A homeless board has no elected officials. Sacramento County wants to change that
The Sacramento County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday unanimously approved a new structure to one of the region’s leading homeless prevention nonprofits, insisting elected officials join the group’s leadership.
The nonprofit, known as the Sacramento Continuum of Care, receives state and federal funding for homeless prevention efforts in Sacramento County. As a part of the County’s joint homelessness meeting in October, Mosaic Solutions and Advocacy, a consulting firm, recommended the nonprofit restructure its leadership and include more elected officials on the board.
The supervisors nominated Supervisor Rich Desmond and Supervisor Patrick Kennedy to sit on the Continuum of Care leadership board.
Joe Smith, the chair of the Continuum of Care board, recommended the creation of two different homeless boards. Smith suggested having a separate board with elected officials and Continuum of Care staff, and also keeping the existing leadership with an elected official on the board. He described the alternative as a combination of the two recommendations the county brought forward.
“The COC was not built for all elected, the COC money is very specific on how its used,” Smith said. “There are a lot of regulations and restrictions to have it be overseen by the community it serves.”
In January 2025, Sacramento’s Continuum of Care received more than $40 million from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. This money was used for thousands of beds for permanent, rapid and transitional housing, according to Sacramento Steps Forward, which is the nonprofit that leads Continuum of Care. The money also funded other regional programs.
There are almost 9,000 people homeless in Sacramento County, according to a report from Sacramento Steps Forward.
Supervisor Rosario Rodriguez expressed frustration over Continuum of Care proposing a third option, rather than the two presented during the meeting. She criticized the nonprofit, continuously asking why the nonprofit took multiple years to seek collaboration. Other supervisors mentioned concerns that an additional board would cause more bureaucracy.
“If this is Sacramento County’s No. 1 issue with all jurisdictions and all cities, we can’t wait 5, 4, 6, months to get a plan C,” Rodriguez said. “That plan, or some form of iteration of that plan should have come to us right August. You had 30 days, sit down, lay out a plan, get it to the county and say, ‘Here’s an option that we would like to recommend.’”
In response, Lisa Bates, the CEO of Sacramento Steps Forward, said its third option is a “tweak” to the recommended models. She added that the nonprofit is “trying to help advance the conversation and the models.”
Rodriguez called the county’s homeless prevention response “broken, fragmented and siloed.” During the meeting, Rosario said she believes Continuum of Care should be under ownership of the county.
“We lack a sense of urgency, we lack a sense of execution, and all while people continue to die in the streets,” Rodriguez said.
Supervisor Pat Hume said whatever the board decided, it will not be the “ultimate end all be all.” He insisted on not letting “perfection stand in the way of good,” and encouraged the board to not point fingers on who’s wrong.
“We’re talking about housing and homelessness, but we’re picking out the color of the drapes before we’ve even signed the paperwork,” Hume said. “So let’s get in the room and just start working together.”
Next steps will include presenting the new official model to Continuum of Care and other cities within the county, said Supervisor Phil Serna. If either party is not interested in pursuing the new model, Serna recommended county staff work with the cities to form a Sacramento Homeless and Housing Board.
“We have this kind of contingent, recommended alternative option,” Serna said. “But...it only would take effect based on the disposition of the COC board itself.”
This story was originally published December 9, 2025 at 4:24 PM.
