From head counts and courtroom drama to Winter Sanctuary and SafeGround – homelessness remained at the top of the list of issues in Sacramento in 2011. Despite data showing the number of homeless in the county had declined over the past year, there were still many people sleeping on the streets each night in 2011. Local charity groups and community service programs struggled through the year to provide for the homeless – including an increasing percentage of families – many of whom were homeless for the first time due to fallout from the housing and mortgage crisis. The alleged mishandling of homeless individuals’ personal property as police enforced city anti-camping laws resulted in a

Sacramento Steps Forward is a non-profit tasked with a critical mission of ending homeless in Sacramento by 2020, serving as a national example of how to end chronic homelessness. Beginning in January 2012, C7group will partner with Sacramento Steps Forward staff and volunteers to implement social business strategy and tactics for their organization. Social media technology increases the number of communication channels available to listen and respond to the community and social business procedures often improve workflow processes. For Sacramento Steps Forward, social business integration plays a dynamic role to fulfill their mission and communicate internally and externally to staff, vol

On the eve of another cold night in Sacramento, Wells Fargo Bank stepped up to give $75,000 to help the city’s Winter Sanctuary program provide shelter for the homeless. “People talk about ‘occupy this’ and ‘occupy that,’ but this is what people want,” Mayor Kevin Johnson said at a press conference Tuesday. “They want the corporate community to have values that are in line with the least among us in our communities.” Wells Fargo representative David Galasso presented the $75,000 check at the press conference. Winter Sanctuary provides shelter to the homeless during the winter months and is run by Volunteers of America, Sacramento Steps Forward – a regional initiative launched in 2010 to

Sacramento|Yolo Mutual Housing Association celebrated the grand opening of the Highlands yesterday. The celebration included tours of the 90-apartment community and a ceremony honoring Darrell Steinberg, State Senate President Pro Tem and author of the California Mental health Services Act (Proposition 63) that provides partial operating support for the development. Located on a 3.5-acre parcel in the McClellan Redevelopment Area, the Highlands has 66 efficiency apartments for formerly homeless people and 12 studio apartments and 12 three-bedroom ones for people of modest means. The complex has a community room and kitchen, a computer lab and conference room as well as offices for staff.

The Sacramento area is expected to see temperatures as low as 30 degrees for the next 3 nights. This weather is extremely dangerous for the 1,000 homeless men, women and children in Sacramento County who are currently without shelter.  Due to the projected freezing temperatures, a warming center at the Salvation Army has been activated for Monday, December 5, Tuesday, December 6 and Wednesday December 7.  Men and women (18 years and older) needing shelter can go to the Salvation Army, located at 12th and North B Street. The warming center will be opened from 8:00 pm until 6:00 am. The warming center will close on the morning of Thursday, December 8th. More information will be made avail

I went downtown on Thanksgiving morning and saw people feeding the homeless and it really pissed me off. It seems to me that feeding the homeless once a year on Thanksgiving is a little like only going to church on Christmas Eve. But, yes, there is more to this than what you may initially perceive as my Mother Superiority complex. I need people to stop feeding the homeless on my block. Period. I work at Quinn Cottages, a program that provides housing for homeless people who are ready to change their lives, to move from the streets and become self-sustaining. Many of them are in recovery from drug and/or alcohol addiction. Many have mental health issues. All of them are committed to ch

Winter Sanctuary, Sacramento’s interfaith, rotating homeless shelter, is currently facing a substantial gap in its budget. The program, which nightly shelters 100 homeless adults, is set to open on December 1st and run through March 31st. However, the program will not be opening on December 1st if the funding gap is not significantly narrowed. Christie Holderegger, Vice President of Volunteers of America, spoke of the urgent need for this program, “Our neighbors are experiencing homelessness for a variety of reasons and many for the first time. They are looking to us, all of us to help them out of this desperate situation. As a community we can reach and uplift them. We saw hundreds of li

The City Council is considering whether the city of Sacramento will join in the creation of a public-private collaborative agency to address the problems of homelessness in the region – an issue that does not recognize political boundaries. Representatives from the city Neighborhood Services Department and the county Department of Human Assistance presented a report to the City Council Tuesday outlining a plan for creating a joint powers authority to align city and county governments with a nonprofit entity. “The JPA would be the overarching policymaking body,” Sacramento county spokeswoman Kerri Aiello said Tuesday. “Sacramento Steps Forward (a nonprofit corporation) will ultimately be

On the same day that activists and supporters rallied together for homeless rights at the Safe Ground Jubilee, attorneys for the city of Sacramento were busy filing a motion to appeal a Federal Court decision in a contentious homeless class action lawsuit. “Our rationale for appeal is based primarily on procedural and evidentiary rulings that came up in the trial,” Brett Witter, supervising deputy city attorney for Sacramento said Thursday. The motion for appeal was filed Sept. 14 in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals by attorney Chance Trimm, on behalf of the city. According to court documents, the city is appealing a May 24 Federal Court decision that found the city liable on two of s

On any given night in Sacramento 2,400 people are homeless in our County. According to the 2011 Sacramento Homeless Count, 955 of our neighbors are sleeping on the streets. As winter rapidly approaches, Sacramento Steps Forward (SSF) is seeking creative solutions to house those families and individuals who are forced to sleep outside due to overburdened resources. This harsh reality poses a dual risk to both the safety and health of those sleeping outside. Notably, Sacramento has been successful in reducing chronic homelessness by 50% in the last 3 years. However, family homelessness is on the rise; this year’s Homeless Count data shows an 11% increase. Loaves and Fishes, which serves mea

