SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Sacramento County is no longer delivering water to homeless encampments during what could become a historic heat wave.
According to both the city and county of Sacramento, this was always going to happen . Sacramento County said water deliveries were always going to end, because they were funded by American Rescue Plan Dollars that no longer exist. The funds were part of a contract with SANE to distribute drinking water to encampments, as part of the COVID-19 public health crisis, for the last four years. The pandemic is over and large encampments no longer exist.
Advocate Crystal Sanchez from the Homeless Union said they received a letter on June 26 that water was stopping to 40 encampments on June 30. The county also took their restrooms.
“This is a public health crisis. People need water. People are going to die on these streets,” Sanchez said.
The city said water can be found at 160 locations, including parks and community centers.
“60% of all public bathrooms are closed down, and the primary reason for that is to keep homeless people out. So water at Cesar Chavez Park and other parks has been turned off, and when it comes to community centers, unhoused people are not welcome,” Sanchez said.
The county said pallet delivery is being replaced by gallon water distribution in the unincorporated county at daily office hours through county contractor Community HealthWorks, as well as available through additional channels such as the mobile vet clinic PAWS and the SANE clinic.
Sharon Jones is one of the Camp Resolution founders that is now dependent on the community’s goodwill and donations for the majority of their supplies.
“I think it’s a shame they’ve taken away a natural resource that everyone needs, because we counted on those deliveries of water and they just took them away,” Jones said.
Encampments are dependent on donations like Thursday’s supply drive. Community members have also mobilized.
PJ Andrews has used the side of his home as a food pantry over the last two years.
“Even if the local government can’t pick up a yearly tab, you’d expect at least during the hotter time of the year, especially with how extreme it is, they would at least pick it up then,” Andrews said.
Despite his and community organization’s best efforts, his pantry has been emptied twice in the last 24 hours showing the dire need in this heat.
Advocates and those experiencing homelessness said the loss of water deliveries is just the latest issue in a three-year long battle about how the city county handle homelessness during severe weather.
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