Sacramento County spent $177.5 million on homelessness. See where the money went
For every one person who exits homelessness in Sacramento County, three more people become unhoused.
This severe and worsening crisis commands vast resources from local government agencies. The Sacramento Bee submitted a California Public Records Act request for documentation of county government spending on homelessness, which in the 2022-23 fiscal year was $177.5 million. In response to that request, the county provided three charts.
Sacramento County is responsible for substance use and mental health services for unhoused people in both cities and unincorporated areas. It also provides many other services for several thousand people living without stable homes in unincorporated areas.
And as the homelessness crisis snowballed, nearly half of the county’s homeless budget went toward emergency shelter and temporary housing. Of the $177.5 million pot, the county spends $80.4 million on non-permanent shelters — 45% of the budget. The county said it directed $14.9 million to permanent housing and $1.9 million to homeless prevention and diversion.
The Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office received $2.2 million for its homeless outreach team. Another relatively small but significant chunk of money, $2.4 million, went to the Landlord Engagement and Assistance Program, which provides landlords with incentives to rent to formerly homeless people.
The behavioral health budget, which includes some homeless prevention programs, received $28.4 million to spend on services for the unhoused.
In the 2020-21 fiscal year, the Sacramento County Board of Supervisors sent $141 million of state and federal money to the Sacramento Housing and Redevelopment Agency’s Emergency Rental Assistance Program; that money is not included in this breakdown. The October monthly report from the Sacramento Housing and Redevelopment Agency shows that $122 million has already been spent, helping 10,589 families stay in their homes.
According to one of the charts released in response to The Bee’s request, the county classified the Renters Helpline as an “other” expense, not a homeless prevention expense. The county spent $166,747 on the helpline, which offers tenants guidance when they’re dealing with habitability problems, evictions or other tenant-landlord disputes.
Emily Halcon, the director of Homeless Services and Housing, prepared a detailed breakdown of the homeless budget for the last fiscal year and presented it to the Board of Supervisors. The Bee submitted a Public Records Act request for the documents that formed the basis for the portion of her presentation that related to spending.
This story was originally published November 27, 2023 at 12:00 AM.
