Sacramento’s Homeless Crisis Requires Compassion and Collaboration
Earlier this year, Sacramento tried to answer a seemingly unanswerable question: how many of our neighbors are living outside?
It was the first Point-in-Time Count since the pandemic began, and as I walked with my fellow Sacramentans gathering information on the number of people experiencing unsheltered homelessness, I was reminded of the power we have as individuals, even on issues that may seem insurmountable. But a question lingered: What if we all worked together?
As a candidate, I find myself talking to people in Sacramento every day, and inevitably, the conversation leads to homelessness. At a recent event, a business owner in our Oak Park neighborhood shared a very personal story about his experience with homelessness, and how, if not for the kindness of one stranger, he would still be struggling with addiction and unhoused. He and that stranger now own homes near one another and have formed a lifelong friendship.
Based on this Point-in-Time Count, we know that the number of unhoused residents totaled 9,278 — a nearly 70% increase since 2019. On top of this, we learned that just last year nearly 200 people died on our streets. Homelessness is on our doorsteps and at the forefront of our collective consciousness because, quite truthfully, this crisis is a reminder of the human suffering our policy decisions can produce.
In order to truly move forward, we must work together to learn from the mistakes and successes of others while being strategic and utilizing an economy of scale to maximize the impact of our tax dollars. Lately, there have been multiple calls for a City Council and County Board of Supervisors partnership, including to establish a coordinated system for homeless services in our region. It is a model that has shown promise just to the north of Sacramento.
In 2021, I met with community members in the City of Marysville who explained that representatives from two counties, several cities, school districts, hospitals, churches, nonprofits, and local businesses all came together to create the Sutter Yuba Homeless Consortium (SYHC). These representatives meet regularly, set goals, share resources, and most importantly, have created a regional strategic plan to address homelessness.
The SYHC works with organizations to share resources in innovative ways:
- Partnering with schools to install washers and dryers for unhoused students to wash their clothes.
- Working with local hospitals to dispatch nursing teams to encampments.
- Collaborating with district attorneys and judges to provide legal support.
- Teaming up with local businesses for job training and placement.
- Pooling funds to build much needed affordable housing.
Just imagine what a similar model could look like in this community where our resources are far greater.
Research shows us that a lack of affordable housing is one of the most significant factors driving so many Sacramentans into homelessness, and that number will only grow. The Sacramento Bee recently reported that roughly “1,250 Housing Choice Voucher holders in Sacramento do not have housing.” That number rose even with a new state law looking to make it easier for voucher holders to find housing. But how can they find affordable housing when the median rent price in Sacramento is now more expensive than in Seattle, Washington, D.C., and New York? To address our housing shortage, we would need about 17,000 new housing units for low-income residents by 2029.
I fear we will continue to fall short if we don’t find ways to collaborate.
California has 58 counties and 482 cities. My professional career has allowed me the opportunity to work with policy makers at every level of government across the state and taught me that, on the issue of homelessness, most local governments believe they must come up with their own unique solutions and rely on their own individual resources. Unfortunately, Sacramento has found itself in a similar situation. But, as I know from my personal experience with homelessness, you neither know nor care whether you live on city, county, special district, or state land when you live in your car. You just need help.
The leadership of Sacramento County, Yolo County, and the cities throughout the region should consider a collaborative path forward, pool resources, and work together to build shared prosperity.
It is our moral imperative.
Caity Maple is running for Sacramento City Council, District 5. She is a small business owner and co-founder of SAC SOUP, a collaborative nonprofit that provides supportive services to unhoused Sacramentans.
