SACRAMENTO, Calif. — More transitional and supportive housing initiatives are set for 2022 in Sacramento.
At the end of 2021, the city shuttered its then-largest sanctioned encampment site along W and X Streets. Since then, city officials have said to get into another safe ground site, people need to get referred by the city.
Getting in touch directly with the city's Department of Community Response is the best way to land on their radar and seek referrals for housing, spokesperson Gregg Fishman told ABC10.
"People can also contact us by calling 311 and the dispatchers there will take their information and pass it on to (the Department of Community Response) for follow up," Fishman said.
The nearly 110 unhoused residents moving temporarily into Miller Park along the Sacramento River were referred by the city for the "Safe Grounds" program.
But how did they receive the city referral?
For Miller Park, Fishman said outreach teams with the Department of Community Response contacted unsheltered residents staying near the area, offering them spaces at the sanctioned encampment.
These outreach teams walk into encampments all over the city to offer shelter for unhoused people they encounter, he said.
Housing programs and projects for future referrals
The availability of California housing funds through its pandemic-era Project Homekey initiative led Sacramento officials to purchase numerous properties for development, including:
- A 92-unit hotel on H and 11th Streets will be renovated for $24 million to serve as permanent housing for homeless residents
- A 102-acre property at 3100 Meadowview Road will be renovated for $12.3 million to host a "Safe Parking" site along with other homeless services.
- A 116-unit hotel formerly known as Staybridge Suites Sacramento Airport Natomas was purchased and will be renovated for about $29 million to serve as permanent and temporary housing.
