These mothers say they dealt with roaches, evictions in Sacramento homeless shelter motel program
The president of the Sacramento Homeless Union decried conditions at motels that serve as city homeless shelters, speaking Wednesday in front of large photos of an unusably clogged shower and a ceiling thick with black mold.
At a news conference, Crystal Sanchez called on the city to improve conditions at these hotels, which serve as temporary shelter for many homeless people, primarily families with children.
The public, Sanchez said, doesn’t understand “the conditions at these shelters,” which were failing to meet “the basic need for human dignity.”
The city recently approved $7.7 million in new contracts for the operation of these motels, funding them through June. They were originally opened as shelters during the COVID-19 pandemic. Under the contract with the city, Sacramento spokesman Tim Swanson said, “The motel owner is responsible for maintaining the property and making any repairs.”
Mayor Darrell Steinberg released a statement to KCRA Wednesday that said they serve 400 homeless people a night. He said, “We are working with our staff and providers to make sure that we have adequate oversight of all of our shelters and are meeting the needs of all of our guests.”
At the news conference, Sanchez introduced four unhoused people — including two mothers who were recently kicked out of a city motel along with their very young children.
Tanika Williams, 38, said she and her kids could not use the shower in their room, nor the heater, which broke in the middle of a Sacramento winter. The hotel, she said, had roaches. She, her husband and two daughters — one 18, one about to turn 3 — had just been locked out of their hotel room, with their betta fish Blues and her husband’s chronic obstructive pulmonary disease medication still in his room inside.
She showed a photo of a three-day “pay or quit” notice that she received from the motel. The motel said that she and her husband owed them two months’ rent after they had exited the city program but continued their stay at the motel.
Hours after the news conference, Williams and her family were escorted off the Stockton Boulevard property by police as part of the motel’s eviction process. She said that ultimately the Sacramento Police Department paid for the family of four to spend one night in a Motel 6.
Brittany Anderson, 36, said she was kicked out of the same roach-infested motel the previous week with her 4-year-old and 5-month-old sons. She said she shouted at someone after she was punched in the face on the property, and that management considered this a violation of the rules and proceeded to evict her.
Swanson said that the city was looking into evictions from the motels by the city’s contractor. He said, “Staff thus far have not found any violation of the contract requirements, and all exit decisions by the contractor appear to be justified and in compliance with the program guidelines.”
He said that typically, people who are asked to leave a program receive multiple warnings. Swanson said that when people are asked to leave one shelter, “The city will work with them to find alternative shelter, especially if children are involved.”
After Anderson was told to leave the motel, the city offered her a space in a warming center, which she initially accepted — but she was not comfortable staying in a large congregate shelter, sharing a room with strangers as well as her infant and her 4-year-old. When her older son had to use the bathroom at night, she had to take him outside, in the freezing cold, to use a portable toilet.
She’s now staying with a friend, who only has a temporary spot on the floor to offer them. She isn’t sure what she’ll do long-term.
And the Williams family wasn’t sure Thursday where they would sleep that night.
This story was originally published February 15, 2024 at 3:29 PM.
CORRECTION: This story has been updated to clarify that the William family was no longer in the city’s housing program but had continued to stay at the motel where they were placed.
