Keith and Sadie amble around the grounds at the Florin and Power Inn Safe Stay Community – a collection of tiny sleeping cabins that shelter homeless people while providing for not only their basic needs but also connecting them to critical supports that help them exit homelessness. Sadie, an amber-colored hound, was recently vaccinated and spayed by the Bradshaw Animal Shelter's new mobile vet clinic, right on the premises. She is shy and wary of other humans, but she stays glued to Keith's side as they walk through the astroturf courtyard to get rechecked by the traveling veterinarian.
“It is great to have this service come to us. Sadie is important to me, I am glad to know she is fixed and healthy. I've had her since she was a puppy and I want to take care of her."
Keith and Sadie have been at the Safe Stay Community for about three weeks. Keith is hopeful that his steady social security income and the help from the rehousing navigators will land him a safe, clean and pet-friendly apartment soon. "I have excellent credit," said Keith. “I've never had bad credit. I'm hoping that helps me find a place that will take Sadie. I just need something I can afford on my social security."
Keith came to Sacramento four years ago. A musician in New Orleans, he had been posting videos of himself singing and playing on Facebook. A woman reached out to him via direct message and said she liked his singing and his look and would love to meet him. His wife passed away a few years prior, and he was lonely. They began chatting online and exchanging photos and promises. She lived in Sacramento, and she asked him to come and live with her. She had a place and a car that he could use to find a job. She'd take care of him.
Keith spent his last $700 on a red-eye from New Orleans to Sacramento. The woman who picked him up from the airport was not the woman he'd seen in the photos. She was also homeless, staying with her mother, and didn't have the promised car. Keith had been catfished, and now he was broke, in an unfamiliar city, and unsure of what to do next. With nowhere to go and no resources to care for himself, Keith still went home and stayed with the woman he'd been chatting with for weeks.
Keith found a job he could walk to—$20 an hour doing construction. He was a hard worker and had good skills, and soon Keith was promoted to foreman and made $25 an hour. To his surprise, one day a woman showed up at his front door with a little dog. She couldn't care for it anymore and had heard he was good with dogs. Who can turn away a dog in need? Keith fell in love with Sadie immediately.
But he wasn't in love with the woman he was living with. When Keith revealed he didn't want a romantic relationship with the woman who'd tricked him, she kicked him and Sadie out. He rented his own apartment and reinvested in his first love—music. He purchased a guitar, and a new amp and started playing again. Finally, Keith was feeling like this life-changing move across the country wasn't so bad.
And then came a global pandemic. His construction job halted, and he lost his job. To add insult to injury, his apartment was robbed, and his guitar and amp were stolen. His landlord gave him short notice to vacate so that he could renovate the apartment and rent it for more money. With just his social security payments, Keith couldn't find a place he could afford, and he was right back to where he started—homeless.
“These cabins are amazing. Having my own bed, a door, three meals a day, a place to shower, a safe place for Sadie. I'm so grateful. All I need is a dog-friendly apartment that I can afford on my social security and I'll be fine."
The staff from City Net, the onsite provider at the Safe Stay, is working diligently to find Keith housing that he can afford with his income and/or minimal assistance that will accept a pet.
Keith has grown children in Florida. One day, when he can, he wants to fly back to see them, but he doesn't want to be homeless when he sees his family for the first time in years. “I want them to be proud of me."