SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Sacramento city officials said they plan on providing a temporary so-called 'Safe Ground' sanctioned encampment site for nearly 80 people.
According to Mayor Darrell Steinberg, the location is set for Miller Park on 2701 Marina View Dr., with 60 tents and access to basic necessities.
The site is projected to open in February.
Councilmember Katie Valenzuela and the city's Department of Community Response organized a virtual forum for Saturday at 2 p.m. to draw local community members who are curious in knowing more about the site.
The site is expected to provide a place for some of the unhoused residents who remained along W-X Street after the prior city-sanctioned 'Safe Ground' site was dismantled earlier this year.
Other participants will include unhoused people living in the areas. Access to the river and the marina should not be affected.
Co-chair of the Sacramento Poor People's Campaign, Faye Wilson Kennedy told ABC10 that while safe ground sites give temporary refuge to residents of local unhoused communities, much more can be done to improve the sites and make them a hub of resources.
Among the resources she said safe ground sites can add to speed up the transition into stable housing are power outlets, regularly-cleaned portable bathrooms, weather-resistant tents and access to clean water.
"For a lot of people, their phone is their is their window to the outside world," Kennedy told ABC10. "They could go to the public library to use the bathroom. To get clean drinking water, they could go to community centers, but when the pandemic hit, we've seen a lot of facilities either never opened back up or slow to open back up."
She said she hopes unhoused participants of the 'Safe Ground' site will be allowed more say in the site's decision-making and daily operations.
Access to restrooms, showers, garbage collection and other around-the-clock staff services should be available to unhoused people in the Miller Park site, connecting them to programs for long-term health and housing.
Other New Projects
- On Jan. 18, Sacramento city officials announced it would use $23.9 million in California housing relief funds to buy Best Western Sutter Hotel in downtown. The 92-units hotel is set to transition into permanent supportive housing.
- On Jan. 21, city officials announced it purchased 102 acres of vacant land in South Sacramento set for use as a 'Safe Parking' site, and eventually for affordable housing and a community amenity.
