Sacramento spends millions on homeless shelters and services. But is the crisis worse?
READ MORE
Homeless Deaths in Sacramento
According to a Sacramento Bee analysis, at least 195 homeless men, women and children died in 2021 in Sacramento County, a county that continues to struggle to care for its most vulnerable. That number is significantly higher than the previous record, set in 2018, when 140 homeless people died
Expand All
Record number of homeless individuals died in Sacramento in 2021. Here are 5 of their stories
Sacramento spends millions on homeless shelters and services. But is the crisis worse?
Sacramento warming centers lack warmth: A reminder of county’s absence on homelessness
6 ways you can help Sacramento County’s homeless community this winter
More than 200 homeless people died in Sacramento County last year. What we know about them
The year started with an outburst from Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg about the city’s failure to address homelessness. It ended in a similar way.
In January 2021, the city kept the doors of a downtown warming center closed during the worst night of a major storm, while people lined up outside to get in.
“There’s a huge storm out here. People are gonna die tonight,” Steinberg yelled during a City Council meeting that night, while rain and wind pelted the windows of his home. “I’m sick of this. Stop talking about anything but what it’s going to take to bring more people inside in larger numbers. That’s the only thing that matters. Nothing else matters. None of it.”
After the storm, the city took these actions:
▪ Opened several warming centers, even on nights when the temperature did not hit freezing.
▪ Opened two Safe Ground sites for sanctioned tent and vehicle camping — something activists have been requesting for years.
▪ Opened a 100-bed homeless shelter under the W-X freeway after two years of delays.
▪ Opened several hotels where unhoused people can stay for longer than a few nights at a time.
▪ Started sending non-law enforcement Department of Community Response employees to respond to homeless-related 311 and 911 calls.
In total, the city now has about 1,100 spaces — including shelter and motel beds and Safe Ground spots — many of which opened in 2021. The spaces, along with camp clean-ups and other programs, costing the city about $80 million through June 2024.
In addition, Sacramento County currently has about 430 homeless people in motel rooms through the state’s Project Roomkey program and a weather respite program. It also has several other shelter and housing programs.
Despite those efforts, it appears the crisis is getting worse.
“Homelessness has gotten worse since I became mayor,” Steinberg said during the last council meeting of the year last month. “It has. Every major city in California is suffering the same thing.”
Thousands of beds needed
A count in January 2019 found 5,570 homeless people living in Sacramento County, mostly in the city, on any given night. The lead researcher told The Sacramento Bee that based on a 2021 survey, he believes the number of tents had at least doubled since that count. The number of homeless people living in the county on any given night could hit 10,000 in this month’s count, he said.
To meet the growing need, the City Council in August adopted a $100 million siting plan that includes 20 new sites for shelters, tiny homes and Safe Grounds. But five months later, none of the sites has opened. About 105 trailers and trailers are sitting unused in a city lot.
“I can take criticism. I just can’t take the lack of progress, and that’s where we’re at,” Steinberg said, referring to the sites.
During 2021, at least 195 unhoused people died in Sacramento County, a Sacramento Bee analysis found. That number, which could change as the Coroner’s Office finishes investigations, includes at least three men who died from hypothermia on nights city and county warming centers did not open.
Heading into 2022, the outlook is bleak. As nighttime temperatures frequently drop to the 30s, the city opens respite centers sporadically, even though the City Council voted in March to open them year-round. All the shelters, Safe Grounds and homeless motels are full on any given night.
Despite a proposal from the mayor, the council gave city staff the go-ahead to continue towing vehicles used by homeless people, even if they don’t offer them anywhere to go. That will mean more people will be outdoors in the elements, just as winter hits, losing the last type of shelter they had.
That news hit the unhoused community hard, giving them an increased sense of hopelessness and fear as they enter the new year, said Crystal Sanchez, president of the Sacramento Homeless Union.
“They feel defeated because many are desperately trying to get off the streets,” Sanchez said. “They really hoped that the city would give them the respite by restricting the sweeps. The only shelter they have available to them right now is the broken down RVs and cars. Many are scared that they or their children will die on the streets of Sacramento.”
Editor’s note: A previous version of this story misstated the amount of money the city is spending on homeless programs annually. The city is spending about $80 million through June 2024.
This story was originally published January 9, 2022 at 5:00 AM.
