SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The homeless population in downtown Sacramento is on the decline, according to the city, which points to a new program with the Downtown Sacramento Partnership as the catalyst.
A release from the city says "the increased focus on outreach to unhoused people downtown is at least part of the reason for the reduction." The city also points to weather and an increase in downtown activities as a reason for a decline, too.
The release goes on to say the following facts about the program:
- 43 people were connected to shelters
- Over 500 people downtown were provided services
It's the first six months of the program, according to the Downtown Sacramento Partnership.
The city says the organization also did a monthly census of the number of people downtown sleeping outdoors.
"In February, it counted 120 people, down from 200 in September 2022," the release states, adding it's a 40% decrease.
The release also says $4.2M has been provided to the Downtown Partnership over the last year for security and maintenance of the core of downtown Sacramento, which includes Old Sacramento.
ABC10 spoke with a handful of businesses in the downtown area. Each shared what they see when it comes to the homelessness problems in their area.
"If the city's numbers are saying that homeless is down, I couldn't back that up with like my count, but it doesn't feel as bad as it has been in months previous," said Ross Rojek, co-owner of Capital Books. "I think we have less negative interactions in the area."
Two other local businesses had a different outlook than Rojek.
Adam, who didn't want to give ABC10 his last name or place of business, alluded to the homeless in the area chilling people from coming downtown.
"I know a lot of people who don't normally come downtown, don't feel safe down here," said Adam. "They don't want to come here if they don't have to, because they don't want to see these people down here and they don't feel safe around them. And honestly, I don't feel safe around these people."
Abozar Yaqoobi, owner of Kings Mediterranean Food, highlighted his personal story of how the crisis is impacting his business.
"A couple of months (ago) a guy walked in and they're asking for food, drinks every time even though sometimes we give them food," said Yaqoobi. "But it's not easy to give them every single time because they are not one or two, they're like, more than 100."
During his State of Downtown Sacramento address earlier this year, Mayor Darrell Steinberg said the city is “now up to 17 outreach and maintenance workers out in the Downtown, up from just a couple before the pandemic.”
He mentioned the new legal agreement and partnership between the city and county, binding the two local governments together in their now-shared approach to addressing homelessness.
Sacramento County and the city entered into a formal agreement back in December to coordinate their efforts in solving the homeless crisis.
Both local governing bodies voted to approve the agreement on Dec. 6. In addition to long-term goals, the agreement included several 60-day goals. You can learn more about their progress here.
