Sacramento County to build new tiny home community for homeless residents. Here’s where

Sacramento County is planning to build a 100-unit tiny home community for homeless people in one of its largest efforts yet to increase shelter capacity for unhoused residents.

Located on the site of a former grocery store at 8144 Florin Rd. east of Highway 99, the project — announced by county officials Tuesday — will include both single and double-occupancy units, bathrooms and communal gathering spaces. It’s expected to open later this year, possibly in the fall.

The community, known as a “Safe Stay Community,” will mark the first of its kind at that scale in the county, said Emily Halcon, director of homeless initiatives for the county.

“It’ll help get people who have been living on the streets for a long time and haven’t been connected to services reconnected to services and it’ll provide the community some relief as well,” she said.

One of the lessons officials learned during the pandemic was that large communal shelters, also known as congregate shelters, weren’t ideal for everyone. Individual units were often more attractive.

“When you know that you get to come into a community but you also have a door you can close at night, you feel safer and more secure, and you can have your dog with you in your cabin – what we saw during COVID is that people did say yes to that,” Halcon said.

By allowing tenants to bring pets, giving couples the opportunity to stay in double-occupancy units and providing storage space, the project aims to not only provide more shelter capacity but also a range of options for those in need.

“We want to encourage folks who have said no to other offers or who have found themselves unwilling to go into other systems to come in,” Halcon said.

Officials plan to initially prioritize homeless residents in the immediate area. Once hired, the community operator, along with the county’s outreach team, will canvas the surrounding neighborhood to invite people in who are living unsheltered and connect with community-based organizations who may know of people in need, Halcon said.

At full capacity, the community could house up to 125 people.

Though there is no limit as to how long tenants can stay in the cabins, the hope is that they eventually can move into more permanent housing.

Because the pallet cabins can be set up quickly and are movable, they can be quickly redeployed elsewhere if needed. The units are insulated, have heating and cooling and a courtesy outlet for tenants to charge their phones, Halcon said.

The 100 pallet cabins, along with a bigger pallet community room, cost the county $1,059,295, which includes the cost for installation. There will be additional expenses to get the site ready and hire an operator, Halcon said. The Board of Supervisors is expected to officially approve the project and the funds needed for it at its April 26 meeting.

The community will have on-site staff around the clock and provide case management and other services, including visits from behavioral health or other clinical providers. The property will be fully-fenced and access will be limited to registered guests and staff, Halcon said. Showers will be located within a trailer and the site will include portable restrooms. The property will also have a pet relief area for tenants.

Cabins are expected to go up in early May. But more time will be needed to bring power onto the site and do additional infrastructure-related work, Halcon said, which means it’s unlikely to open before late this summer.

A ‘life-changing’ project

Community leaders and advocates said the project is a step in the right direction. Some urged the county to open ti as quickly as possible.

Bob Erlenbusch, executive director of the Sacramento Regional Coalition to End Homelessness, said he is glad that the county is “finally stepping up.”

“I’m glad that they’re finally moving beyond putting tents on a parking lot somewhere,” he said.

Still, in a region that has about 6,000 people experiencing homelessness on any given day more is needed, Erlenbusch said.

“I don’t quite get why it’s that complicated and would take so long, but I’m glad it’s happening,” he said. “I just wish it could be faster.”

The project site is located near the Power Inn Alliance business district. Rachael Brown, the new executive director of the nonprofit business organization, said she is still getting up to speed on the project but added that the undertaking seems creative.

“Anything that can be done to provide additional housing for the unhoused is positive,” she said.

Community outreach about the project is ongoing to inform nearby residents about the plans, said Sacramento County Supervisor Patrick Kennedy, whose district encompasses the site. A Zoom meeting for residents to voice support or concerns is planned for April 19.

Kennedy, who said he is “extremely supportive” of the project, said it will be “life-changing” for a lot of people.

“This provides us with a great opportunity to do something quickly and do it well,” he said. “It could change hundreds of lives over the course of the next six months.”

This story was originally published April 14, 2022 at 5:25 AM.