Where: The Crest Theater, 1013 K Street, Sacramento When: Tuesday, March 13, 2012 Time: 6:00 p.m. Tickets: $10.00 General Admission                  $5.00 for AIACV / ULI Members and Students buy tickets now Advance tickets may also be purchased at The Crest Theater. This American independent documentary frames a global discussion on the future of cities. Who is allowed to shape our cities? How do they do it? And how does the design of our cities affect our lives? The movie explores a diverse range of urban design projects in dozens of cities around the world, from massive infrastructure to temporary interventions. Featuring some of the world’s foremost architects, planners, policy

“Walk a mile in my shoes” is exactly what about 50 mostly middle-class legislative staff, service providers and individuals did at Step Up’s Poverty Simulation on Wednesday downtown Sacramento at the Cathedral of the Blessed Sacramento. They were invited by Step Up, an organization established by Catholic Charity members. Step Up, with the help of Sacramento Homeless Organizing Committee, had recruited about 20 people who currently live in poverty to play the roles of service providers, police, social workers, bankers, landlords, store clerks, employers, other professions and criminals that a poor person may have interact with. They attended a brief training and were assigned their vario

“Searching for Safe Ground,” a film series by Costa Mantis, reveals the daily struggles of being homeless in Sacramento and addresses the bleak reality of not having a safe place to sleep. Starting in October and continuing until February, a different episode of the five-part series will play at First Methodist Church on the corner of J and 21st streets during Second Saturday Art Walks. Mantis moved from his home in Pennsylvania to Sacramento on Apr. 1, 2009 on a “mission to give the homeless a voice,” he said. In 2009, an estimated 250 of Sacramento’s homeless lived in a collection of tents on the banks of the American River in a community called Tent City. Without running water, bath

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

Francis House’s Feast of the Streets on Wednesday will be a bittersweet celebration of both the 20th anniversary of the event, and the life of former Executive Director Greg Bunker, who died in December. “About 1,000 people came to his memorial service, and this is sort of our memorial for him,” said Forrest Reed, program director for Francis House. The banquet will kick off with a four-minute video of Bunker’s life. Francis House is a nonprofit organization founded in Sacramento 40 years ago that offers counseling services, hotel vouchers and help getting California identification to people in need, such as homeless people. Feast For the Streets is the biggest fundraiser for Francis H

As Francis House of Sacramento continues to celebrate its 40th Anniversary, this very important institution will honor the memory of Greg Bunker, Executive Director, who passed away December 28, 2010 with their upcoming 20th Annual “Feast for the Streets Food and Wine Gala”, April 27, 2011 at the Scottish Rite Masonic Center in downtown Sacramento. Feast for the Streets is the largest fundraiser for Francis House and is highly regarded as one of Sacramento’s premiere food and wine tasting events. With the sudden passing of Greg Bunker in December, Francis House wants to celebrate his life’s work for the homeless and destitute in a way that he would have wanted. Forrest Reed, Acting Direct

With the city and county of Sacramento still in the depths of recession, 2010 saw a focus on homelessness as services were cut and unemployment was at 13 percent. An ongoing issue with Sacramento’s homeless that was still not seeing notable progress even as the year ended was the Safe Ground movement, which seeks to find designated spots in the city for homeless to camp. In April, about 50 people spoke at City Hall advocating for Safe Ground Sacramento. They were still at it in July, and they remained a presence at Tuesday night City Council meetings. In a controversial move, the City Council changed its public comment portion from the beginning of the meetings to the end, which many s

Sacramento is now California’s capital in more ways than one.Data released today by the National Coalition for Child Protection Reform show that Sacramento County is the child removal capital of California. Among the state’s larger counties, Sacramento County takes away proportionately more children than any other, when the number of children taken away is compared to the number of impoverished children in each county. Sacramento takes children at a rate nearly double the average for these counties. NCCPR released its latest California Rate of Removal Index Monday. It’s available on our website here. The Index shows that in recent years, much of California has made remarkable progress i

It is not hard to find someone struggling during these tough economic times. Take, for instance, Devon Lee. He and his wife have two children, but both are unemployed. “We need food, clothing, resources,” said Lee. “Money is a big issue.” But some relief came to Lee in a big way. He was one of more than 3,000 families to receive food assistance from a distribution organized by Feed The Children, the international hunger relief organization. Feed The Children distributed eight semi tractor-trailers full of food items at Cal Expo on February 24. Salvation Army-Sacramento was a partner agency of Feed The Children and pre-identified the recipient families. The boxes are designed to help a f

Sasha Abramsky, an accomplished author, teacher, and senior fellow at Demos think tank in New York City, posed a tough question yesterday at his book launch party for Breadline USA: The Hidden Scandal of American Hunger and How to Fix It, hosted by the UC Center of Sacramento. "How do you feed people who are hungry in a country with an abundance of food?" The question is one he explores in Breadline USA. Abramsky's book documents the stories of several American families and their struggle with finances and food. During the late years of the Bush administration, Abramsky described an increase in attendance at breadlines, lines of people waiting to receive food from a charitable organizati