Sacramento is opening a new homeless ‘Safe Ground’ in a riverside park. Here’s where
The city of Sacramento is expanding its Safe Ground program for homeless individuals at Miller Regional Park, just south of Broadway on the Sacramento River.
The city opened its first Safe Ground site for sanctioned tent camping in March under the W-X freeway at Sixth and W streets. In April, the city opened a small safe parking lot with about 15 vehicles for unhoused individuals near Miller Park, close to the Latino Center of Art and Culture.
Starting in early February, the city plans to open a Safe Ground lot for sanctioned tent camping inside the park. Roughly 60 tents will be set up along Marina View Drive on the river.
At the Safe Ground, unhoused individuals will have access to bathrooms, showers, drinking water, trash pickup, as well as medical, mental health and rehousing services. The area will be fenced with around-the-clock staffing.
“Miller Park is uniquely suited to this task,” Councilwoman Katie Valenzuela said in a news release. “We’re taking lessons learned from our experiences at W-X and approaching this new site in a way that will function efficiently, safely, and provide mutual benefits to our unhoused neighbors and the surrounding community.”
Access to the river and the marina will not be affected, the release said.
Roughly 10 individuals who remain at the Safe Ground near W and 6th streets will soon move to the new Safe Ground, Valenzuela said. Once that happens, the W-X Safe Ground, which the city opened in the spring, will close. The unhoused people camping near the W-X freeway will also get first priority to get a spot at the new Safe Ground.
Mayor Darrell Steinberg thanked Valenzuela for opening another Safe Ground site in her district — so far the only council member to do so.
“We can’t effectively help our unhoused residents or provide relief to our neighborhoods unless we have safe places for people to sleep and to get connected with the services they need,” Steinberg said in a news release. “The W-X Safe Ground proved to be an effective bridge for transitioning many into shelter or permanent housing.”
Most of the businesses along the Broadway corridor are supportive of the new Safe Ground, because there would be fewer tents under the W-X freeway and in front of their businesses, said Joan Borucki, executive director for the Greater Broadway District. Several unhoused folks have at times run into X Street, which is not safe for them, she said.
“We’re at looking for solutions and we’ve got to stop saying ‘no’ to everything and figure out how we’re going to help,” Borucki said. “The status quo is not working.”
The city killed its earlier plan to place tiny homes under the W-X freeway for unhoused individuals after Michael Malinowski, owner of Applied Architecture on X Street, filed a CEQA lawsuit. Meanwhile, 105 trailers and tiny homes have been sitting unused in city storage for months.
Are Safe Grounds best strategy?
Sacramento Homeless Union President Crystal Sanchez said Safe Grounds are not a good solution for the unhoused because people are still living outdoors in the heat, the cold, rain, and wind. During an October severe rain storm, many tents in the W-X Safe Ground flooded, leaving guests’ beds, clothing and food items soaked. Water from the freeway overhead sprayed onto the tents, exacerbating the issue.
“It was supposed to be a temporary situation for those on X Street, however it became a dumping ground for unhoused people,” Sanchez said. “Safe Grounds still leave people to die in the elements. Tents are not weatherproof nor are they made to be a survival mechanism. They’re great for camping with your family but not living in.”
Flooding should not happen this time, Valenzuela said. The Central Valley Flood Protection Board has approved the new Safe Ground, determining the grass area floods, but not the asphalt, she said. The board had not made a determination on the W-X Safe Ground because it was not in its jurisdiction.
While affordable housing is preferred, Valenzuela said Safe Grounds are a relatively inexpensive first step that at least provides people with the basics they need for survival and connects them to organizations that find them affordable housing and shelter beds.
The W-X Safe Ground got nearly 200 people into housing or indoor shelters — about 42% of everyone who spent time there, Valenzuela said.
Next proposal for sanctioned camping
Separately, Valenzuela is also considering opening a safe parking lot at Sutter’s Landing Park, at the parking lot under the solar panels near the dog park. That proposal is far from a done deal, as it would require approvals from multiple agencies, however, she said.
The East Sacramento Improvement Association raised concerns about that idea, partly due to the people who started living in RVs and tents nearby, around O’Neil Field after the W-X Safe Ground filled up.
Those people living around O’Neill Park will also have priority to get into the new Safe Ground, and the city has learned ways to prevent camps from “springing up” outside the Safe Grounds in the future, Valenzuela said.
Valenzuela and officials from the city’s Department of Community Response are holding a virtual webinar at 2 p.m. Saturday, where residents can learn more about the new Safe Ground. Register here.
This story was originally published February 2, 2022 at 7:00 AM.
