SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Sacramento, like much of California, is in the midst of a homeless crisis. Officials across the state are finding various ways to remedy the issue, but there are no permanent solutions yet.
City officials have one idea, though — erect a homeless shelter at a the Florin Road light rail station to house up to 100 hand-selected homeless citizens. And while the proposed plan is still in the early stages, many residents like Tim Callahan do not seem thrilled about the idea.
"Crime, crime, lots of crime," Callahan told ABC10 at meeting about the proposal. "Especially the safety of the kids that's another priority nobody is talking about that."
The city held a meeting at Luther Burbank High School to answer people's questions. The site is half a mile from the south Sacramento high school.
Linda Fergurson said she understands people's concerns, but said she believes it is something that needs to be addressed. She is in support of the homeless shelter.
"Nobody wants to deal with homelessness in their backyard, and I have the rare opportunity to walk the streets every single day and it is in my backyard," Fergurson said. "I have to be completely blind to not see the homelessness that exists in my neighborhood now."
The city is looking into having similar homeless shelters in all eight districts. One possibility is Cal Expo. They describe the proposed shelter as a "sprung shelter," a heavy-duty industrial tent used for events but stronger.
Each shelter will have 100 beds with showers and bathrooms. The shelter will not be a walk-in shelter and people will be brought there or chosen through referrals. The area will be fenced off, have 24-hour security and a team will be brought in to help with cleanup.
Councilman Jay Schenirer says he's looking at other locations in his district for years, but this one has the space they need. The stop has a large parking space at the light rail stop that isn't being fully utilized.
There is no timeline of when the shelter will go up.
Since Sacramento Regional Transit District owns the property they will need to lease it through them. They also have to go through city council for approval and find funding for the project.
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