More shelter for homeless on American River Parkway among new Sacramento County projects

Sacramento County leaders this week sent close to $6 million in federal relief funds toward four homelessness-related projects, ranging from water delivery services for camps to money for shelter operations.

County supervisors unanimously approved the funding allocations on Tuesday, drawing from the $300 million share it is receiving through the American Rescue Plan Act.

The move marks the latest round of federal dollars directed toward efforts to improve the county’s services for the unhoused. Of its first tranche of ARPA funding — the $150 million it received last May — $59 million has been allocated toward various housing and homelessness initiatives, including an affordable housing project and a landlord engagement and rehousing program.

Shelter for homeless on American River Parkway

Among the biggest allocations approved Tuesday was about $2.5 million to help fund 60 shelter beds at the Salvation Army Center for Hope, located in the River District. The beds are intended to help homeless people move out of the American River Parkway and into sheltering.

Tenants are expected to be able to move in as soon as next month. The funding approved will help keep the beds through 2024.

Space for the 60 beds in the shelter was freed up because a shelter program that provides clients with additional care following a hospital stay moved out of the shelter building and into its own facility, said Emily Halcon, the county’s director of homeless initiatives.

The American River Parkway and associated camps became the focus of a group of Democratic state lawmakers earlier this month when they announced their support for a bill that would declare the parkway to be an area of “special parklands.”

If passed and signed into law, the bill would allow the removal of illegal campsites that the lawmakers say create a danger to residents and homeless individuals, spark illegal fires and leave litter.

Such a law has been opposed by homeless advocates and would likely face legal challenges.

Access resources

More than half of the funds approved Tuesday are intended to effectively streamline the way homeless people across the county are connected with shelters and other assistance.

“So it’s not producing new beds, per se, but it’s helping us to use the beds we have more efficiently and more effectively,” said Halcon.

To do so the county — in partnership with the nonprofit Sacramento Steps Forward and other local governments — will use $3 million in ARPA funds over three years largely to build up staffing and data infrastructure.

“Ideally at full build out, theoretically it should be that you’re experiencing homelessness, you can call 211 and say, ‘Hey, I’m unsheltered. I need a bed.’ And they can sort of say: Here’s what you’re eligible for and even make a referral in,” she said.

The initiative received praise Tuesday.

“This is a truly transformative idea that we have not ever embarked on here in Sacramento,” Erin Johansen, CEO of Hope Cooperative, nonprofit rehabilitation agency, told supervisors.

The proposal would improve the current system, which is difficult to use, she said, by allowing the cities, the county and all of the stakeholders to participate in one system that will not only be easier to navigate for people experiencing homelessness but also the providers that serve them.

Water for Sacramento encampments

Water deliveries to homeless camps started at the outset of the pandemic when the county contracted with a local nonprofit for the services, Halcon said. The $150,000 in ARPA funds approved Tuesday will retroactively reimburse the county for the services dating back to January and allow for the water deliveries to continue through at least June.

County officials are looking to develop a broader strategy for water delivery post-pandemic and earlier this year sought input from advocacy groups on ongoing needs for services, Halcon said.

Currently, about 10 camps throughout the county – which are either large in size or don’t have access to another public source of water – are getting direct deliveries of pallets of water, Halcon said. Loaves and Fishes, a nonprofit homeless service provider, also receives some pallets so that outreach workers can distribute water.

The county is also aiming to develop long-term strategies for restrooms for the unhoused community.

Much like water delivery, the county began providing portable restrooms at the start of the pandemic. Officials put 50 port-a-potties and 50 water stations at homeless camps, though some of the facilities have since been removed because they were damaged or went missing.

The current number of portable toilets hovers somewhere between 37 and 42, Halcon said, with restrooms coming and going, being moved or damaged.

Mather Community Campus

For years the Mather Community Campus, part of a former Air Force Base, has provided a variety of programs and services supporting people experiencing homelessness, including offering shelter in old barracks.

The county will be using $249,000 in federal funds to explore what needs to be done to best serve homeless clients at Mather. Should the campus be redeveloped? What would the cost be? What would the infrastructure look like?

The campus includes a total of 296 units – 40 of those are used by Volunteers for America for a veteran program and the rest are associated with county programs.

The expectation to serve people experiencing homelessness will stay, Halcon said. “It’s just what’s the physical environment going to look like in the future?”

This story was originally published April 16, 2022 at 5:25 AM.