Sacramento County names potential sites for homeless shelters, from downtown to suburbs
Sacramento County officials have flagged a handful of properties as potential shelters for homeless individuals — signaling a significant change to the way the county responds to the homeless crisis.
The list of properties, which the Board of Supervisors discussed last week, includes a downtown building at 600 8th St., the county recorder’s office, where people go to get marriage licenses, among other services.
County officials gave few details about what that would look like and characterized the locations as preliminary at a public meeting Wednesday.
County leaders are raising the sites as they face increasing pressure from the public to address the region’s homelessness crisis. So far, the county has not opened large shelters, a point of tension with the city of Sacramento. The city operates roughly 1,100 shelter beds and spaces.
“I’m desperate to find something that works better than what we’re doing now,” Supervisor Rich Desmond said during the meeting. “My constituents are desperate … people are ready to come after me with torches and pitch forks.”
Also on the list are several county-owned vacant lots in North Highlands, Carmichael and Rosemont. They could be used for sanctioned encampments following a practice allowed by the city of Sacramento.
At the so-called safe stay or safe parking sites, unhoused people would live in tiny homes or vehicles where they would have access to bathrooms, showers, security, mental health services, medical care, and help finding permanent housing.
The sites include:
▪ A parcel near the corner of Bradshaw Road and Kiefer Boulevard, near Rosemont High School
▪ A parcel at 6649 Fair Oaks Blvd., next to the Carmichael Library
▪ A parcel at Watt Avenue and Roseville Road in North Highlands
The county is also considering moving a sheriff’s work release program to expand a city shelter at 700 North Fifth Street in the River District, said Jeff Gasaway, the county’s director of general services, during a board meeting.
Another proposal would add more beds or spaces to the Mather Community Campus in Rancho Cordova — an idea Supervisor Don Nottoli, who represents the area, raised concerns about.
County leaders characterized the list of sites as preliminary. County Executive Ann Edwards said the agency would only open shelters if the board directs them to do so.
“We will be seeking direction from you about which sites we should or could explore further,” Edwards said to the board during the meeting.
Several board members stressed the importance of community engagement.
County staff is actively pursuing the Carmichael site on Fair Oaks Boulevard, said Emily Halcon, the county’s director of homeless initiatives, in addition to two private sites at undisclosed locations.
Services at homeless encampments
The county budget for the fiscal year that ends June 30 includes roughly $3.2 million for “safe stay” locations, Halcon said. The county has not yet opened one.
A recent estimate from Sacramento Steps Forward found a whopping 16,500 to 20,000 people likely experience homelessness throughout the course of the year in the county. The official number from the federally-mandated Point in Time count is due out in the coming weeks.
The city of Sacramento has a large Safe Ground sanctioned tent camping site at Miller Park, and formerly ran one along the W-X freeway. The W-X Safe Ground got nearly 200 people into housing or indoor shelters — about 42% of everyone who spent time there, according the office of Councilwoman Katie Valenzuela, who spearheaded the sites.
Florin Road tiny homes
The Board of Supervisors is set to June 8 reconsider a 100-unit tiny home village in south Sacramento at Florin and Power Inn roads — a project it delayed during a meeting last month after several supervisors said they needed to get more public input.
Given that, the county should immediately schedule public meetings to get input in the areas around the new sites, said Bob Erlenbusch, executive director of the Sacramento Regional Coalition to End Homelessness. After that, they should find ways to address any concerns raised, and then vote to open all the proposed sites, Erlenbusch said.
“They should eliminate that critique and be able to move expeditiously,” Erlenbusch said. “They should open up all the sites they control.”
