If the PIT count is higher than in 2024, as Villanueva told supervisors, it will clash with Mayor Kevin McCarty\u2019s announcement<\/a> during his February State of the City address that downtown homelessness was down 70% since 2023.<\/p>\n That figure was based on counts by the Downtown Partnership, the nonprofit 66-block improvement district that represents downtown businesses.<\/p>\n The discussion about the PIT count came Tuesday after criticism from Chair Rosario Rodriguez, the supervisor for the county\u2019s northeastern communities, including Folsom, Orangevale, Antelope and Elverta.<\/p>\n \u201cI actually have never met anyone who has confidence in information from the PIT count,\u201d Rodriguez said during the meeting.<\/p>\n 83 hours a week<\/p>\n The discussion about the count occurred during an update on homeless shelters and services from county staff.<\/p>\n According to new data from the National Low Income Housing Coalition, minimum-wage workers in Sacramento would need to work 83 hours a week to afford a one-bedroom apartment, Emily Halcon, the county\u2019s homeless services and housing director told the board.<\/p>\n The statistic highlights the difficulty local officials are facing in helping the homeless find housing, Halcon said. While there are other barriers, such as people suffering from mental health crises or substance use, most would move into permanent housing if it existed.<\/p>\n \u201cI do believe if we could walk up to folks and say, \u2018we\u2019ve got a housing unit ready for you, let\u2019s go,\u2019 you\u2019d see that (homeless population) reduced,\u201d said Halcon, who has been at the county since 2020 and has a staff of 29 employees.<\/p>\n About 82% of the occupants of Sacramento County\u2019s shelters have an annual income of less than $20,000, and the vast majority have no income, Halcon said, citing data she had pulled earlier that day.<\/p>\n Many of those people do not need intensive services, but just need an apartment with a rent they can afford on Social Security or minimum wage jobs, she said.<\/p>\n A severe shortage of affordable housing units has caused many people to get stuck in shelters long term, even when they are ready for a unit.<\/p>\n \u201cThe average length of stay in our shelters is about nine months … six or seven years ago it was like 60 days,\u201d Halcon said.<\/p>\n Supervisor Rich Desmond asked what the county is looking to reduce the cost per person. On average the county and city pay $126,315 per shelter bed, according to a previous Sacramento Bee story<\/a>.<\/p>\n The Watt Avenue shelter, the most expensive shelter<\/a> planned in the capital region, was set to open in early 2026 but is not yet completed.<\/p>\n The site will shelter up to 275 people in sleeping cabins and in their vehicles, and provide weather respite for 75, in North Highlands. The county paid about $64 million total to stand it up, including about $42 million to construction companies to turn the former office building and parking lot into a shelter. It also spent $22.8 million to buy a vacant warehouse, which had sold for just over half that amount just a year before the county bought it.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019ll be four years pretty soon and to me that just seems like a really long time for about 300 people and the cost was very high,\u201d Rodriguez said.<\/p>\n Villanueva said staff has been working expeditiously.<\/p>\n \u201cI agree the pace could be better on a lot of things,\u201d Villanueva said. \u201cIt\u2019s not from a lack of effort on the staff side to get these moving ASAP.\u201d<\/p>\n This story was originally published April 8, 2026 at 3:32 PM.<\/p>\n Related Stories from Sacramento Bee<\/p>\n
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