Sacramento County Homelessness Digest

There’s so little data available, it’s impossible to even tell if several of California’s largest homelessness programs are working, according to a statewide audit released Tuesday.

I thought my journalism and others’ could change policy, perhaps even inspire a New Deal-style response equal to the challenge. Such was my naiveté.

The Cornerstone affordable housing community of 108 apartments and 18 single family homes built in partnership with Habitat for Humanity offers services for formerly unhoused local residents and home ownership opportunities.

“Street releases” have resumed after the nonprofit that operated a migrant welcome center announced its “finite resources have been stretched to the limit.”

No issue matters more to Californians than housing and homelessness. Catch up on where the major Senate candidates stand on the subject.

In April, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear a case that could reshape how cities manage homelessness. The legal issue is whether they can fine or arrest people for sleeping outside if there’s no shelter available.

When Gov. Gavin Newsom launched his landmark effort to shelter homeless residents in hotels during COVID, the state and local governments were relying on FEMA to foot much of the bill.

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass hosted Black mayors from around the country, taking them on a tour of the Hilda L. Solis Care First Village. The development offers wraparound mental health care and social services.

Programs are in place that assist tenants on the verge of being evicted. There are also programs and nonprofits that assist families, men, women and children who are experiencing homelessness.

California voters this spring are considering a $6.4 billion bond to house people with serious mental health conditions. A similar 2018 ballot measure offers lessons about the obstacles that stand in the way of construction.

Sacramento Steps Forward still needs about 100 volunteers for its upcoming two-day Point-In-Time count, which documents how many are experiencing homelessness in Sacramento.

The former Capitol Park Hotel has reopened in downtown Sacramento with a spruced up appearance and a new purpose: as permanent supportive housing for formerly homeless residents.

Prop. 1 would funnel more money into housing and treatment for homeless Californians struggling with mental illness and addiction. But it’s far from a one-stop solution.

A multi-year, $750 million California program aimed at doing away with homeless encampments has had mixed results. Local leaders say ongoing funding is needed.

The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to hear a case related to whether cities and towns can ban camping on public property. The high court could overturn Martin v. Boise, a 2018 federal court decision that keeps western cities and counties from blocking public camping when sufficient shelter space is unavailable.

A former Best Western motel has reopened in downtown Sacramento after being converted into permanent housing for nearly 100 unhoused individuals.

María Vela’s family has lived in East L.A. nearly 30 years, but new owners of her duplex asked her family to vacate by Christmas. Most evictions are due to nonpayment of rent, but owner move-ins also cause family displacement.

Federal funding for domestic violence shelters and housing programs is declining. Advocates want the state to step in, but with a record projected deficit new spending is unlikely.

All but two California counties are delaying their implementation of a new law that makes it easier for a court to place someone in involuntary confinement if they can’t care for their own medical needs or personal safety.

Federal judge David O. Carter has declined to dismiss a lawsuit that could force the Veterans Administration to house veterans experiencing homelessness in the Los Angeles area. Carter’s 41-page ruling could pave the way for a trial in mid-2024.

Sacramento County’s second tiny home village, or Safe Stay Community, is set to welcome unhoused residents to South Sacramento starting next week.

Advocates for Sacramento’s unhoused community, along with mayoral candidate Flojaune Cofer, condemned County District Attorney Thien Ho for what they described as his unfair attacks on the city and its unhoused residents.

Organizers of Sacramento County’s next Point-In-Time Count say they need at least 500 volunteers to help survey the region’s homeless population in January. Survey results are used to determine state and federal funding for homeless services.

Sacramento County District Attorney Thien Ho is adding environmental violations to his lawsuit against the city of Sacramento over what he calls its failure to act regarding the homelessness crisis.

Aptly named the PAWS Clinic (Pet Aid and Wellness Services), the first-of-its-kind mobile veterinary clinic focuses on caring for pets owned by homeless residents.

Shortly after Gov. Gavin Newsom promised to deliver 350 tiny homes to Sacramento, local officials said the Cal Expo fairgrounds should house some of the cabin-sized shelters.

San Diego-area nonprofits and faith organizations struggle to provide for tens of thousands of migrants border agents have released on San Diego streets.

Officials say they’ll consider applying for some of the $300 million in homeless encampment funds made available this week by Governor Gavin Newsom.
But the program by itself won’t pay cities and counties to remove the vast tent communities that line streets and sidewalks across California.

Berkeley public works staff and police officers began closing the longstanding encampment along Seventh and Eighth streets in an “imminent health hazard and emergency abatement,” which was ordered to tackle safety concerns.

The Sacramento County Board of Supervisors unanimously approved a safe parking program in North Highlands. Once it opens, county staff said up to 30 people at a time will be able to park at the site on Watt Avenue, with access to showers, restrooms and at least two meals a day.

Sacramento’s X Street homeless shelter opened two years ago this fall, serving the W-X corridor south of downtown, home to one of the city’s largest concentrations of illegal encampments. But while the shelter is making progress, it’s fallen short of its housing targets.

California’s population of homeless veterans has plateaued despite billions of dollars in state spending to create housing for former service members. Now, Gov. Gavin Newsom wants to shift resources to focus on veterans with serious mental health conditions.