SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The homeless crisis in Sacramento is impacting more people today than in recent history, according to the most recent point-in-time count conducted throughout the county.
On any given night, more than 5,500 people are experiencing homelessness. That's an increase of nearly 20% from 2017 and more than double what it was in 2015. The count, which is conducted every two years, was taken over two nights in January 2019.
Caltrans has confirmed with ABC10 that they'll be removing another homeless camp in Sacramento within their jurisdiction on Tuesday.
It's happening underneath the Capital City Freeway between F and H streets. The camp removal comes not even a week after removing another homeless camp near W and 9th Streets.
Caltrans put notices outside of each tent along 29th Street in Midtown telling people that they have 72 hours to pack up their things and leave before Tuesday. However, many say they have nowhere else left to go as nearby shelters and Safe Ground camping areas have already filled up.
Jason Sloan knows a thing or two about moving. He's been experiencing homelessness for about four years now, and has lately been calling 29th Street near H and F streets his home.
"It's hard out here, never having a place," he said.
But come Tuesday, after getting this notice to vacate from Caltrans, he still doesn't know where to move his things to.
"Where do we go?" he said. "I don't know where we're supposed to go, you know? We move from block to block and every block they say, 'can't be here, can't be here, can't be here,' so I don't know what they want us to do."
Caltrans says they've identified this encampment as a priority for removal because due to hazards of what they're calling an excessive amount of trash and debris. They said it includes both human waste and used needles.
"Not all of us are bad. I read an article the other day that people don't want their children to walk past us to go to school. Well, I have three kids of my own and to stereotype all of us is messed up," a woman who goes by the name of 'Skater Steve' said while staying in the Northgate area.
'Skater Steve' said she got the same notice in the Northgate area near Pell Drive.
"We've been told that their job is to herd us around like cattle, and we spend a lot of time moving. They tell us to move here or they tell us to move there, from one spot to the next," she said.
But Sacramento City Councilmember Katie Valenzuela said the city's shelters and Safe Ground camping areas are already at capacity, and they've run out of space in their motel voucher program.
"It's not acceptable that Caltrans is coming in to move a camp when we don't have a place for them to go, because they know that all they're doing is moving the camp either down the street or across the street or a few blocks away," she said. "That's not a solution, and we've developed a solution. We've done this with Caltrans multiple times."
Caltrans says they've been working with the city since August to offer those living at the encampment resources and services for better living situations. But Valenzuela said their notice came much later than that.
"When they let us know, it was within days of them noticing people for removal and that's not enough time. And we don't have the resources to respond that quickly, but if they work with us as they've done previously, we could have made a plan to really relocate those folks and secure that site and keep everybody safe," she said.
As for the city's master plan to address homelessness that was unanimously signed off on by every city council member recently, it includes 22 additional sites for those experiencing homelessness. Valenzuela said their timeline is still four to possibly six months out, but she said she wants to work with Caltrans to help speed up the process.
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