City sues Sacramento-area nonprofit over homeless medical facility. ‘Simply not needed’
The city of Lincoln has sued a Sacramento-area nonprofit over its plans to open a large medical facility for the homeless.
Rocklin-based nonprofit The Gathering Inn plans to open the facility at 1660 3rd St. in Lincoln, according to the lawsuit filed in Placer Superior Court in September.
The state’s Department of Social Services awarded $6.4 million to the nonprofit to open the medical respite facility with up to 105 beds, under its Community Care Expansion program, according to a state web page.
Medical respite facilities are places where unhoused people can stay after they are discharged from the hospital but still suffering from physical ailments or injuries, a Gathering Inn web page stated. While there, they receive help finding permanent housing.
The lawsuit, approved by the Lincoln City Council, alleges The Gathering Inn violated state law by not conducting the required community engagement as part of its application. It also alleges The Gathering Inn sent the state letters of support for the facility from Sutter Health and other groups, but that those groups wrote the letters when the facility was going to be in Roseville, not Lincoln.
Since there are no nearby hospitals and “very few” homeless residents living in Lincoln, the residents will come from elsewhere in the region, and the city lacks the public safety resources to handle it, the lawsuit alleges.
“In short, this is not a case of the city just not wanting any CCE Program facility in its jurisdiction,” the suit states. “The problem here is the proposed project is far too large, and it is simply not needed to assist a relatively small homeless population in the city, or Placer County.”
The Gathering Inn defended its process in securing the grant.
“Ongoing litigation limits our ability to publicly discuss details related to her comments,” said Darlene Cullivan, the nonprofit’s chief philanthropy officer, in an email to The Sacramento Bee Tuesday. “However, we are confident that the legal resolution of this matter will affirm our commitment to honesty and responsible management of The Gathering Inn’s Medical Respite Program.”
The statement went on to note that California Attorney General Rob Bonta filed a brief in support of the nonprofit’s actions.
The city also alleged The Gathering Inn has blocked it from entering the building, a former assisted living facility, to inspect it.
In addition to The Gathering Inn, the city’s lawsuit also names the state’s Department of Social Services as a defendant. Western Placer Unified School District has filed a similar lawsuit against the project, which lists the same defendants, with the addition of Bonta.
Spokespeople for Bonta did not immediately provide comments. Jason Montiel, a spokesperson for the Department of Social Services, declined comment because the department does not comment on pending litigation.
The issue of where to send homeless people after they are discharged from hospitals has been ongoing for years. The Sacramento Bee published a series of articles starting in 2013 revealing a now-closed Las Vegas psychiatric hospital bussed over 1,000 discharged patients across the country, including to Sacramento. They ended up at places like Loaves and Fishes, which does not offer overnight beds, or at other shelters which are typically full on any given night.
The Gathering Inn also runs several other Sacramento area homeless facilities. Starting in fall 2024, it has been running a 35-bed shelter in Elk Grove, for up to $4.5 million for three years, said city spokeswoman Kristyn Laurence. It also runs the 163-bed North 5th Street Shelter in the River District through a five-month $1.5 million contract with the City of Sacramento, ending March 31, according to a city blog post. The council next week is set to consider adding about $1.8 million to that contract so the nonprofit can keep running it through October.
Hundreds of people showed up to a protest against the Lincoln facility in September, according to Fox40.
The next court hearing is scheduled for March 25.
This story was originally published March 18, 2025 at 2:01 PM.
CORRECTION: Because of incorrect information provided to The Bee, an earlier version of the story included the wrong number of years that the city of Elk Grove’s contract would cover. The story has been updated to reflect the correct span of time. The city of Elk Grove approved spending up to $4.5 million over three years for The Gathering Inn to operate a 35-bed shelter.
