Sacramento Street Medicine teams provide free medical and social support to Sacramento’s unhoused community living in encampments, relying on volunteers and a structured approach to care.
The US needs to take a U-turn in its management of homelessness and addiction, as the number one cause of homelessness is poverty, not mental illness or addiction, and the US and the Philippines are the only countries that require cash bail.
The City of Berkeley has ordered the closure of an encampment in West Berkeley due to public health concerns related to leptospirosis, prompting criticism from advocates and residents who argue that the city should provide sanitation support and relocation options instead of displacement.
Supportive housing, which combines affordable housing with on-site services, is the most cost-effective and effective way to reduce unsheltered homelessness, as it addresses the root cause of the issue and reduces public costs associated with emergency and institutional settings.
Sacramento County Supervisor Rodriguez has been criticized for her lack of compassion towards the homeless, as she has supported the destruction of their shelters and has not offered any alternative housing solutions.
Houston has been successful in reducing homelessness through a housing-first strategy, but the latest data shows that even the most celebrated local strategies are fragile without sustained federal funding and affordable housing.
Two housing advocacy groups have filed a federal lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) for allegedly unlawfully diverting $75 million in permanent supportive housing funds to advance the Trump administration’s social agenda.
Homelessness in the US is a result of decades of political choices, such as the Tax Reform Act of 1986, which pulled the federal government out of building and maintaining public housing, and is exacerbated by rising rents, stagnant wages, and gentrification, making it difficult for working families to find affordable housing.
Mayor Kevin McCarty of Sacramento announced the construction of 135 tiny homes at the Roseville Road Shelter‐and‐Service Campus, providing a cost-effective solution to the city’s homelessness crisis and complementing other initiatives such as safe parking and motel conversions.
Governor Gavin Newsom announced that $75.5 million in voter-approved Proposition 1 funding will be used to create 200 new permanent supportive homes in Oakland, Santa Clara, and Ventura for Californians experiencing or at risk of homelessness and living with behavioral health challenges.
A coalition of housing advocates, legal experts, and social service providers has warned that banishment ordinances targeting unhoused people are unconstitutional, ineffective, and harmful, while President Trump has ordered homeless encampments in Washington, D.C. to be cleared and their residents moved out of the city.
The Sacramento Homeless Union has won a federal lawsuit against the City of Sacramento, resulting in a legal settlement that provides protections for unhoused residents during extreme heat events.
The Trump administration’s executive order on homelessness and mental illness is a misguided strategy that prioritizes public visibility over public health, and instead of providing long-term support, it cycles people in and out of expensive institutions without addressing the underlying causes of homelessness.
The Supreme Court’s decision in Grants Pass v. Johnson has allowed cities across the country to double down on anti-homeless ordinances, exacerbating homelessness and making it harder for unhoused people to access resources and housing.
Senator Angelique Ashby has introduced Senate Bill 802, which would establish a new regional agency to coordinate housing and homelessness programs across Sacramento County, in an effort to address the region’s persistent housing and homelessness crisis.
Joshua’s House, the first hospice in the US designed specifically for terminally ill unhoused individuals, will open in Sacramento in July, offering shelter, dignity, and compassionate support to those in their final days.
Sacramento County is launching a 70-bed shelter program for recently released jail inmates, funded by Proposition 47, to reduce recidivism and homelessness.
Governor Gavin Newsom has unveiled a new statewide initiative to provide local governments with clear guidance and legal tools to address homeless encampments swiftly and humanely, and has committed to giving every local government in the state the path forward.
Sacramento County Supervisor Rosario Rodriguez is deflecting concerns about homelessness by blaming lack of coordination between agencies, while the root cause of the problem is poverty and lack of affordable housing, which can be addressed by taxing vacancy and property hoarding, and building affordable housing.
Crystal Sanchez, Western Regional Director for the National Union of the Homeless, has revealed that the homelessness crisis in Sacramento is much worse than official counts suggest, with 50,000+ people experiencing homelessness, and that the city’s response is compounding the harm rather than solving it.