By Kevin Johnson
Mayor of Sacramento
It’s become a tradition each Tuesday night at Sacramento City Council.
The moment arrives for public comments on any and all topics. Representatives from Safe Ground step to the microphone and ask the city to change its anti-camping ordinance and allow homeless people to camp under the stars in a designated place.
The Safe Grounders are respectful. The request is simple. Finding the answer has become one of the most frustrating issues I have dealt with as mayor.
The frustration comes from the lack of progress on the camping issue. Frankly, we as a city can and must do better to find a resolution.
There have been homeless people on the streets of Sacramento since the city was founded in 1849. In the past year, we have made significant progress on finding homes for our neediest residents.
The faith community, KCRA Channel 3, plus officials from the city, county and other agencies have worked hard to find winter shelter for hundreds of people during the cold months. Sacramento Steps Forward is pulling from the unified strength of our community to establish permanent housing for 3,000.
Since last fall, 833 families have received housing assistance from our Homeless Prevention and Rapid Re-housing Program.
These are real success stories. In upcoming days, I hope to have more success to share with readers.
Unfortunately, these positive steps are not enough.
They don’t speak to the issue raised by Safe Ground – the camping issue.
Safe Ground is important because without Safe Ground, homelessness would not have been addressed in a significant way. Safe Grounders brought the world to Sacramento, from Oprah to the BBC, as they highlighted our problem.
Last September, I visited a Safe Ground camp at 12 and C streets. I pledged to work on solutions for camping, permanent housing and winter shelter. As for camping and in addition to the progress cited above, I asked city staff to come up with potential solutions and bring them to council for consideration.
Months passed. The Safe Grounders have no resolution. Week after week, we listen but nothing happens.
It’s time for a different, a more pro-active approach. When I spoke to the media yesterday, I said the time had come to get re-engaged in Safe Ground’s camping request.
We don’t have the answer yet. But we need to find one, sooner rather than later.
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Frank L. Topping
1 years 294 days ago
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Without a vote by the Mental Health Board all comments must be considered strictly my own. Affiliations are shown for personal id only.
Going out with the Sacramento Steps Forward Front Door Outreach team gives a unique perspective. Meeting with the homeless to ascertain needs, identifying disabled needing immediate services desperately, passing out donated items, trying to foresee problems and envision solutions.
It's been a real privilege to be with Tim Brown, Kate Towson, and others like Eric Brenmark of Guest House as they give care, comfort and hope.
The strides made toward ultimate solutions like Sacramento Steps Forward are something Sacramento can really be proud of but in the interim it's just inhumane and phenomenally more expensive to the community not to adopt a Safe Ground concept.
I represent Older Adults & Veterans with Serious Mental Illness on the Sacramento County Mental Health Services Act Steering Committee, Consumers of Mental Health Services on the Sacramento County Mental Health Board.
It's disturbing to see so many disabled older adults, increasingly "recently displaced" from middle classed homes and society out in the camps and along Bannon Street. Clogging our court system with camping citations and hampering their efforts to climb out of the dilemma instead of enhancing them ends up as a further drain on hospital emergency rooms, our jails and only extends the need for ultra expensive services.
Sister Libby and the Safe Ground Elders are right. America took the necessary steps during the Depression and the "Greatest Generation" then logged the best success the world has ever seen.
The discipline and exemplary leadership around Safe Ground should be rewarded. Best for our community all around -- the right thing to do.
It's needed. It's time.
Frank L. Topping, Secretary
Sacramento County Mental Health Board
Mental Health Services Act Steering Committee
Human Services Coordinating Council
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