Everyone knows the homelessness situation is a significant problem in Sacramento County, one that's complex,  unsuited for simple results, and for which there is no magic bullet, no single solution. It seems like the situation just goes on and on, doesn't it? As the song says:

We have already posted about how governments throw money at the problem - unevenly. Some places get seem to get royal blessings while others have to go begging: in 2022 Los Angeles got 84% LESS federal money per unhoused individual than Houston did. At the time L.A. had to comply with the Martin v. Boise decision, which allowed occupation of public places unless a shelter bed was available, whereas Houston did not. 

Funding favoritism is very much in play here in Sacramento County, too, where the city council of our 900-lb gorilla of a civic neighbor is often a resting place for former state legislators. They, as we have already noted, tend to view our community as a kind of dumping ground for the City of Sacramento's unhoused people. The City of Sacramento operates as though the it's homeless population belongs on its boundaries - at places like Cal Expo, Roseville Road and Del Paso Park - far away from city voters and across the street from our community's residences and businesses.

The countywide situation is complicated by the data: how can you solve a problem if you don't know the scope of the problem? Whether you agree with the methodology or not, the main tool for guiding what's going on with homeless people here is the "Point-in-time" count - a somewhat regular assessment. The most recent count reported 6,615 unhoused individuals, of which 3,944 were unsheltered. That's 41% less than lived on the streets in 2022. The City of Sacramento had more than 2/3 of the total unsheltered population. The unincorporated county portion was just 14% of the total - 561 unsheltered individuals. The report also stated that 2,788 unhoused people were adults with serious mental illness. Of them, just 17% were sheltered; 83%, or 2,327 people lived on the streets. Overall, though, homelessness in Sacramento County is down 29% since 2022. Another Point-in-Time count is planned for January 2026. 

While the County's unhoused population is small compared to the City of Sacramento's, the County remains challenged to deal with its own problems in the unincorporated UnCity. There has been progress recently at reducing the UnCity's homelessness and transitioning people to permanent housing. The County has been adding shelters in the form of "Safe Stay" communities" and permanent supportive housing. The Safe Stays have temporary housing and on-site support services to help move program participants into more permanent and stable housing opportunities.​​​ The Stockton Blvd. Safe Stay site opened last January with 155 tiny home cabins; it can accommodate up to 175 people. Another Safe Stay campus is under construction on Watt Avenue north of I-80. It will have 189 tiny home cabins (153 single cabins and 36 double cabins) along with space for 50 car camping individuals. It will handle another 75 people in a Weather Respite area. The project's architectural design is noteworthy - not many such facilities exist. So once it opens in the Spring of 2026, it could become a head-turner. Still, while it is true that the County has been moving in the right direction, your eyeballs might tell you there is still a long way to go. And your eyeballs would be right.

For example, one thing the Point-In-Time report did NOT disclose was how many of the City of Sacramento's unsheltered individuals hang out in our part of the unincorporated UnCity - we think it could be a significant portion. Consider:

