In Fresno, my struggling sibling is more likely to end up homeless than in treatment | Opinion

Today, three out of four young Fresno residents are feeling crushed by low wages and not enough affordable housing. Too many of us — and too many of those we care about — are just one paycheck away from homelessness. But instead of working to solve these issues, the Fresno City Council and County Board of Supervisors, following Gov. Gavin Newsom’s July executive order to sweep homeless encampments, passed laws to further criminalize homelessness across the county.

Those who violate the City of Fresno’s ban on sitting down, lying down or sleeping face a $1,000 fine or up to a year in jail. The city is even trying to open an entire jail to cage homeless individuals, which one survey found on average costs taxpayers $47,057 per person per year. For the same price, we could send a student to a University of California campus to study for a year.

For my family and me, this means my sibling — who struggles with severe substance abuse and mental illness — could end up in jail instead of getting the services he desperately needs and we’ve tried so hard to get him. He can no longer stay with family because we aren’t equipped to handle detoxing and severe mental health challenges.

We have already tried utilizing the range of available resources: We’ve called hotlines, scoured through unhelpful websites and visited the county crisis center where we were scolded, given a 100-page printout and told we didn’t qualify for a case manager. This happened all while my sibling actively cycled from jail to the emergency room and then to the streets without ever being connected to services or housing.

My sibling is closer to homelessness than being able to access resources for care. And this new ordinance means my brother could lose his freedom for a year despite desperate attempts by family members to get him the support he needs to recover his health.

There are many others like him: good people who need our help, not jails. Other Fresno residents I know, both young and old, are barely making rent while working two or three jobs. A poll recently conducted by Power California shows that over 30% of young voters in Fresno have had to take on a second job or choose between paying rent or other bills. Two in five young voters in the Central Valley cited housing cost and low wages as two main causes of the housing crisis.

Fresno residents would get more return on the investment of our tax dollars by expanding critical services like detox and rehab, mental health treatment and safe, stable housing. Currently, the threshold to receive these critical resources is too high and takes too long. By funding city and county services more robustly, we could create new jobs for Fresno residents to support their families while meeting the needs of our marginalized neighbors and loved ones.

Fresno’s City Council choice to ignore the actual needs of their constituents are taking us back to a failed era of criminalization and incarceration. It didn’t work for the past 40 years, and it won’t work now. What’s worse? This policy forces us — the taxpayers — to front the cost.

Fresno is my home and we are the heartland of California. Rather than passing harmful policies that destroy our communities, we must pass laws like rent control and ensure that workers make a living wage. These are policies that foster a healthier Fresno for everyone.

This November, vote for candidates, ballot measures and initiatives that align with these values.