SACRAMENTO, Calif — Sacramento County District Attorney Thien Ho said his office is gathering evidence to assess whether or not the city violated laws regarding the prevalence of homeless encampments in the area.
He urged residents Monday to fill out a Neighborhood Nuisance Abatement Questionnaire asking about their concerns over encampments and how they negatively affect their life.
The questionnaire lists 16 different encampments across Sacramento and asks residents to check off which one is affecting them.
"The reason behind this is about 10 days ago I sent a letter to the city asking for help because we've documented 86 incidents around the courthouse and the DHS office," Ho said. "What we do need is to have compliance with the laws and the rules."
He said the questionnaire has received close to 500 responses in less than 24 hours.
G Rossi Florist owner Michele Porter works a few blocks from the Sacramento County courthouse—where the business has been active since 1921.
She said people living on the streets with mental illness and substance abuse problems are growing more and more by the day.
"Every day I pull into the back alley to get into my business. As soon as I (drive) that corner, I feel my anxiety increase because I never know what I'm going to find," Porter told ABC10. "Most days start with cleaning up the back or the front."
Of the survey, she said the problem of encampments encroaching on the wellbeing of others is obvious to everyone.
Midtown resident Tammy Ballard said she's used to seeing unhoused people using her park's water fountain to take care of their hygiene, but the dangers of seemingly mentally unwell unhoused people is what concerns her.
"Making that determination can be very stressful and you never want to pass judgement on anyone," she said.
Ho said he is hoping to avoid litigation with the city, but he wants city officials to create safe locations where unhoused residents can camp temporarily while services are centralized at each location.
"I'm asking also for a resolution that we have camping at night but not during the daytime. There are restrictions that can be in place just like there are at City Hall," he said. "I'm also in support of the governor's $4 billion bond proposal to create additional beds."
