SACRAMENTO COUNTY, Calif. — About a dozen people experiencing homelessness in Sacramento had to find last-minute housing after a decades old program offering nightly shelter to the homeless at the St. Francis of Assisi Parish shuttered due to the coronavirus outbreak.
Every night for the the last 20 years, the Catholic church, located along 26th Street, has been offering overnight beds for about 15 people experiencing homeless who often slept on the church steps. The beds were available on a first come, first serve basis between the hours of 7 p.m. and 6 a.m., with no guarantee of accommodation, explained Father Desmond O’Reilly.
The parish decided to halt the program because most of the volunteers who organized the program were older than 65 years old, and due to restrictions brought by the coronavirus. People over the age of 65 or with underlying health conditions are considered high-risk of developing severe complications if they contract COVID-19, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
"Other volunteers withdrew, understandably so, because of health crisis," O’Reilly said in a statement. "I have a responsibility of care for both the homeless guests and the volunteers. I would be guilty of gross negligence to both guests and volunteers to allow this situation to continue."
The parish was unable to adhere to social distancing, deep cleaning, and other necessary health guidelines to comply with emergency recommendations, O’Reilly added.
"Consequently, I had to make the heart-wrenching decision to close our bed facility out of an abundance of caution," O'Reilly said. "This was necessitated by the real danger to the health of both guests and volunteers."
The parish informed its guests of the challenges on March 20, after Gov. Gavin Newsom announced his intentions to provide emergency housing to the homeless. In the meantime, the parish has been in contact with the Governor’s office, the Sacramento Mayor's Office, and Sacramento County officials on a daily basis. The parish worked most of Tuesday searching for temporary housing for those who rely on their program. O’Reilly said his staff was successful, as the church was able to accommodate the homeless at an area hotel while they await developments.
However, he hopes government leaders will be able to fulfill their promise of long-term crisis housing soon.
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