Sacramento Homeless blog

I’m not saying that staying at the Mish 1 ’s Warming Center is bad; indeed, it’s the best – to my mind based on my few stays there and at Sally’s 2 Warming Center. What’s weird about it has been the late-spring announcement that it would be open through to the end of winter and all that has transpired (and not transpired) subsequently. Make no mistake: I am a big fan of the mission. It may not be making a conservative Christian out of me, but it is a purposeful, successful institution in the Homeless World Sacramento matrix. Its task – its mission , if you will – is to win souls for Christ, and it succeeds in its quest with a goodly number of the guys out here. The mission turns around the lives of some people who were, stubbornly, on the hard road to disaster. My take on one prime reason why the mission has success: Union Gospel Mission’s objective is a great match to the target, homeless adult men in Sacramento. The mission teaches order and authority to a population...

This morning there was a breakfast, sponsored by the Interfaith Service Bureau , in the Grand Hall , that brought together slightly-raggedy homeless people and well-dressed politicians and religious leaders and assorted other mucky-muck s. With Libby Fernandez prancing around, acting like the Grand Poobah , and a table near the entrance for SafeGround to advertise their supposed yummy goodness, it was difficult not to experience the event as more of a donations grab by the Leftist wing of the homeless-aid industry than any kind of wisdom exchange ― which is what it all, sort of, build itself up to be. A tasty meal, certainly there was, with scrambled eggs and potatoes and muffins and bagels and coffee. Among those serving us, buffet style, where pleasant police-men and -women in full regalia. At big round tables with white cloths and fancy water glasses the grandly housed and we, the homeless rabble, rubbed elbows. To the left of me at my table was a housed lady in red w...

Meeting a rather ambitious schedule, the Winter Shelter Task Force was able to make twelve bungalows at Mather Community Campus near Rancho Cordova habitable for families, five of whom will begin moving in today and tomorrow.  The residencies will provide a four-month stay for displaced families. Volunteers the task force recruited, with additional help from HomeAid and Home Depot, rehabilitated the cottages last weekend, which were shortly thereafter OKed by building inspectors for habitation. According to the Rancho Cordova Post , St. John's Shelter Program will be administering operations relating to the Mather bungalows.  Michele Steeb, Executive Director of St. John's, also heads up the Winter Shelter Task Force. It is hoped that eventually all but one or two of the 35 cottages can be fixed and made ready to serve as transitional housing for families. ----- Additional information (and sources for this SacHo post): Sac Bee article on 1...

The winter-shelter effort has everything to do with having places for people to sleep during cold or wet weather. I wrote the sentence, above, knowing it doesn't sound profound (It isn't.), but just to 'put out there' that the goal seems simple. And that whatever variety of things are done to serve the goal of simply giving adequate 'shelter from the storm' [as the banner had read at Overflow] is good. Or so you would think. This year, to what seems its great discredit, the county slashed homeless safety-net services, including funding for Overflow at Cal Expo. Likely, the politicians and officials knew there was other money that would flow in to take the place of some of the 'lost' county money [from stimulous funds, the city, and elsewhere] and that being more economical [Overflow was complicated and expensive] things would work out But it's an addling roller coaster ride, going from no money for winter shelter; to a feeling that the Winter S...

Hawthorn Suites of Sacramento : Where the homeless Safe Groundhogs laze around sipping Shirley Temples (not) and watching HBO. Living the good life. The core cadre of Safe Ground people spend their days lazing around on sofas, watching HBO in their Hawthorn Suites hotel rooms. Yes, life is sweet on the public dole. "Thanks, suckers!" Followers of homeless matters in Sacramento may remember that on Nov 2 there was a press briefing outside City Hall where the mayor announced that the safe grounders had magnanimously agreed to abandoned their comfortable Loaves-&-Fishes-provided tents at a parcel on C Street for the miscomforts of dreary motel rooms. Yes, instead of handcuffs and RCCC stays, these brave 'Soldiers for the Unfortunate' would, with great reluctance, forgo the pleasantries of sleeping on topsoil if that was necessary to further their cause to make life better for their undercaste brothers and sisters. Showing great leadership, the sa...

