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Controversial temporary winter homeless shelter opens doors in North Sac

"I’m just blessed to be here. Four months. I can get my diploma. I can get all the help I need here, and I can save money to get into a place."

As the cold rolls in, the doors have officially opened at Sacramento’s new, temporary winter homeless shelter in North Sacramento.

A group of 50 men and women will sleep there for the first time Friday night.

The shelter – which many residents in North Sacramento opposed – is located at 2040 Railroad Dr. and will be open until March 31. City officials estimate it will cost the city $1.4 million.

While some neighbors are still opposed to the opening, citing costs and location, others see it as the potential start of a new beginning.

“I’m just blessed to be here,” Wendelin Ann Branch, who has been homeless on and off for 9 years, explained. “Four months. I can get my diploma. I can get all the help I need here, and I can save money to get into a place.”

Branch, 48, is one of the 50 people who will call the shelter home for the next four months. She had previously spent time living in a tent city just across the street.

“I don’t ever want to be out there again,” she said. “I call it the devil’s bend.”

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