In spite of a $75,000 funding shortfall, Volunteers of America, Sacramento Steps Forward and Sacramento’s interfaith community are going forward with plans to offer nightly shelter and meals to Sacramento-area homeless men and women. The second season of the collaborative “Winter Sanctuary” program began Dec. 1, and is once again offering people in need safe and comfortable shelter in the dining halls, community rooms and gyms of faith-based centers throughout Greater Sacramento. While funding has only been secured to guarantee operation through January 2012, Volunteers of America Greater Sacramento & Northern Nevada and Sacramento Steps Forward have decided to open the doors now to prov

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

Officials of the Sacramento County announced in a press release Tuesday that it has identified and will provide $150,000 to fund emergency shelter programs for homeless families this winter becoming the lowest amount of funding to date. The funding will go toward Winter Shelter – a program designated to operate during the cold and wet winter months which provides beds and individual apartments to homeless families that are unable to find housing in the county’s already-overcrowded shelters. The Department of Human Assistance identified the funding from salary savings, according to Kerri Aiello, spokeswoman for the county, because there was a delay in hiring in the department. The depart

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

Sacramento Steps Forward, an initiative that works to end homelessness in Sacramento County, launched a campaign last week to raise $25,000 to help fund winter shelter efforts this year. In Sacramento, cold and wet weather conditions threaten the lives of the approximately 1,200 homeless men, women and children sleeping outside in the county. Without winter shelter, people experiencing homelessness are at an even greater risk of injuries, illnesses and fatalities. Winter shelter begins in three weeks, on Nov. 22, and will last until March 31, 2011. Historically, winter shelter in Sacramento has been publicly funded. However, budget cuts have significantly decreased funding throughout th