How is Sacramento doing with its shelters for the homeless?
In April, the Globe reported, “The City of Sacramento is spending more than $44 million to provide eight homeless shelters and camping options, most not yet built or ready, and three Project Homekey motel conversions. According to city officials, “most of that comes from state and federal grants that are not certain year to year.”
Six months later, this is the status of the eight proposed and existing homeless sites we reported on in April:
- Joshua’s House is a private hospice facility not yet built on a city-owned lot in North Sacramento – says it will open in late 2022.
- Miller Park Safe Ground is a 60-tent low barrier shelter has been opened since Feb. 8. The City Council gave a public city park to homeless.
- Auburn Boulevard Respite Center is located at the former Science Center Museum, near a residential neighborhood as the Globe recently reported. Neighbors are livid.
- North 5th Street is an existing 145-bed shelter.
- Downtown Service Hub is an unnamed location that is the subject of ongoing negotiations to purchase the building and use it as a central hub for homeless and the service providers who work with them – no update available.
- Colfax Yard is a vacant city-owned lot not yet ready for official use which was used as an unsanctioned parking spot by homeless – “derailed by state agencies” for toxic cleanup.
- Roseville Road RT Station is currently used unofficially by homeless parking vehicles, with plans for a “safe parking facility for 70 vehicles and 100 guests, poised to open in the coming month.” No update available. In May, the city said it was working on a three-way agreement among the City, RT and Cal Trans. Hurry up – the “guests” are getting anxious.
- The 102-acre Job Corp site was purchased in January 2022 as federal surplus land, not accessible yet. No update available.
Over one year ago in August 2021 the Mayor and City Council approved a Comprehensive Siting Plan listing 20 sites that could provide space for various types of shelters for homeless. The council is trying to normalize homelessness by spreading it out throughout the city.
The County of Sacramento did the same, and mostly has just written about their plans since then. “Homelessness has been increasing in recent years, with visible signs of its impact on individuals and families and in our neighborhoods,” the County says. “As the largest provider of social services and a major funder of a variety of homeless services, Sacramento County remains committed to working with stakeholders, including cities, Sacramento Steps Forward, Sacramento Housing and Redevelopment Agency, service providers and community members to develop and deliver the most impactful solutions to homelessness.”
Okay. As the largest provider of social services and a major funder of a variety of homeless services, why is homelessness only growing in the county? Expensive housing is not the answer. In fact, it is counterintuitive.
Here’s why the elected city and county officials and staff bureaucrats make oodles of plans, and hold oodles of meetings about these plans – because if they ever actually eradicated homelessness, the million$/billion$ in federal/state funding (taxpayer funding) would dry up.
Our government is using the homeless as a funding stream, while pretending to care for them, and using them as a new voting base, now registering them to vote.
Meanwhile, every day we hear news reports about violent drug addicted and mentally ill homeless people attacking, stabbing, shooting, killing innocent victims. In September, a Midtown man was attacked by a homeless man with a belt at a convenience store.
A woman was attacked in Wm. Land Park in Sacramento by a homeless man on her daily run.
In January, a large animal veterinarian friend reported a violent homeless guy with a hammer attacked a horse in the head, and had beaten the horse all over his body with the hammer. He also killed 12 of 15 pet birds in the chicken coop.
In 2021, Land Park resident Kate Tibbitts was brutally murdered in her home by “homeless” transient Troy Davis, out on the streets despite his recent parole violation. He raped and murdered Tibbitts, killing her dogs and setting her house on fire,” the Globe reported. Tibbitts’ horrific murder remains a fresh imprint on locals’s psyche, but seems to be an inconvenient memory for local politicians.
Also this week, Yolo County DA Jeff Reisig wrote that he was meeting a friend in downtown Sacramento after work. Here is his account:
“A sad story…I decided to meet a friend after work in downtown Sacramento today. As I exited my parked car on J Street, I immediately noticed some fellas doing a drug deal on a busy corner. Not good. I proceeded to walk down a main street littered with garbage and an occasional needle. The smell of urine and marijuana permeated everywhere. As I approached my destination, sirens screamed past me as I noticed police and fire dealing with some kind of situation on K Street. I noticed that the outdoor dining tables along the street were mostly empty. As I walked into the establishment, I found it odd that I was the only person in the whole place at 6 p.m. on a beautiful evening. I asked the only employee if business was always so slow. He said that since the mass shooting in April 2022 and all the ‘other issues,’ things had been really dead. He said many neighboring businesses had recently closed as people just didn’t seem to be coming back. I understand why. It doesn’t have to be this way in Sacramento or any other city in California. Lawmakers in the Capitol and city leaders own all of this and only they can fix it.”
Sacramento’s politicians are systematically destroying the region and killing off businesses. What will stop this gross government corruption and redistribution of wealth? Elections matter. Start with throwing out your local elected officials and work your way up.
The Globe just reported:
Sacramento County is registering homeless drug addicts and homeless mentally ill individuals to vote, rather than providing care and treatment, for which the County has been paid millions, and maybe billions.
Last month, it was announced that Sacramento County was to receive $25 million from the state to address homelessness along the American River Parkway – that’s just along the American River Parkway. How much has Sacramento County received to “address homelessness” in total?
For $25 million, the County could have long ago erected a large homeless campus on county-owned property and triaged and treated the county’s homeless.
Instead, they’re sporadically approving tiny homeless villages: “a 44-unit tiny home village near Florin Road just west of Highway 99 and 100 tiny homes at Florin and Power Inn roads,” Capradio.org reported.
“Those plans include private cabin-like shelters for each resident, meals, laundry services, case management, restrooms, showers and 24/7 security.”
Sacramento’s homeless are receiving more concierge services that the Ritz Carlton provides for paying clientele.
Our government is using the homeless as a funding stream, while pretending to care for them, and now using the homeless as a new voting base, registering them to vote.
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