SACRAMENTO, Calif. — It’s been more than a month since the city of Sacramento announced a lease agreement at the largest homeless encampment in the area.
Camp Resolution is located at Colfax Street and Arden Way, and around 60 people live there.
For months, the city and homeless advocates battled over what to do with the encampment that’s turned into a community of people experiencing homelessness.
The fenced-in lot was on the verge of being cleared out until a nonprofit named Safe Ground Sacramento entered into a lease agreement with the city at the start of April.
The agreement means the 60 people living at Camp Resolution can sleep without the fear of being kicked out for at least 120 days.
The city hopes to use the time to get the people there into more permanent housing, but it takes time, so people who run the site are expecting the lease to be extended.
Homeless advocates believe it’s a better alternative than moving the unhoused from one place to another.
“A lot of people prefer this option because, for one, it is self-governed. These people have been together for a really long time outside of this and there are a few new people, but the shelters hold a lot of barriers — no dogs, no possessions — and the other thing is this is guaranteed housing. What we see in the sheltering systems now is this recycling of people. We are watching it with the closures of the shelters, people being sent back out, there is no guarantee of housing. There is guarantee of housing here,” said Crystal Sanchez, president of the Sacramento Homeless Union and camp liaison.
The city had many plans for the lot. It was originally intended to be a permanent safe site for the homeless, but that idea was tossed out because of soil contamination.
It’s supposed to only be there on a temporary basis but some in the neighborhood fear it’s not going anywhere anytime soon.
As a self-governed camp, it’s run by a panel of people who live there and homeless advocates provide resources. There haven’t been any major problems so far, though neighbors say the city should provide more oversight.
