Sacramento Steps Forward initiative announced

2009-11-06T04:36:58Z

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 permanent housing units created in the city over the last two years.

The mayor asked the Sacramento residents to advocate for the homeless, educate others about services needed to end homelessness, and to help find public, corporate and nonprofit funding.

"The homeless do not need a handout, they need a hand up," Johnson said. "They want to be empowered."

Johnson is chairman of a multiagency task force, part of the Policy Board to End Homelessness, that found funding for 269 winter shelter beds last month. This came despite an 84 percent cut in county funding for homelessness and the elimination of funding for winter shelters in September.

Tim Brown, director of the Sacramento Ending Chronic Homelessness Initiative, said last week that federal stimulus money will house 150 people who are now in shelters, freeing up 150 shelter beds over the next few months.

With an expected 419 beds, the city and county intend to provide 151 more beds this year than last year's 268 beds. According to the 2009 Homeless Count Summary Report, there are about 2,800 homeless people in Sacramento, including 711 in emergency shelters, 895 in transitional housing and 1,194 who have no shelter.

After Johnson thanked Brown, Sister Libby Fernandez and Joan Burke, both of of Loaves and Fishes, he introduced Sacramento-native Ling, the host of National Geographic Explorer. Earlier this year, as a special correspondent for The Oprah Winfrey Show, she reported on Sacramento's "tent city," which brought other media outlets to the site.

"Your mayor, so many members of the homeless advocacy community, members of the city and county rose to the occasion and decided to tackle (homelessness) head on," Ling said. "I'm so proud of the way so many members of this community have come together (and) if Sacramento is successful (housing the homeless), it could be a model for the rest of the country."

County Supervisor Roger Dickinson, St. John's Shelter director, Michelle Steeb, and City Council member Rob Fong also spoke. Fong explained the Faith and Families initiative that he helped create.

"We're asking the faith communities to see if they would be willing through their congregation to make a commitment for one year to help house a homeless family," he said. "In the last year we've housed 10 homeless families (and) we're hoping to get a dozen more housed before the holidays."

Three formerly homeless people spoke about their experiences. They credited programs such as Serna Village, St. John's Shelter and Lutheran Social Services with changing their lives and giving them hope.

"It was absolutely marvelous," Fernandez of Loaves and Fishes said about the city's effort. "In one year, this mayor has talked more about the issue of homelessness than any mayor ever has. He spends time with the homeless, policymakers and advocates."

Although she applauded the push for transitional and permanent housing, she noted the nine-month waiting period to get into Quinn Cottages, a transitional housing shelter. This means that homeless need somewhere to go in the meantime, Fernandez said.

"It takes too long for the next step. (Creating a) 'safe ground' is just an added piece to get to the final goal, which is permanent housing."

Sacramento Housing Alliance Affordable Housing Bus Tour

2009-10-03T04:39:04Z

Thursday afternoon, about 50 seniors, homeless and other community members participated in the Sacramento Housing Alliance Affordable Housing Bus Tour. The tour surveyed 10 different housing options and stopped to provide in-depth tours of three housing complexes.

Guided by Shamus Roller, director of the SHA, Ken Cross, CEO of Sacramento Habitat for Humanity and Paul Ainger, Mercy Housing project developer, the four-hour tour began and ended at the SHA office in Midtown.

"It's important to know what affordable housing means," Ainger said. According to the federal government, housing is considered "affordable" when a person renting or buying it spends no more than 30 percent of his or her income for housing.

"Affordable housing is an economic stimulus," Roller added.

"None of these [properties on the tour] are owned by non-profits," Ainger said. "They are all owned by for-profit guys."

The first stop was the 84-unit complex Serna Village, located in McClellan. A transitional housing community developed by Mercy Housing of California and Cottage Housing, Inc., the complex consists of one- to four-bedroom residential units.

The bus unloaded and took an in-depth tour of the community. One requirement for residency is to have children. Arla, who did not give her last name, gave a speech detailing her experience in Serna Village to the tour group.

