SACRAMENTO, Calif. — A wide variety of Sacramento city services can be summoned by simply dialing 311, but there’s still some confusion about when to use it and when results will be seen — especially when it comes to reporting homeless encampments.
The city encourages people to call 311 to report various issues, including encampments like the one along the Sacramento Northern Bike Trail in the Robla Neighborhood.
Some neighbors are unsatisfied with the results.
“There’s been countless reports, 311, the City Council office. All of these issues have been reported time and time again, and the response has just been abysmal,” said Vicki Updyke.
Ivan Castellanos, Sacramento’s 311 manager, says even if people feel like nothing is happening, “there’s a lot of stuff happening behind the scenes.”
“I understand the frustration, it’s a problem not just for Sacramento but across California and some of the bigger cities, and the only thing I can say is if you see it, report it, and we’ll make sure it gets to the right department,” said Castellanos.
He says 311 doesn’t have personnel working in the field — rather, they collect reports and get them to the right department. In the case of encampments, reports are directed to the Department of Community Response, code enforcement or the Sacramento Police Department.
The 311 app helps get the ball rolling on these reports, allowing people to register and log in, make reports and more.
The homeless response dashboard from the city shows nearly 15,000 calls this year with more than 2,000 enrollments and referrals into the Homeless Management Information System, and 536 rapid placements into shelters.
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It also shows more than 1,300 cars were towed, 113 citations and arrests were made and fixed thousands of violations from sidewalk obstruction and unlawful camping. Nearly 4 million pounds of trash removal is also noted on the dashboard.
Some residents say these results aren’t happening enough everywhere.
“We’re, like, just — ah! — for a lack of words, just screaming inside, saying, ‘Hey, we need help. We can’t do it ourselves,’” said Neil Miles.
311 is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, including holidays.
The most frequently used services on 311 are: junk and appliance or e-waste pickup, missed waste collection, abandoned vehicles, parking enforcement, illegal dumping, street or sidewalk issues, tree hazards, animal care concerns and water main or sewer line breaks.
Find more information about 311 and how to use it HERE.