In a roundup of weather accross the country, a CNN online report says this about Sacramento, In Sacramento, California, it was snowy and 20 degrees ― unusually cold for this time of year, forecasters said. The city opened a shelter on Monday, and planned to leave it open until Wednesday evening. Actually, the low this morning was 24 degrees and no snow within the city that I'm aware of. I heard there was a dusting of snow in Citrus Heights. And further east, sure, there was snow. But, hell yes, 24 degrees is unusually cold. I don't know what CNN meant by a shelter opening on Monday. There were warming stations opened by Union Gospel mission, at the Delany Center, and at VOA's "A" Street shelter. People may have been allowed to sleep on the floor at the Delany Center. Is that what the reporter is referring to?

Mold, asbestos and lead paint, oh my! The 35 cottages out at Mather Community Campus seem closer to being condemned today than ever again being inhabited. But the expectation that some of the cottages can and will be restored to house homeless families before spring abides. A report in the Sacramento Bee tells us ... Some [of the cottages] have extensive mold, a county analysis showed. It's not clear how the county planned to deal with lead paint and asbestos, [Rancho Cordova] Councilwoman Linda Budge said. Still, hope of getting some of the cottages in shape such that homeless families can move in is in play, though not before New Year's day.  Word of where the money might come from to make needed restorations has not been forthcoming, though it is known that the Winter Shelter Task Force hopes to hold a fundraiser to boost the pool of funds to meet the need to keep homeless people warm and safe. At the end of October, placing families, totalling 105 individuals, was...

Below is a copy of a notice that is being distributed, in hope of reaching those who might get caught in next morning's, and subsequent days', bitter cold weather.  And at the link here: the notice with a google map . Severe Weather Notice Due to projected low temperatures for the next four nights (Monday 12-7 through Thursday 12-10) warming centers have been activated at Loaves & Fishes, Volunteers of America, and the Salvation Army. Loaves & Fishes will host guests from 3:00 p.m. until 8:00 p.m. at the Delany Center located at 401 North 12th St. The Volunteers of America will receive people for warming at the A Street men’s shelter located at 1400 B North A Street after 8:00 p.m. This site is two blocks away and is walking distance from Loaves and Fishes. The Salvation will receive people for warming at 1200 North B St. after 6:00 p.m. This site is two blocks away and is walking distance from Loaves and Fishes. This is NOT a sleeping arrangement. The...

Just a quick note to let y'all know that a "warming center" will be in operation tonight at the VOA's detox center at 5th & Richards, therebouts. Temperatures are forecast to drop below freezing by sunup. I will be riding around with the VOA van tonight to pick up anyone outside wanting/needing to come in from the cold. Update, morning of 12/7: I didn't "make the van," but it did go out to try to bring some folks in. Last night, both the mission dining room and the Delany Center at Loaves & Fishes were open to keep people warm. I understand that Salvation Army and the VOA will be open tonight (and subsequent nights, depending on conditions) to keep people warm and to provide a space where people may sleep.

Funnelling people to motel rooms as the modus operandi of the winter shelter effort this year needs to be refined. From indicators last night and this morning, an overabundance of motel vouchers have been distributed to "the wrong" people. Last night, there were ten or twelve empty beds in the Union Gospel Mission dorm for guests, which can, and usually does, accommodate sixty men. Why were there only 48 or 50 men in the dorm instead of the usual sixty? Well, let's back up. There are several factors at play that explain crowding at the dorm that it is helpful to understand. The mission guests, as a crowd, have their own monthly and seasonal rhythms. On about the first day of a month a great many of the solo men in Homeless World get checks. Most of those in this subset of the guys use the majority of their money on alcohol, cigarettes, crystal meth and/or marijuana with a lesser amount of their funds going toward motel stays. Of course, each guy is unique, and t...