She was referred to Serna Village through Quinn Cottages, another housing site for single homeless individuals run by Cottage Housing, Inc. She and other residents, besides meeting minimum requirements, must identify and commit to other lifestyle changes in order to remain in the community, she said.

"You're able to be yourself [here]," Arla added. "I'm in college for the first time in 18 years. It's an awesome program."

Like Arla, Kelly Dean, another Serna Village resident, spoke of her recovery from drug addiction. Dean held a six-month-old baby in her arms during her speech.

Serna Village offers parenting classes, mental health and drug and alcohol recovery programs, she said. "They take people from a homeless nightmare and turn them into the American Dream."

Rent at Serna Village is determined on a case-by-case basis and the average tenant stays for 14 months out of a two-year limit, said Cottage Housing's executive director, Robert Tobin. He also mentioned that Cottage Housing plans to more than double its residential capacity from 241 to 500 units over the next decade.

Victory Townhomes in North Sacramento was the tour's next stop. Developed by Sacramento Mutual Housing Association in 2003, the complex holds 21 three and four-bedroom town homes and tenants are allowed to stay as long as they want.

It serves people who are considered very low income, earning less than 50 percent ($25,500) of the 2009 annual Sacramento Area Median Income, $51,950. But it doesn't lack in high-tech amenities, explained Rachel Iskow, SMHA's executive director.

For one, the town homes are part of Sacramento's first green street, on Dixieanne Avenue, and have solar panels on their roofs. It's the first multifamily development to incorporate photovoltaics, or solar energy.

Opened in 2003, the property also offers a computer lab and free wireless Internet access. Residents who complete a computer literacy series in the computer lab and donate community service hours receive a free computer, which residents can keep.

The last facility toured was the Forrest Street build site developed by Sacramento Habitat for Humanity. When completed, the site, which features four three-bedroom, two-bathroom, single-family homes, will be SHFH's 200th home completed worldwide.

Though it is unclear when the homes will be completed, they are all expected to earn a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design "gold" certification, the second highest award possible.

Qualifying families must be low income (80 percent AMI, $40,800 or less annually) and their current housing situation must be overcrowded, unsafe or overpriced. Once approved, the family must complete 500 hours of "sweat equity" by helping to complete their own home, someone else's, or contribute in some other capacity in an SHFH office. The family must then make payments on the home.

Though the building of the homes is sponsored by local corporations, "families earn homes," said Cross, SHFH's director. "These are not handouts."

The tour then drove by The Park at Del Paso Nuevo, Loaves and Fishes, Quinn Cottages, 1801 L. St., Freemont Mews Apartments, and a former Safe Ground location at 1220 C St. owned by Mark Merin. The tour did not have time to stop as planned at Vintage at Natomas Field, St. Francis Terrace, Francis House, St. Anton Building or Pensione K, all of which have affordable housing options.

"I love the tour," said Sister Libby Fernandez, director of Loaves and Fishes. "It's wonderful to see a variety of affordable housing with good resident services."

"There are not enough shelters and not enough transitional housing," added Tina Reynolds, Safe Ground board member. She announced to the bus that Safe Ground is close to completing a shelter near Bannon Street which will use Tuff Sheds as transitional housing for three to 18 months.

Its goal is to have built-in bathrooms, cooking and laundry facilities and solar power, she added.

"There is a lack of SRO-type housing. Most homeless are single males," said John Krayntz, a homeless man and Safe Ground "elder," or leader, who once lived at 1220 C St. "The tour showed a lot of stuff that was very good, but there is still a need for [housing with] more services and disability advocacy."

Jill Hurley, who lives in Riverview Plaza, a low-income independent living facility downtown, said that she wanted to see more accessible showers built into affordable housing for seniors. "The biggest reason for hospital visits [among seniors] is falling and the most dangerous place is the bathroom."

For more information on affordable housing, please visit the SHA website.

Photographs one through six show Serna Village. Photographs seven through show of Victory Townhomes. Photograph ten shows the SHFH's Forrest Street build site.

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Sacramento Steps Forward initiative announced

Sacramento Housing Alliance Affordable Housing Bus Tour