Sacramento homeless plan gets a breakthrough at one site, but scaled down from concept
After months of delays, the city this week approved plans to open a homeless weather respite center in North Sacramento, but only on days when certain temperature thresholds are met.
The site will be located at the city-owned former Powerhouse Science Center at 3615 Auburn Blvd.
Sacramento city leaders have been at odds over how to provide more bad weather shelters since six unhoused people died during a severe three-day storm in January 2021. After that, the council approved plans for year-round centers, starting with the one on Auburn Boulevard.
But it didn’t happen for months after Councilman Sean Loloee blocked the Auburn Boulevard site over concerns from the neighboring nonprofit Children’s Receiving Home. Ultimately, the council approved a less expansive service than originally imagined.
Under the new criteria the City Council unanimously approved Tuesday, the center will now open in cold weather when the low hits 37 degrees for two or more days within a five-day span, or any time a 60% or higher chance of rain is forecast for two or more consecutive days. It will also open if there is one day or night of rain combined with nighttime lows of 32 degrees or lower.
For hot weather, it will open any time the National Weather Service publishes a heat advisory — generally when the maximum heat index temperature is expected to hit at least 100 degrees for at least two days and nighttime temperatures do not drop below 75 degrees, the presentation said.
The council added an amendment to give the city manager the authority to also open the center outside those parameters, but only for “extenuating circumstances,” such as fires and smoke.
The previous criteria prompted the city to open centers only for freezing temperatures. That led to 13 nights in the winter of 2021-2022, Mayor Darrell Steinberg said. If the new criteria had been in place, they would have opened 59 nights.
This summer, the center could open around 15 times if conditions are similar to last year. That’s how many times the National Weather Service issued heat advisories, excessive heat watches and excessive heat warnings last summer. That happened on about half the days temperatures hit 100 degrees.
Sacramento council approved contract 2 months ago
The North Sacramento science center has been on the table since at least December. In January, the council approved a contract with the organization Hope Cooperative to run a 24/7 respite center there, with space for 50 people to spend the night. The city then spent $100,000 on capital improvements to the building, said Bridgette Dean, director of the city’s Department of Community Response.
Loloee then gave staff new direction that effectively prevented the city from opening the center this winter. During a Feb. 9 interview, Loloee told The Sacramento Bee he did not want the respite center to open until the city opens a safe parking lot for homeless services at Colfax Street and Arden Way.
The science center has been ready to open for several weeks, said Gregg Fishman, a city spokesman.
In the meantime, two Sacramento County Supervisors told city staff they were comfortable with opening the science center but only under the new temperature criteria, Steinberg said. The science center is very close to the county border.
“We’re trying to build a stronger partnership (with the county). If that was what was promised, even though I don’t agree with it, we should follow through on that,” Steinberg said.
Children’s home OK with weather criteria
The Children’s Receiving Home of Sacramento, a nonprofit for abused and traumatized children located next to the science center, previously raised concerns about the respite center being open year-round. It did not challenge the proposal to open the center when the new temperatures are met.
“We feel that our concerns have been heard,” Glynis Butler-Stone, CEO of the receiving home, said in a statement. “That said, we will closely monitor any impacts that the respite center may have on our campus. We have asked that the (city) notify us whenever the city plans to open the center.”
The city’s $3.3 million contract with Hope Cooperative to run the center goes through December 2023, Fishman said. The city is not saving any money opening the center only on extreme weather days, Fishman said.
Hope Cooperative will also offer services at the center, and the city hopes the county will provide behavioral health teams, Fishman said.
Ahead of the vote, several homeless activists begged the council to open the new center throughout the year. Last week, frost appeared on the ground of several camps.
“Please do not go back to weather-based criteria, it ended up getting people killed last year,” said Joe Smith, advocacy director of Loaves and Fishes, referring to the storm.
In addition to the deaths during the January 2021 storm, four unhoused men died of hypothermia last winter on nights city and county warming centers did not open. In 2020, two unhoused individuals died of heat stroke among other causes.
The city is looking at opening other year-round respite centers at City Hall, Loves and Fishes and an unnamed building downtown, City Manager Howard Chan said. They would not be subject to weather conditions.
This story was originally published March 5, 2022 at 3:25 AM.
