Sacramento makes it impossible for homeless to get help. How the city, county can improve

It is a daunting task for members of the unhoused population to navigate Sacramento County’s fragmented network for care or critical services such as housing and shelter. There are 61 distinct access points for 114 different programs in the region, and no efficient way to navigate them.

For even the most industrious person experiencing homelessness, that means they would have to contact each point of access one by one — whether it’s from a nonprofit, a faith-based organization or a public agency — and hope they uncover the right resource, at the right time, to actually get help. Add the myriad limitations and challenges that shape the daily lives of unhoused residents and you begin to understand how escaping homelessness could feel overwhelming.

Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg is calling on the county Board of Supervisors to partner on a so-called coordinated access system proposed by Sacramento Steps Forward that would establish a single point-of-access for homeless services in our region. It would operate 24/7 and inform a 211 caller of the resources available on any given day. The system would also aid data collection efforts year-round so government agencies and service providers can maintain relationships with homeless individuals, and be more intentional with the available funding.

Perhaps the most important feature of this new system would be to force disparate service providers to finally begin collaborating with each other to better address this crisis.

The new access system is part of the mayor’s proposal for Sacramento’s midyear budget review, which a council committee will begin discussing Tuesday. While there is agreement between City Manager Howard Chan and Steinberg over a proposal to hire 17 homeless outreach workers with federal COVID funds, they differed on a $50 million surplus. Chan proposed banking all of the money in reserves.

Under the mayor’s proposal, the city would put up $1 million to help launch the coordinated access system so long as Sacramento County and Sacramento Steps Forward both match that amount. The nonprofit, which is the lead local agency managing homeless services, would oversee the new $3 million system.

Steinberg also proposed an additional $2.8 million to bolster community-based organizations in each council district that steer outreach to nearby encampments and more effectively get the unhoused to embrace treatment or various services.

However, improving the infrastructure around homeless outreach is not enough. Despite adding $31.5 million into the city’s housing trust fund last year, Sacramento had only authorized $10 million to help develop affordable housing projects by the fall. Meanwhile, many affordable housing proposals languish because of funding gaps. Steinberg wants to move an additional $10 million into the housing trust, which deserves support, but city leaders need to ensure that this money actually gets spent this year.

Sacramento projected a budget deficit each of the next five years, prompting Chan’s suggestion to shore up reserves. The city would be wise to stash as much of the surplus as possible. But there are several other worthwhile investments in Steinberg’s $27 million spending plan that warrant consideration from the council, including $1 million for assisting homeless families and $2.5 million to improve broadband access and expand youth programs in the New Helvetia projects. The mayor called for an additional $5.5 million for youth services citywide, a needed investment given the social and emotional development setbacks from prolonged school closures during the pandemic.

Making homeless services easier to access and supporting affordable housing development are logical and necessary investments for a city mired by the twin crises of housing and homelessness.

Sacramento County needs to take charge and commit to this sensible coordinated access program so Sacramento’s City Council can confidently follow suit. More importantly, the public needs to see the relationship between the two governments improve so Sacramento can begin meaningfully addressing the humanitarian crisis playing out on our streets.

This story was originally published February 8, 2022 at 5:00 AM.