• Del Paso Regional Park. The City of Sacramento's Respite Center on Auburn Blvd. has been in operation at the old Science Center west of Renfree Field since 2022. Begun with a $3.3M contract with Hope Cooperative to run a cold-weather respite facility, in July 2022 the facility became a de facto 24x7 facility, not one open depending on temperature thresholds. It can accommodate 50 people. Most of the time, though, the overnight services are only available between 4 p.m. and 7 a.m. Daytime services are provided between between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. In other words, residents spend a lot of time outside the facility. And where might that be? Yup, in good old Arden Arcade, right across the street. And also in the adjacent park's newly remodeled children's playground. That's not exactly appealing for nearby parents with young children who might want to play there. Further, the mere existence of the facility has caused an uptick in homeless camping (with, sadly, used drug paraphernalia) elsewhere in the park. This City of Sacramento site is far away from voters who would otherwise show up at their City Council meetings to complain. The County has no alternative other than to "pressure" the City of Sacramento. With the possible exception of our own Supervisor, the Board of Supervisors has shown it is unwilling to go to the mat for our community. The Board has had little motivation to kick the hornets' nest at the Sacramento City Council and it is easy for the Board Members to look the other way. With the long construction process at the Arcade Creek bridge project, traffic that would otherwise pass by the playground has been routed elsewhere - meaning less eyeballs and less reports to 311 Connect. That's part of the reason why the City of Sacramento is able to get away with letting this problem continue.
• Kohl's/Home Savings.  If you took your children back-to-school shopping in the Arden Fair vicinity during the last few weeks you may have stumbled upon the giant tent/RV city at the junction of Arden Way and Exposition. The parking lot at the old Home Savings and Loan building and the now-shuttered Kohl's big box store had begun to resemble the extensive encampments along Roseville Road - between the golf course and the RR tracks, with tarps, tents, cars, RVs, travel trailers and boats - where a freeway overpass was subjected to a fire.  Patrons of the still-open businesses where Kohl's was had to dodge the trailers, broken down cars and giant piles of trash mixed with wheels and broken bicycles when driving into the parking lot. With only about 20 campers there,  their presence seemed larger than life. This particular property within the City of Sacramento abuts unincorporated Arden Arcade.  The area is a major shopping venue for Arden Arcade residents. Unless you want to travel to Citrus Heights or Roseville, it is where you go. Rather than seek an adaptive re-use for the bank building, which has historic value worthy of saving, the City of Sacramento opted to let it be torn down for a drive-through fast food place that did not materialize. So it became a magnet for the homeless. Then Kohl's closed and the encampment happened. It was sort of a Safe Stay without the support services, sanitation and fences. It was more like a "Stay" without the "Safe". There was abundant litter and debris.  You might be asking yourself the same questions we ask: what on earth was the City of Sacramento thinking letting this go down in a major shopping area and what was going to be done about it? Our Newsroom Elves contacted Roger Dickinson's office about it because he represents that part of the City of Sacramento. His staff responded that they were aware of the problem but had no comment as to whether they would do anything about it. Somehow, while we were preparing this post, the campers were evicted. Yet the unkempt look of the place remains - there is no shortage of weeds, litter and debris. Where did the campers go? (see below) What will happen at the Kohl's lot? (reread this paragraph, as in maybe déjà vu all over again?). 

• Country Club vicinity.  As people may know from the Arden Arcade/Carmichael/Sacramento Unincorporated District 3 community page on Facebook, the area along Watt from Raley's and Jack in the Box at Marconi to the old Sam's Hofbrau and Country Club Plaza at El Camino has evolved into a hotbed of homeless camping. It has become known for aggressive camping on private property, with drug use and drug dealing in full public view. A house on the west side of Watt was occupied by squatters. It subsequently caught fire. Employees at some of the businesses have been harassed. The laundry room in a nearby apartment complex on Kings Way was broken into. Security fencing at some of the private buildings have been breached and/or damaged. The campers fit the pattern of people with serious mental health issues who find refuge in drugs. The Sheriff's Office has been besieged with calls for service. It has not helped that many of the buildings are owned by out-of-area investors and corporations who have little motivation to fix an emerging problem in our community's commercial center. These new encampments are entirely within the unincorporated area. What motivated these new occupants of the area to settle in here? Could it be a combination of push from the City of Sacramento and pull from the unincorporated Uncity? Moving Sac City's problem to our neck of the woods plus on-again/off-again County enforcement?

Encampment at Watt and Kings Way

Encampment at Watt and Marconi

Will the Bowling Alley and Dollar Tree become the new Camp Kohl's?

We wish we did not have to write posts like this. We would far prefer to write about people finding adequate and affordable housing, about mental health needs being met, about consistent enforcement against criminal behavior. But that's not real is it, given the way the situation has evolved hereabouts and how it seems driven by the City of Sacramento's apparent strategy of pushing its problems into our community? We cannot write about the opening of the new, well-designed Safe Stay on upper Watt, because the opening is still months away. At the moment, then, all we can do is keep you, Dear Readers, up to date on homelessness in our community. That, and apologize to you for this extra long rant.