SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Ballots are still being counted for Sacramento’s Measure O, the Emergency Shelter Act. The controversial measure continues to make waves in the community.
At the intersection of Arden Way and Colfax Street, a homeless community is showing their strong opposition for Measure O. Sharon Jones lives there and it’s what pushed her to vote for the first time in her life.
“Now we have nowhere to go now. They are going to fine us, throw us in jail possibly for living, for surviving,” Jones said.
Jones says she and others in the encampment are interested in what Measure O proposes.
It bans encampments of four or more people, while requiring the city to create new emergency shelters and perform regular community outreach.
But Jones says, they don’t trust the city to keep that promise.
“Housing really, they said tiny homes and RV parking and that would help almost everyone out here,” Jones said.
Mayor Steinberg says he’s ambivalent about the measure passing. He said in a press conference Wednesday that he is not going to put a timeline on the rollout. Steinberg also said Measure O might not be enough, but they will work with it for now. He is pleased that this put pressure on the county and city to hold up their end of the agreement.
“A real ongoing intensive effort to get clinically trained people out into these tent encampments to diagnose those with underlying health conditions on the streets in the encampments themselves then automatically enroll them,” Steinberg said.
The mayor maintains that, according to federal law, you cannot move a person without offering them resources, and Sacramento will continue to follow that.
Currently, 56% of voters say "yes" and 44% say "no." The mayor says the earliest they would consider beginning enforcement is in April.
ABC10 also reached out to a local organization Sacramento Loaves & Fishes and they provided this statement:
"While the final count is not available yet, the early numbers indicate Measure O could pass. Should this happen, the ramifications will be devastating for our unhoused community who are already facing insurmountable challenges. At Loaves & Fishes, we see the daily impact of such policies every day. As camps are swept, belongings are lost, communities are fractured, and people are displaced - inflicting more trauma on folks who are already suffering. Measure O promises more harm and trauma for our guests experiencing homelessness as it provides an enforcement mechanism with criminal penalties without any provision for services or housing. Criminalizing homelessness puts more barriers between people and housing and tries to disappear the problem, not help as the proponents say."
More explanation on Sacramento's Measure O can be found here. The Sacramento City Attorney also provided this analysis.
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