ACTION ALERT:
On Tuesday October 27, 2020 the City Council will consider a new ordinance
to create "Small Temporary Residential Shelters" [Safe Ground]
and "Temporary Shelter Facilities" [Safe Parking]
At the 9/29/2020 meeting of the Law & Legislation Committee they passed an amendment to the propose\ed ordinance that theses programs can not be with 1/2 mile of existing sheltering facilities - Which effectively means very few, if any programs will be sited.
TELL THE CITY COUNCIL NO!
WE NEED THESE PROGRAMS IN EACH CITY COUNCIL DISTRICT
ACTION ALERT:
DEMAND THAT THE CITY COUNCIL FUNDS THE
RIVER DISTRICT LANDING DEVELOPMENT:
106 Permanent Supportive Housing Units
170 Workforce Homes
Background: Jamboree Housing and Hope Cooperative are proposing a two phase River District Landing Development that would create 106 units of permanent supportive housing for our unhoused neighbors and 170 workforce homes for workforce households earning 30%- 60% of area median income.
In late September, 2020, the River District, specifically the 500 Bercut LLC, sued the City of Sacramento to stop this development, since they are planning high end apartments across the street from the proposed homeless and workforce housing.
The City Council was set to decide on funding this important permanent supportive and affordable housing project on October 27, 2020. The new date to hear that item is now November 10, 2020.
ACTION ALERT
LET THE CITY COUNCIL KNOW YOU SUPPORT PERMANENT SUPPORTIVE & AFFORDABLE HOUSING PROJECTS IN SACRAMENTO
SRCEH'S OPEN LETTER TO MAYOR & CITY COUNCIL: 10/8/2020
TO: Mayor Steinberg and Sacramento City Council
FROM: Bob Erlenbusch, Executive Director
RE: Support letter for River District Landing Development: Permanent Housing - not a shelter
The Sacramento Regional Coalition to End Homelessness [SRCEH] is in strong support of Jamboree and Hope Cooperative River District Landing development.
SRCEH feels that in order to substantially address the concerns of the River District community, our city needs to create more housing opportunities for an increasing chronically homeless population as well as truly affordable housing. The two phases of the River District Landing development will create these housing opportunities, both for the 106 people experiencing homelessness [Phase I] and the creation of 170 affordable homes for workforce households earning 30% - 60% of area median income [Phase II].
Housing - Not a Shelter: It is important to understand that the housing being proposed in both phases is not a shelter. For people experiencing homelessness it is permanent supportive housing [PSH] that is desperately needed in our community. For young people just starting a career or family in the city it is affordable workforce housing that is equally needed since they are currently priced out of the downtown housing market.
Jamboree Housing and Hope Cooperative have designed this housing taking into account the concerns of the River District and elected officials: there will be residential criteria for both phases and service staff and security will be onsite 24/7.
Expertise: The two partners, Jamboree and Hope Cooperative have over 50 years of combined experience in creating quality, affordable housing with an excellent reputation of providing behavioral and supportive housing services. Specifically, Hope Cooperative serves more than 8,000 people with behavioral health challenges annually.
Best practice: In fact, the PSH model being proposed has just been proven, once again, to be a national best practice in a new study released in September 2020. In the most rigorous new study conducted by the UCSF Benioff Homelessness and Housing Initiative of Santa Clara County’s Project Welcome Home, they found that the vast majority of even the most impaired people experiencing homelessness can be successfully housed if they are given access to permanent supportive housing combined with voluntary supportive services. The study is one of the first randomized controlled trials in the nation to test the effectiveness of the housing first approach. Researchers found that 86% of the participants who were randomized to the PSH model were successfully housed and remained in their housing for years. “Project Welcome Home is an excellent example of why expanding the supply of PSH is so critical,” said Ky Le, Deputy County Executive, County of Santa Clara.
SRCEH urges you to fully fund this important project which we feel will be a model community, demonstrating what is possible when the private sector and public sector collaborate to address the homeless crisis and affordable housing shortage in our community.
IF YOU AGREE ... THEN CONTACT THE MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL AND DEMAND THEY FUND THE RIVER DISTRICT LANDING DEVELOPMENT TODAY!
If you are homeless, please call 211 for help.
Find food, shelter, housing, transportation, income [CalWORKs, G.R. SSI], legal and health care resources in the our publication, Peoples Guide to Health, Welfare & Other Services
NOTE: Given the lack of funding, we were not able to create a 2020 edition - but the resources in the Guide - while there are a few changes - should still help you find the resources you need
