This community opinion was contributed by Supervisor Kollin Kosmicki. The opinions expressed do not necessarily represent BenitoLink or other affiliated contributors. BenitoLink invites all community members to share their ideas and opinions. By registering as a BenitoLink user in the top right corner of our home page and agreeing to follow our Terms of Use, you can write counter opinions or share your insights on current issues.
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I’ve been fighting an uphill battle to clean up dangerous homeless encampments in places like the San Benito River bed since joining the Board of Supervisors in 2021.
After a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling made it clear local governments can ban camping in public places, supervisors moved quickly approving an anti-camping ordinance with an initial unanimous vote Aug. 13. The law will take effect 30 days after the final approval on the table Aug. 27, plenty of time to coordinate a plan among local agencies.
This was a long time coming to start cleaning up our community and compelling these homeless residents to get the help they desperately need. I’ve made it clear I will not stand for attempts to delay encampment removals. I will not stand for continued deterioration of local ecosystems and neighborhoods, proliferation of rampant littering, and the wider public being put at serious risk of fires or other criminal activities that result from these encampments.
A small minority of advocates will argue that communities like ours should let homeless residents do whatever they want, wherever they want, and I will continue to insist the most inhumane action is the inaction they promote.
While many homeless residents suffer from severe mental illness, addiction or both, the most non-compassionate thing we can do is continue allowing them to self-destruct without barriers. It’s time to face the reality that this hands-off approach has never worked, while the homelessness crisis has worsened since district court judges’ rulings in Oregon and Idaho tied the hands of local governments hoping to prohibit encampments.
Our riverbeds and surrounding habitats have been treated like human wastelands. Our streets and neighborhoods are more littered and generally unpleasant than ever before. Our children are forced to witness this constant display of hopelessness. Our public safety personnel are stretched thin by a now routine barrage of disturbance calls and fires that threaten lives of upstanding residents.
Advocates who play the compassion card should ask themselves whether it’s time to not only acknowledge their social experiment has failed massively, but also whether they should open their minds toward compassion to the rest of us who have begrudgingly tolerated this utter nonsense for way too long.
Allowing these unchecked behaviors has deteriorated the quality of life in our community as a whole ‒ the most poignant impact from these extremist, now stricken policies and one that is somehow ignored by advocates who insist on them.
That said, yes, there are significant challenges ahead. We must do better at compelling these residents to turn their lives around ‒ through a combination of behavioral health services, nonprofit and church outreach, housing options and job-placement offerings.
While the vast majority of homeless residents routinely reject public shelter because it comes with rules, we still must continue to expand availability of emergency shelter, transitional housing and affordable housing as we compel them to get on their feet. I’m also open to Supervisor Dom Zanger’s idea to explore offering transportation to connect these residents with family or friends who can help get them on the right track. After all, 85% of homeless residents in San Benito County had moved here within the past year as documented in the latest published point-in-time count conducted here.
Lastly, if we are going to make progress on cleaning up our community, the City of Hollister must get on board. I call on city council members to act fast and partner with the county on this endeavor. Otherwise, these encampments will all shift into the city, and the rest of us will continue to pay the price.
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