New efforts are underway to help Sacramento’s homeless population. A first-of-its-kind public meeting took place on Tuesday, with elected leaders across Sacramento County coming face-to-face to find solutions.
Last year, $418 million was spent across Sacramento County in an effort to solve the homeless crisis.
“We need to be smarter with our money,” Sacramento Mayor Kevin McCarty said.
McCarty and the city council met jointly with the entire county Board of Supervisors and five other city mayors to help find better ways to get people off the streets.
“We want to form a partnership and have a structured approach to how we can pool resources,” McCarty said.
The public hearing featured a series of presentations from homeless program coordinators and law enforcement.
“Since 2022, the county has opened 350 new beds in safe stay communities, and we have another 225 that we are going to celebrate opening next year,” said Emily Halcon, the county’s homeless services director.
“We’ve done a lot and put a lot of money into the homelessness issue and the needle hasn’t changed a lot,” Sacramento County Sheriff Jim Cooper said.
The workshop involved discussions about what programs are seeing success, like in Elk Grove.
“We have been able to build relationships with folks and our navigation team has a better than 70% success rate at getting folks to accept shelter when they are living outdoors,” said Sarah Bontrager, Elk Grove’s housing services manager.
There are also examples of what could be done better, like the conversion of a downtown hotel that cost $600,000 per room to renovate.
Sacramento County District Attorney Thien Ho said it’s now turned into a criminal hotspot.
“I’ve had people with knives and guns and sexual assaults at that location,” Ho said.
The conversations are taking place at a time when there’s uncertainty over future funding.
“The fact is the federal government is cutting out assistance to many folks with rental assistance and food, and so we’re going to see this problem get even worse if we don’t be more effective with the limited money we have,” county Supervisor Eric Guerra said.
After hours of testimony, there was no official action taken, but many elected leaders are pledging to work more closely with each other.
“At the end of the day, this homeless problem affects all communities, and so when it comes to solving this problem, it’s going to take a collaborative approach,” county Supervisor Rosario Rodriguez said.
“This has to be our number one priority, regardless of what city you live in,” Guerra said.
The county says it’s working to compile more detailed data on the needs of homeless individuals and that a report is being prepared with recommendations for next steps that can be taken.
“It’s not compassionate to let people die on the streets,” Ho said. “It’s not compassionate to let the community suffer with encampments.”