Dozens of seniors at Sacramento riverfront homeless camp in limbo as they await eviction
Over a week after Sacramento County announced it would permanently clear a longstanding riverfront homeless encampment, rangers still have not done so, leaving dozens of seniors in limbo.
On Thursday, over 10 people had moved their tents next to the bike trail that runs along Garden Highway, but about 20 remained on the so-called island — a secluded wooded area along the confluence of the American and Sacramento rivers near Discovery Park.
Those who moved their tents up from the riverbank hoped the relocation would let them stay in the general area. Catherine Roberts, 63, was among those who moved her tent.
“None of us know what we’re gonna do,” Roberts said. “I’m retired and I just want low-income housing. I’ve been on every list there is.”
The county issued notices on Feb. 21 telling the residents to leave by Feb. 23, which is generally the day that a site is cleared. But the eviction date came and went without any further action. The county ranger spokesman Ken Casparis said on Friday that the county still plans to clear the site, but did not say which day, despite multiple inquiries.
Several people living on the island showed The Bee that on Thursday they had again received 48-hour notices from the county, ordering them to move out by 9:40 a.m. Saturday.
Casparis asserted that the people who got the new notices had not been given the previous notice.
County spokeswoman Janna Haynes has said living on the island is unsafe due to flooding.
“Bannon Island has been closed to all (Discovery) Park users since January, not just campers,” Haynes said in an email last month, referring to a January storm. “It is currently far too dangerous to have people there. We currently have temporary signs posted stating that the area is closed to the public and more permanent signs will be put in place soon. This will be a long-term closure.”
Why Bannon Island residents can’t find housing
An outreach worker arrived at the bike trail Thursday to offer county motel vouchers. Several women ran up to her, eager to get indoors for the upcoming four days of rain, which increases the risk of deadly hypothermia.
The women huddled around the worker as she made several calls to hotels on speakerphone, but each one was full, rendering the promised vouchers useless and the women deflated.
“The rangers tell us where we can’t go but not where we can go,” Roberts said.
Kevin Burke, 66, still had his possessions, including several connected tents and tarps, down by the river.
“I don’t wanna move, I have no idea where to go,” Burke said. “Rents are $1,500 to $2,000 for a one-bedroom apartment.”
In 2021, the rent for a typical apartment in Sacramento was $1,760, topping those in both New York and Washington, D.C.
Burke plans to order a trailer on eBay and park it somewhere to live with his two beloved dogs, Fifi and Bobo.
What about shelters?
Rangers and outreach workers have been offering the people shelter for over a year, Casparis said. But Roberts said the one time rangers did offer her shelter it was a large congregate space with both men and women. She was afraid to go due to fights and theft.
Burke was also offered shelter but it would have had strict rules, so he declined, he said.
“They offered me something, but I would have had to be in by 11, and have no guests,” Burke said. “I’m 66 years old. Why so many damn rules?”
Both desperately want permanent housing. Even those who would settle for shelter are typically unable to get it. The city and county have roughly 2,400 shelter beds for about 9,300 homeless people in Sacramento. All are typically full.
Sacramento City Councilwoman Katie Valenzuela, who represents the area nearby, criticized the county for not placing the seniors in a dignified indoor location that will suit their needs, especially with the county expecting to receive roughly $25 million from the state this summer.
“I have represented this area since 2020 and know this encampment quite well,” said Valenzuela. “This is not a population of ‘service resistant’ people — it’s a group of high-need, vulnerable people who desperately want to be housed. I understand and share the urgency to relocate them to safer spaces, but to my understanding the options offered have been insufficient to meet their needs. For the county to relocate them without providing options that can meet their needs is unconscionable.”
The county also has about $37 million in federal American Rescue Plan Act funds it can spend on homelessness, but all but $7 million is already earmarked for specific projects by staff, said Haynes.
How a sweep affects community ties
Michelle Standbridge was in the group told that the hotels were full. She said she will miss the island because people took care of each other.
Standbridge has needed that help since being attacked by three dogs, which left her arms weak.
“People on the island help me carry heavy loads so my arms can heal,” Standbridge, 40, said. “I’ve lived in almost every (riverfront) homeless community, and the island, I’m telling you the people that live here, they’re awesome They really got hearts of gold.”
Burke agreed. He said the island was family. Some people have been living there for 20 years.
“I’ve been living on the island for eight years,” said Burke, who is blind. “The other night I cooked a big pot of spaghetti and fed the whole island.”
This story was originally published March 3, 2023 at 2:39 PM.
CORRECTION: Sacramento city and county have roughly 2,400 shelter beds for about 9,300 homeless people in Sacramento. An earlier version of the story included an incorrect number of beds.
