Sacramento city, county leaders meet to address homelessness crisis

Elected leaders from across Sacramento County gathered in downtown Sacramento Tuesday for an all-day discussion about the homelessness crisis in the area and to discuss paths toward effective solutions. The joint meeting marked the first time representatives from Sacramento, Citrus Heights, Elk Grove, Galt, Folsom and Rancho Cordova came together as one body to address the mounting issue.”We have not had everybody in one room at one time, so that in itself is an impressive feat,” said Brian Pedro, Department of Community Response Director for the city of Sacramento. “The challenge is every city has a different crisis.”Pedro described homelessness as a crisis for the city of Sacramento, adding he’s worried about cuts to federal, state and local funding while recognizing not every city is facing the same level of concern as his.”We know what pieces we need to respond, to provide service, to create more housing. We know all the pieces there, but all of that takes funding and that’s our challenge that we’re really up against,” he said. He said he hoped to come out of Tuesday’s meeting with a clearer understanding of which efforts—from increased prevention to adding more housing units—to prioritize. “We have all the pieces in play. The question is: which one do you want to prioritize?” he said. Coming out of Tuesday’s meeting, however, Sacramento City Councilmember Karina Talamantes said she didn’t feel the discussion went far enough to define next steps and set clear goals for how to move forward.She voted “no” when asked by a moderator if the session made real progress.“Given the looming state and federal budget cuts that were presented today, we need to move with much greater urgency on homelessness because we have to do more with less money and resources,” she said. “I had hoped we’d leave this workshop with clearer direction on a shared governance model, but while there was interest, no one fully committed to forming a Joint Powers Authority.”In the first half of the meeting, first responders and agencies that work directly with unhoused communities had a chance to share their experiences with the elected.The Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office and Sacramento Metro Fire both spoke about the challenges they see on the ground. Sheriff Jim Cooper stressed his belief that law enforcement should be a part of the solution.“We can’t silo. We’ve got to share information. That’s the most important thing and the reason; to be honest, we started our information because they weren’t sharing it with us,” he said. He shared his frustration that many services only operate within normal business hours, while his deputies are interacting with unhoused communities 24/7, handling calls from concerned community members about anything from trash to violent crime.“A lot of folks don’t want law enforcement involved whatsoever, but we know by the number of arrests that have been made in the camps, the number of predators out there, sexual assaults, domestic violence, it is an issue,” Cooper said. “Whether you’re housed or unhoused, you deserve to be safe.”Dr. Ryan Quist, Behavioral Health Director for Sacramento County, highlighted his team’s efforts, especially efforts to help people also struggling with mental health disorders and those who do not have basic needs, such as laundry and showers, met.”I think our number one challenge, though, is the fact that, as many people as we get, that we get housed, we have the challenge of people who are becoming unhoused,” Quist said.When asked by Sacramento Mayor Kevin McCarty how elected leaders could help, Quist responded that more housing is needed. “I think this is one of the best parts about this process is that we’re all having one conversation instead of separate conversations that are all similar, but also different,” he said. “This is a way for it to become one conversation where we’re all collaboratively talking about it together.”Jillian Marks, a public health nurse and representative of Community Health Works, attended the meeting and told KCRA 3 that the people she meets experiencing homelessness want services and are eager to get into housing. She noted that accepting services often comes once trust is built.“It’s about if it’s coming from a trusted messenger,” she said. “This feels like a really great start and a new opportunity.”There was no action item tied to Tuesday’s meeting. See more coverage of top California stories here | Download our app | Subscribe to our morning newsletter | Find us on YouTube here and subscribe to our channel

SACRAMENTO, Calif. —

Elected leaders from across Sacramento County gathered in downtown Sacramento Tuesday for an all-day discussion about the homelessness crisis in the area and to discuss paths toward effective solutions.

The joint meeting marked the first time representatives from Sacramento, Citrus Heights, Elk Grove, Galt, Folsom and Rancho Cordova came together as one body to address the mounting issue.

“We have not had everybody in one room at one time, so that in itself is an impressive feat,” said Brian Pedro, Department of Community Response Director for the city of Sacramento. “The challenge is every city has a different crisis.”

Pedro described homelessness as a crisis for the city of Sacramento, adding he’s worried about cuts to federal, state and local funding while recognizing not every city is facing the same level of concern as his.

“We know what pieces we need to respond, to provide service, to create more housing. We know all the pieces there, but all of that takes funding and that’s our challenge that we’re really up against,” he said.

He said he hoped to come out of Tuesday’s meeting with a clearer understanding of which efforts—from increased prevention to adding more housing units—to prioritize.

“We have all the pieces in play. The question is: which one do you want to prioritize?” he said.

Coming out of Tuesday’s meeting, however, Sacramento City Councilmember Karina Talamantes said she didn’t feel the discussion went far enough to define next steps and set clear goals for how to move forward.

She voted “no” when asked by a moderator if the session made real progress.

“Given the looming state and federal budget cuts that were presented today, we need to move with much greater urgency on homelessness because we have to do more with less money and resources,” she said. “I had hoped we’d leave this workshop with clearer direction on a shared governance model, but while there was interest, no one fully committed to forming a Joint Powers Authority.”

In the first half of the meeting, first responders and agencies that work directly with unhoused communities had a chance to share their experiences with the elected.

The Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office and Sacramento Metro Fire both spoke about the challenges they see on the ground. Sheriff Jim Cooper stressed his belief that law enforcement should be a part of the solution.

“We can’t silo. We’ve got to share information. That’s the most important thing and the reason; to be honest, we started our information because they weren’t sharing it with us,” he said.

He shared his frustration that many services only operate within normal business hours, while his deputies are interacting with unhoused communities 24/7, handling calls from concerned community members about anything from trash to violent crime.

“A lot of folks don’t want law enforcement involved whatsoever, but we know by the number of arrests that have been made in the camps, the number of predators out there, sexual assaults, domestic violence, it is an issue,” Cooper said. “Whether you’re housed or unhoused, you deserve to be safe.”

Dr. Ryan Quist, Behavioral Health Director for Sacramento County, highlighted his team’s efforts, especially efforts to help people also struggling with mental health disorders and those who do not have basic needs, such as laundry and showers, met.

“I think our number one challenge, though, is the fact that, as many people as we get, that we get housed, we have the challenge of people who are becoming unhoused,” Quist said.

When asked by Sacramento Mayor Kevin McCarty how elected leaders could help, Quist responded that more housing is needed.

“I think this is one of the best parts about this process is that we’re all having one conversation instead of separate conversations that are all similar, but also different,” he said. “This is a way for it to become one conversation where we’re all collaboratively talking about it together.”

Jillian Marks, a public health nurse and representative of Community Health Works, attended the meeting and told KCRA 3 that the people she meets experiencing homelessness want services and are eager to get into housing. She noted that accepting services often comes once trust is built.

“It’s about if it’s coming from a trusted messenger,” she said. “This feels like a really great start and a new opportunity.”

There was no action item tied to Tuesday’s meeting.

See more coverage of top California stories here | Download our app | Subscribe to our morning newsletter | Find us on YouTube here and subscribe to our channel