California

Sacramento Provides Temporary Services for Homeless Encampment

The city said Friday it leased land for the encampment for up to four months, and will provide it services during that time

(Photo by Carol M. Highsmith/Buyenlarge/Getty Images)

The City of Sacramento said Friday it will let a homeless encampment stay on public land and will provide trailers and other services for up to four months. 

A group of unhoused people, mostly women, have been living on a lot owned by the city for more than a year, according to the Sacramento Bee. 

On Friday, city officials announced they had leased the land for free and for up to four months to Safe Ground Sacramento, a non-profit group. People can park their cars or RV’s on the property, and the city will provide up to 33 trailers for people to live in. 

The city say the site will be self-governed by what it calls a “resident council,” along with an operations plans that must be approved by the Sacrmento City Council in the next 30 days. 

“I am incredibly proud that through months of hard work and open communication we found an innovative solution for this site that benefits our entire community,” said Councilmember Sean Loloee, whose district includes the land, in a city blog post.

For decades, major cities across California have been grappling with homelessness, a problem that has only worsened in recent years as a housing shortage has increased rents and made it difficult to find an affordable place to live. California has now nearly a third of the nation’s homeless population, according to federal data. 

Cities have tried various approaches to address the issue. In San Jose, a city of nearly a million people, officials installed about 500 small homes for homeless people to live in. According to Mayor Matt Mahan, the program reduced the rate of unhoused people who were unsheltered for the first time in years. 

Last month, Governor Gavin Newsom announced the state would build 1,200 of those small homes across the state. Those homes are as small as 120 square feet (or 11 square meters), and would have electricity but no running water. Sacramento is scheduled to get 350 of those homes, most of which will likely be at the state fairgrounds, according to Mayor Darrell Steinberg. 

Across California, local governments have plans for a 15% reduction in homelessness by 2025. Those plans originally called for a 2% reduction in homelessness, a goal Newsom criticized as too low. After he threatened to withhold state funding, local governments revised those plans. 

The encampment in Sacramento, known as “Camp Resolution,” is not meant to be permanent. The city said the initial lease will run for four months, but the lease can be renewed until “all the residents obtain permanent housing.”

“We are anxious to assist Camp Resolution residents to demonstrate that homeless people can self-govern and assist each other to obtain permanent housing,” said Mark Merin, executive director for Safe Ground Sacramento.

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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