Leaving Crest Theatre recently, my sister and I were approached by a man who asked us if we could spare a dollar. My sister, to the best of my recollection, shook her head, which is what I would expect, as neither of us can generally spare any money, nor do we typically carry cash we might “accidentally” spend on non-essentials. I, however, went a step further. “Where do you stay?” I inquired. The man, a slightly overweight African American in his forties, smiled. “We’re in West Sacramento, ma’am, me and my wife” he replied. “Are you outside, then?” I continued, “Camping at the river?” “Yes, ma’am.” “Are you able to work or do you just prefer to be outside?” “Yes, I am. I worked fo

Sacramento civil rights attorney Mark Merin is once again in the spotlight. This time, he’s being quoted by the local media for his role in a federal class-action case about homeless people’s constitutional rights and personal property. And, in the March issue of Harper’s Magazine, Merin’s work with Safe Ground is mentioned. The article, titled “Homeless in Sacramento: Welcome to the New Tent Cities,” focuses on Sacramento’s homeless and the city’s ordinance against camping. These are only two of many examples of Merin’s highly visible and controversial advocacy work for Sacramento’s homeless. Earlier this week, a federal jury released its verdict in Lehr v. City of Sacramento, finding

The city may appeal a verdict from a federal jury that partially faulted the city for the way it has managed homeless people’s belongings, according to Senior Deputy City Attorney Chance Trimm. The jury’s decision in Lehr v. City of Sacramento was released Tuesday at Sacramento Federal Court. The trial, which involved homeless people’s constitutional rights and personal belongings, began May 9. The jury did not fault the city on four of six claims, Trimm said. However, in the mixed decision, the jury found that the city has seized and stored homeless people’s possessions without sufficiently informing them on how to get those items back. The booking and handling of homeless people’s belo

“This suit is not bad.” Theoplus Dubose-Harvey was searching for some new work clothes on Saturday. He hoped to find the right business suit for the next job interview. “See, I got some shoes to go along with that,” he said. Dubose-Harvey believes the new attire will help change his life.  Because right now, he is unemployed and homeless. “Times are tough, “said Dubose-Harvey, a 55-year-old former state worker. “That’s why I appreciate the help I got here.” The assistance he is speaking of was the fourth annual Homeless Connect on May 21 at Sacramento City College. Dubose-Harvey was one of nearly 1,000 homeless individuals and families who attended this direct service fair. “I’m than

Jurors are deliberating in federal court whether homeless citizens’ belongings were illegally taken and thrown away by Sacramento police officers between August 2005 and the present. The trial, which centers on homeless people’s constitutional rights and their personal belongings, began May 9 at the Sacramento Federal Courthouse at 501 I St. Plaintiffs attorney Mark Merin represented Linda McKinley, who was homeless in the past, and a group of homeless people in the class-action case against the city of Sacramento, according to court documents. Merin is a supporter of the Safe Ground group, which presses Sacramento city leaders to designate land for homeless people to live.  In closing

The 4th Annual Sacramento Homeless Connect event will take place this Saturday, May 21 at Sacramento City College from 10:00 am-3:00 pm. It is hosted by Sacramento Steps Forward, with support from presenting sponsor The Salvation Army. Speakers at the event include Assemblymember Roger Dickinson, Mayor Kevin Johnson and Supervisor Phil Serna. Over 1,000 homeless guests are expected; additionally the event hosts 500 community volunteers and over 60 different service providers. Project Homeless Connect is a national Best Practice model for bringing services directly to homeless folks. Started in San Francisco, it now occurs in over 150 communities across the country. Homeless Connect events

Should a group of homeless people be allowed to camp together in Sacramento without outside monitoring? Safe Ground Sacramento, a group of mostly homeless people, says it should have the right to be “self-governing” and to operate an overnight camp independently. But a few Sacramento City Council members said they disagreed with that idea Tuesday. The City Council held a workshop on the safe ground issue as part of its weekly meeting. Over the past two years, Safe Ground Sacramento has asked the city to dedicate land for a site where the homeless could camp legally overnight. The city has an ordinance that bans overnight camping. One of the group’s key principles is that its members ar

The Sacramento City Council will discuss the idea of setting aside land for the homeless on Tuesday night, but it will not decide on specific locations for a homeless living space. Council members will participate in a workshop on the “safe ground” idea, promoted by a group that wants the city to provide a place for homeless to live together. The Safe Ground Sacramento group opposes the city’s ordinance against overnight camping. The group, composed mostly of homeless people, has pressed its case for two years, but the city has not designated an area where the homeless can camp legally. As part of the workshop, the Safe Ground group will present its ideas to the City Council. Councilma

The number of homeless people in Sacramento County has sharply declined, according to 2011 figures on homelessness released Friday by Sacramento Steps Forward and Sacramento County. Long-term homelessness saw the biggest decrease, with a 50 percent drop since 2007. Despite the lasting effects of the recession locally, the numbers for both long-term homelessness and overall homelessness have fallen compared to recent years. On any given night in Sacramento County in 2011, there are 2,358 homeless people, said Paul Lake, director of the county’s Department of Human Assistance. That’s down from 2,800 people at any night in 2009. “I think we were all pleasantly surprised,” Lake said. The d

Homeless in America come in all colors, all ages and their number continues to grow. Homelessness in Sacramento is also on the rise. This past Tuesday, March 8, 2011 a fundraising reception was held at Beatnik Studios for the Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Queer/Questioning (LGBTQ) homeless youth of Sacramento. The humanitarian issue of homelessness is addressed differently depending on the areas that it affects. In Sacramento and other cities little has been done to meet the needs and challenges of the LGBTQ homeless youth. These challenges are being addressed by the Sacramento Gay and Lesbian Center along with individuals and community groups. As a result The Sacramento LGBTQ Homele