SACRAMENTO, Calif — The Sacramento City Council approved a plan for creating a new homeless shelter on a parking lot at Cal Expo. The shelter is estimated to cost $9.4 million.
The $9.4 million figure includes $5.6 million for two years of operation and $3.8 million for construction of the triage shelter.
For all homeless relief efforts, the city plans to use the Homeless Emergency Aid Program (HEAP) funds, Measure U funds and other money coming from the state, the city and private donors. With the new homeless shelter, $4.2 million is planned to come from the city's HEAP fund and $5.2 million is planned to come from Measure U funds.
The HEAP money comes from the State General Fund as approved with the passing of Senate Bill 850 which then-Gov. Jerry Brown signed into law in June 2018.
Measure U is a 1-percent sales tax that goes into effect April 1. Sacramento has close to $18.4 million of the $500 million dedicated from the state's Homeless Emergency Aid Program.
The HEAP money can be used for anything related to homelessness in the cities. Five percent of the money has to specifically go towards combating youth homelessness.
Measure U money can be used to maintain and enhance city services and to allow for the city to invest in youth, affordable housing and inclusive economic development.
A conservative estimate of how many people they can help with this new shelter is around 200 per year, Emily Halcon, Homeless Services Coordinator, said. If they do serve the estimated 200 people, the cost for the operation of the shelter goes down to around $14,000 per person.
According to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), the current living wage for Sacramento is $12.32 an hour, which would be an income of around $25,625.60 annually to live in Sacramento before taxes.
The estimated cost per person served was calculated using the proposed $5.6 million for operating the shelter.
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