery center could break recurring cycles of addiction and untreated mental illness. Opponents and many public speakers called the plan punitive or warned it would criminalize homelessness if shelter capacity and services are inadequate.

What staff described. Eric Solivan, San Jose’s director of housing, told the council outreach will be brought “much earlier…