To the editor: Threatening people with jail time doesn’t seem to work for any crimes, so I’m curious as to why San José Mayor Matt Mahan thinks the homelessness crisis will be different (“San José mayor proposes jailing homeless people who repeatedly refuse shelter,” March 6). Additionally, per the study by the Benioff Homeless and Housing Initiative cited in a recent L.A. Times article, the majority of the unhoused are not unhoused because of drug use.
Clearly, interim housing is a good stopgap with permanent housing and care being the goal, but we should be asking ourselves why people ever fall into being unhoused. It would seem our system fails to care for people when they actually need help. We should stop letting capitalist decision-making ruin people. There’s no reason we can’t make housing a right instead of a privilege.
Hassan Abdul-Wahid, Los Angeles
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To the editor: Although the reasons for homelessness vary, the first five paragraphs of your article illustrate one common reason: Some unhoused individuals eschew traditional homes in favor of free real estate where they can build without permits, inspections, taxes or park recreational vehicles without campground fees and other costs.
Alan Bell, Los Angeles