Part of the problem with winter shelter this year is that there are people trying to secure a motel-stay voucher to improve their personal situation. These people are understandably wanting to "move up" in the shelter they have to something more comfortable and that allows greater freedom. Or, as is the case with many solo men who have SSI, to have winter-shelter funds cover hotel/motel costs that they were previously paying, such that yet more of their money is freed-up to buy alcohol, crystal meth, marijuana or a woman for the night or whatever. I thought the central idea of "winter shelter" was to bring people in out of the elements, in off the streets, out of the cold and storms, and (for many women) away from the dangers of being out on the street at night. For the rest of us homeless who aren't highly vulnerable to bad health effects of being on the street every once in a while, the 'risk' of being stuck out in a storm should be shared . But ...

To the homeless people of Sacramento: Welcome to a harsh winter. written by Tom Armstrong of Sacramento Homeless blog [sacramentohomeless.blogspot.com] Mayor Kevin Johnson's "Winter Shelter Task Force" has failed to step up to its mission: To alleviate the worst of suffering by homeless people in Sacramento in the chilly season that runs from mid-November till spring. While some people — including insiders like those associated with the extreme-leftist-politics Safe Ground Movement 1 — have guaranteed motel rooms for the whole of the cold period, most of the rest of us are likely to need to scamper constantly to escape very harsh conditions. We will sometimes succeed in gaining shelter, and oftentimes be left out in the storm. While the VOA-run Overflow shelter at Cal Expo in winters past was horrible, run with unrelieved ineptitude, holding homeless people imprisoned for (effectively) 16 hours a day, making getting or keeping a job impossible, the situation this ...

The Mayor's Winter Shelter Task Force announced on October 23 that they had $500,000 to spend on shelter beds and had succeeded in finding a magnificent 269 slots for the 4 1/2-month chilly period. In the midst of our Grand Recession, with money tight and the need at its greatest ever for chilly-season safety from the elements, a committee had come through for us, finding means and ways to save homeless people from misery. So we thought. It's nearly a month later, and its now known that the task force, instead of doing grade A+ work did grade F work. There never were 269 slots; only a paltry few. And that is all we have now as a major storm descends. Mr. Mayor, please show some grit. Make things happen NOW such that bed space is found. That must include adding new people to the task force and subtracting a few. And a couple good people should be found to determine how things went so very very wrong; they should write a report and its findings should be disseminated. The ...

It seemed like things were splendid, with a bounty of beds [as compared to prior years] secured for the chilly season for homeless people to sleep in, but now, in the words of Libby Fernandez, "It seems to be falling apart." An article in the Bee on Veterans' Day " Hotel chain quits talks on winter housing for Sacramento homeless ," reports that room for 100 homeless people at Extended Stay America were not secured, as expected, and the Mayor's Winter Shelter Task Force is now, quickly, moving to "Plan B," seeking space at other hotels. Beliefs and rumours in Homeless World Sacramento run the gamut. In rules and information told to people attending the Union Gospel Mission sermon the last two nights, the congregation has been told that Winter Shelter at Cal Expo will be openning on December 15. A "core homeless leader," in line for a lunch ticket with me in Friendship Park, told me that Cal Expo might be used for families and wo...

The Bee is reporting that cottages at Mather, which, as part of the winter-shelter plan, were to house 105 people, including children, are in disrepair. The story tells us, "Rancho Cordova's economic development director, Curt Haven, said the 35 bungalows proposed to house homeless families have been vacant a long time and are 'uninhabitable,' requiring an estimated $150,000 in repairs." If the story is true, a huge component of the plan to shelter homeless during the chilly season was done on the fly without gaining knowledge of the condition of stuctures included in the plan and without getting in touch with officials in the area. According to information this blog received from a mayor's aid on Sep 21, the members of the task force were then Bob Erlenbusch: former director of the Los Angeles Coalition to End Hunger and Homelessness , he is believed now to be working as a consultant in Sacramento for VOA and other organizations and government entities....

