SACRAMENTO COUNTY, Calif. — In a unanimous vote, the Sacramento County Board of Supervisors voted Tuesday to redirect $1 million to preserve housing for people in the county's Scattered Site shelter program.
Sacramento Self-Help Housing was initially requesting this money to keep about 600 people housed.
But in a meeting Tuesday, the Board of Supervisors shared concerns about the organization being behind on two years of audits.
People who have been helped by the organization say it saddens them it has come to this decision.
"I was chronically homeless due to a medical condition, and Sac Self-Help, I utilized some of their programs for stability," said Regina Vasquez, a resident and board member with Sacramento Self-Help Housing.
For the last nine years, Vasquez has been a resident of Sacramento Self-Help housing, a non-profit whose mission is in its name, to help people who are homeless find affordable housing.
"It's helped me tremendously. I mean, I'm a standing -- living success story from having stability with housing," said Vasquez.
But over the last few years, the organization began facing financial difficulties and has been unable to pay rent on dozens of homes.
Board Chair Ethan Evans says it’s due to the coronavirus pandemic driving expenses up.
"We needed to buy masks and deal with staff shortages and everything. Plus, fundraising dropped off the table," said Evans.
Evans went to the county for help, but the county says that because Sacramento Self-Help didn’t provide the financial information, the Board of Supervisors voted to take over their rent so hundreds of people can keep a roof over their heads.
"The decision today is really to use money that we have in the DSA budget to make the landlords whole, so we can preserve the housing and nobody goes unhoused," said county staff.
The board voted unanimously to redirect a million dollars from the county’s general fund to its Scattered Site Shelter Program.
But this solution is only temporary.
Evans says if another organization doesn’t come in to take over the leases of the homes, they will be forced to kick people out.
For Vasquez, this is a great deal of concern.
"I don't want them to revisit that trauma of going back to homelessness. I have been having anxiety because, you know, worried for the people. Are they going to be homeless again? That's tough because, from experience, I know what it feels like," said Vasquez.
The county says it's looking for new providers to take over for Sacramento Self-Help Housing, but there is no set date on when someone new could take over.
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