Sacramento County is actively engaged in multiple strategies to provide services that unhoused residents need to transition into safe, stable housing. In Fiscal Year 2021/2022 alone, we have invested nearly $50 million in homeless specific programs, services, shelter, re-housing and data infrastructure to serve our community, with funding from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), the Mental Health Services Act (MHSA) and the County’s General Fund, among others.
Notable projects this year include:
- Safe Stay community developments - providing on-site services, security and re-housing to move people from unsheltered homelessness into housing and other supportive services while providing much needed respite to the neighborhoods through a reduction in trash, tents, violence and blight.
- Encampment Service teams: Comprised of Outreach navigators, re-housing staff and clinical staff to provide behavioral health assessments and referrals for those living in encampments.
- Additional investment of the construction of Marisol Village – an affordable housing project slated to add an additional 116 units to the final project.
- Invested three years of funding to greatly expand Coordinated Access (CAS), a powerful collaboration designed to ensure that homeless persons and persons at risk of homelessness are matched, as quickly as possible, with the services that will most effectively end their homelessness. This funding provides for increased coverage at 211, and new field-based staff to assist households into crisis support services and rehousing.
- Landlord Engagement and Re-Housing Supports: conducting outreach and educational events to recruit landlords and expand the availability of rental units; investment in incentives such as sign-on bonuses, move-in assistance, vacancy loss payments, etc. to support landlord retention; and increasing flexible rental subsidies to improve the efficacy of voucher and homeless housing subsidy programs.
- Funding 60 beds through December 2024 to support the Parkway Navigation team, prioritizing those exiting the portion of the Parkway between Interstate 5 and Highway 160. The Salvation Army will provide 24/7 staffing, food, laundry, case management and re-housing supports, with an annual goal of rehousing 180 people who previously lived on the Parkway.
- Mental Health Services Act (MHSA) Housing Program adding 60 units that provide a continuum of interventions including homelessness prevention, flexible housing funds, rapid rehousing, and permanent supportive housing for persons experiencing both homelessness and mental health issues. These units are on top of a recent $27.3 million in No Place Like Home (NPLH) funding to build/renovate 137 additional dedicated apartments. Another $9.5 million in NPLH funding is currently under State review to build an additional 37 dedicated apartments.
Additionally, working with our partners in all our cities is crucial to address the issue. Sacramento County and the City of Sacramento in particular must remain focused on addressing issues together, taking into account our responsibility to constituents, stakeholders and our homeless neighbors.
The County and City of Sacramento have collaborated for the past several years to identify and pursue opportunities to partner on projects that will serve the homeless population in the most efficient and effective way possible. While there are many good ideas to address the immediate and long-term needs around homelessness, not every project is feasible.
For example, the City and County were recently exploring a large site to potentially purchase and renovate as shelter with on-site wrap around services for people experiencing homelessness. After careful consideration, the County decided not to pursue the project for multiple reasons, including the cost of the real estate, the limitations imposed by the property owner that would interfere with provision of critical services and the relatively small number of people who would be served for such a large investment. The County has multiple sheltering projects under consideration for a similar or lesser amount of funding that will serve greater numbers of people over the long term and result in permanent exits from homelessness.
Critical to our success is the ability to partner with the City of Sacramento – and the other six cities in our jurisdiction - but also weighing the benefits and drawbacks of every dollar spent with the end goal of reaching every person experiencing homelessness. The County is ready to support projects and programs that are aligned with evidence-based approaches to addressing homelessness.
Sacramento is facing an unprecedented crisis of homelessness in our community. This crisis cannot be pinpointed to one specific cause, rather a myriad of complicated issues including a housing affordability gap, the impacts of COVID-19 and the overwhelming need for mental health and drug and alcohol rehabilitation services.
The Point-in-Time count results will likely show a significant increase in unhoused residents in Sacramento County. Now more than ever, the County and cities can work side by side to address this crisis. Together we are stronger, more effective and more capable of success.