An article by Kathleen Heeley in the Sacramento Press sets the boost in the number of beds for area homeless this winter at 419, which is quite a significant increase from the 150 beds the county has paid for in winters past. This coming late fall and winter the city, county, federal government, nonprofit organizations and private donors will all fund a robust effort to give homeless people in our community places to sleep at night. Details on the funding and how new and pre-existing shelters will be constituted will be learned, from the mayor's office, with an event on Nov. 5. Reporter Heeley's count of beds is up 150 from the 269 that had been reported at a mayor's news conference on Oct. 23. Ms. Heeley tells us, in her new article " Agencies plan to set up 419 winter shelter beds " and first comment to the article, that the 150 beds are paid for via "stimulus money ... coming through the Homelessness Prevention and Rapid Re-Housing Program (HPRP)....

I was able to hear only the last two minutes of Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson's 17 minute, 10:45am news conference outside City Hall, but that was enough to gather some important news: Shelter this winter for the homeless will add 269 beds. That is a stunning achievement, more than th 150 beds added early last winter and in winters past and more than the 200 beds that existed at Winter Shelter at Cal Expo last spring, from April 6 to June 30. In addition there will be a modest number of motel vouchers to supplement the 269 beds this winter. There will be an event on November 5 providing additional information about winter shelter and safe ground. Update. Other sources of news about shelter this winter and safe ground from facts revealed today: Sacramento Bee article posted before the mayor's news conference, " Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson proposes plan to shelter homeless " 10:18am KCRA channel 3 report: " Money Found For Homeless Shelter Beds ....

A News10 report earlier today tells us that, between them, the city and county have now contributed aproximately $360,000 for a winter homeless shelter, with the mayor's policy board hoping to, somehow, raise another $80,000 for the effort. That would bring $440,000 total to the effort to shelter 150 or 200 people for four months. Michelle Steeb, leader of an ad hoc committee for the city/county to figure out how to provide chilly-season shelter, and director of St. John's Homeless Shelter, is quoted, saying, "Cal Expo is an option, but it's much more expensive than some of the other options that we're looking at." "Because we're not going to have as much money as we had last year or in years past, we need to be more economical," Steeb said. "We need to look at more economical solutions. Cal Expo is not off the table, but it's just very expensive to run winter shelters out of Cal Expo." Last year, Overflow at Cal Expo, run c...

A Bee story this morning, " Sacramento County homeless advocates race to find new winter shelter site " gives us some news on the effort by the city's/county's task force to pull together a shelter for chilly nights in late autumn and winter. One important bit of news: The county will provide $138,000 in funding, the article tells us. Which is better than the nothing I thought they'd provide! The story mentions 200 beds as the number of beds sought, which was the number of "Overflow" beds from mid-April to the end of last June, paid for by the city.  Earlier last winter, and in chilly-seasons before that, 150 beds had been funded (by the county). Likely, with reduced funding, a shelter with 150 beds will be the goal for the coming late fall & winter. The article mentions as possible shelter sites the Comprehensive Alcohol Treatment Center on North 5th near Richards Blvd., which will be available since its use as a detox center lost its fund...

This morning, the Mayor held a press conference to update the public on the status of pressing homelessness issues and to reiterate his commitment to make Sacramento "a city that works for everyone," including the least fortunate, us homeless. The briefing also served to show that the mayor and parties involved in the Safe Ground movement are reconciled and expect to be working together to meet the shelter and sleeping needs of homeless Sacramentans in the face of the continuing difficult economic conditions and a coming winter that may be severe. Mayor Kevin Johnson, now in office for ten months, said that homeless people must be treated with respect and their dignity recognized and that the city must pursue a goal of ending homelessness, altogether, over time. Aside the mayor as he stood at a podium in a small room in the new building at the City Hall complex were about eight leaders involved in efforts to aid the homeless, including Sister Libby and Joan Burke of Loaves...