“I ended up homeless”

Excerpt from Javier, a defendant at the Hall of Justice in San Jose in winter 2022

Interviewer: […] And if you could change the court system, what things would you change about it?  

Javier: Uhh …. Let me see … Uh, Just … it's kind of hard to say 'cause I know it's- there's more- there's so much that goes into the court system that it gets tricky.  

Interviewer: Yeah-  

Javier: I don't know if there's maybe just one thing, but- 

Interviewer: You can share multiple things if you like. I have time. *laughs* 

Javier: It's kind of hard to say because I know they're doing their best to control, you know, society or to try to, like, make things safer. Um. But … You know, I feel like it kind of displaces people a lot 'cause, when I was going through my court, I got served all these restraining order and things and out of my own home, so I ended up kind of going homeless for a little bit … Um, I don't know, I just feel they need a change, um … maybe they just need to provide more resources and, you know, try to give people some help with alcohol and drug issues more than just serving them restraining orders and giving them sentences 'cause … I think a lot of my issues had to do more with alcohol and drug related things, and they made it seem like I was somebody who was violent and, and stuff like that. So maybe just provide a little bit more resources on, uh, getting people some help with drug and alcohol issues and mental health, stuff like that.  

Interviewer: Mm hmm. Mm hmm.  

Javier: Yeah.  

Interviewer: So, it sounds like you had a restraining order that sort of forced you to move out of the area that you were currently living. Is that right?  

Javier: Yeah, out of my- out of my old spot. So, it was pretty much like, “You can't go back to your house and if you do, you'll go back to jail.” And a lot of times, I would get intoxicated to where I would continuously keep stacking these charges and then, um … when all that was happening, I couldn't really find anywhere to go, and it's so expensive here that, you know, I couldn't—you know- I was, you know, I was couch surfing asking places to stay here in the Bay.  

Interviewer: Mm hmm.  

Javier: I mean, it put me in a really big, like um … it was just one more thing to stress about. So, you know, it just kind of put me in a- in a bad situation.  

Interviewer: Mm hmm.  

Javier: But at the same time, I don't feel like they cared ‘cause they feel more just like, “Oh, well, that's your fault. You broke the law or whatever.” And … but then, it, it you know, I just really- I didn't know what to do. I didn't know- I couldn't find anywhere or anything. And like when all that was happening, I don't really feel that they understood that a lot of my cases were coming from alcohol, you know, or like being intoxicated.  

Interviewer: Mm Mhm.  

Javier: They kind of see it like, “Oh no, you're somebody who's like starting trouble.’ Or, I don’t know. I kind of got that vibe a little bit. And, uh… I mean, back to like changing one thing, I mean, just … I guess just having a little bit more connection to, like … I just kind of chalk it up to as, I mean, provide more resources and like more, or, stuff like that, or.

Interviewer: Mm hmm.

Javier: I mean, I get it 'cause of the whole budget thing. I’m sure they’re trying to budget money through the city, or whatever, but …