Homeless World Sacramento is much much different than what most people in our metropolis believe it to be. I have been rendered homeless and have been in this circumstance for over 20 months, now. I could never have imagined how very splendid most of the people mired, as I am, in this world are, nor how very different the challenges are "out here" than what I would have supposed. Local media and several homeless-help agencies mischaracterize things, or present matters in a wholly superficial way. They are much to blame for people's misapprehensions. Plus, the rallies and protests promulgated by Loaves & Fishes and its allied nonprofits are causal for the public to suppose that all homele

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 Loaves & Fishes CEO and Mayor's Winter Shelter Task Force member 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

Thursday morning, journalist Lisa Ling, members of the City Council and the homeless and formerly-homeless community joined Mayor Kevin Johnson in launching the "Sacramento Steps Forward" initiative. A crowd of several hundred waved blue initiative flags and cheered as Johnson announced his goal "to end homelessness and focus on permanent housing." He applauded permanent housing shelters such as Mercy Housing, Turning Point and Martin Luther King Jr. Village, 3900 47th Avenue, where the launch was held. Johnson said the goal of Sacramento Steps Forward is to provide 2,400 "decent and affordable" permanent housing units over the next three years. That would nearly quadruple the amount of

Tuesday morning, Mayor Kevin Johnson was joined by a handful of Safe Ground supporters for a weekly press conference inside City Hall. After reiterating his goal to end homelessness in Sacramento, he invited Sister Libby Fernandez and Greg Bunker, the respective executive directors of Loaves and Fishes and Francis house, as well as a homeless man named Thomas Jackson Ashmore III, to speak. Johnson spoke about his meeting over the weekend with campers at the recently vacated 1220 C St. campground owned by Mark Merin. At the camp site, Merin had also been involved in a property dispute over the land with the neighboring Pedro and Gracilla Hernandez residence. Johnson mentioned that a compr

At Mayor Kevin Johnson's request, homeless campers have cleared out of a vacant lot used in a "safe ground" dispute with the city, he said Monday. Johnson visited the property near 13th and C streets, which is owned by attorney Mark Merin, over the weekend to discuss the ongoing controversy with campers, the mayor said in a late afternoon press conference. On Sunday, as many as 40 people left the property where they'd been camping for a month after saying they believe their statement has been made. They agreed to negotiate with the city for at least one legal campground, Johnson said. "I felt this would be a distraction if they continued to camp there illegally," he said outside City Ha

Religious congregations are assisting homeless families through a new housing program backed by Sacramento City Councilman Robert Fong. In the program, known as the Faith & Homeless Families Initiative, local religious groups find housing for homeless families with children. The program is emerging as local homeless shelters say they’re turning away families because of limited shelter space, according to Tim Brown, director of the Ending Chronic Homelessness Initiative, a local public/private partnership. “There’s a lot of newer homeless families,” he said. The program began in February and has linked six families to congregations. The congregations then found housing for the families,

Emergency overflow shelters shut down their accommodations to the homeless in Sacramento, including Cal Expo so the homeless took a stand Wednesday morning. Hundreds gathered in front of Loaves & Fishes on the corner of North 12th and Ahern Street for a march to bring awareness to the recent closings of shelters and the criminalization of poverty and homelessness. Event organizers expected around 200 attendees, but at one point during the march, there were counts of close to 1,000 people walking to 420 Richards Blvd., a vacant parcel next to the new police station. Many of those participating in the rally who rely on shelters for a place to sleep at night said they are afraid of legal c

In its June 22, 2009, issue, one of our country's major political magazines, The Nation, takes a deft look back at Sacramento's Tent City in a lengthy piece "Tales of Tent City," while tangentially musing about tent encampments and homelessness, generally. With reflective time since the tarps were rolled up like scrolls, The Nation has done one thing almost every other major media source has failed at: getting the facts mostly right. Here, one paragraph that says the most: In the end, Sacramento dealt with its Tent City with more compassion than can usually be expected. "If they had a great big rug they could sweep us under somewhere, they would," predicted Karen Hersh, and she was rig

I just made it out of Winter shelter [aka, Overflow] after a three-night stay. On the third night, on the day that Sister Libby and Volunteers of America CEO & Pres. Leo McFarland had ballyhooed the need for Winter shelter to remain open past its scheduled June 30 close, Maria, the Overflow director, was threatening to immediately close the facility, herself, because of suspected marijuana use. As people who have stayed there must know, the place is a nightmare. It gobbles up an enormous amount of homeless people's time, while offering very little as a "Shelter From the Storm" – as is claimed.  Indeed, being inside Winter shelter is the storm. As Kenny – a central member of the staff – w

Gerald Celestine knows Sacramento residents have a stake in how the city and county will spend federal stimulus dollars that are intended to counter homelessness. Celestine, an active member of Sacramento’s Area 1 Neighborhood Advisory Group (NAG), planned a discussion for the April 20 NAG meeting so residents can brainstorm how they want their local governments to use about $4.8 million in federal monies for homelessness. The pot of money will be distributed almost evenly between the county and city: The city is expected to receive $2.375 million, and the county expects $2.397 million. Sacramento neighbors would like to express “some of our hopes and desires for this money,” Celestine

News Analysis Nearly all of the homeless people who lived at the “Tent City” on the American River had left the site by Thursday morning, but the media outlets were still there. Sacramento’s Tent City has received so much news coverage that the media hubbub itself plays a large part in the story. The city’s removal of the campsite Thursday was no exception. Television journalists from several outlets — including KCRA Channel 3, CBS Channel 13 and Noticias Univision Channel 19 – were at the scene, covering the camp’s removal. While the media has seized on the Tent City story, campgrounds created by homeless people are not a new phenomenon in Sacramento. For years, homeless people have b

Sacramento is now also known for the "Tent City" for the homeless. That’s okay. If Sacramento, the capitol of the seventh or eighth largest economy in the world has to be the poster child city for the homelessness problem in America, then so be it! Probably every man, woman and child in our area is aware of the growing homeless community. It does not matter where you are in the Sacramento area, homelessness happens. In fact, some of the people interviewed for the stories about our tent city, said "we never dreamed that we would be homeless and in this condition". I have never dreamed of being homeless, have you? Maybe we are next. I come from a very large family and I believe if my world

Yesterday it rained in Sacramento. Yesterday I didn’t pay close enough attention to the weather forecast in Sacramento. Rather than parking near my office, I decided to park about a mile or so away and ride my skateboard in to work. It’s fun and gets me a little exercise. The ride in to work was quite pleasant. The ride back to my truck wasn’t so much, and the rain was not the worst part. I left my office around 5 PM, at which point a steady rain was falling. Skateboarding in the rain sucks. Getting wet sucks, having your wheels get super slippery sucks. That would’ve been plenty to spoil what’s usually an enjoyable ride. Not only did I have to endure getting soaked and trying not to fall