Last week, the city and county of Sacramento announced a joint partnership aimed at expanding the services available to residents who experience homelessness.
The five-year agreement outlines the roles and responsibilities each will hold as they work to create systemic changes. The Local Homeless Action Plan identified avenues like outreach teams, additional shelter beds, and a commitment to meet the needs of those who are experiencing homelessness.
Here’s a breakdown of what the agreement entails:
- The city and county together will establish 10 new “encampment engagement teams” to provide outreach, assessment, housing, and more to encampments within city limits.
- The city will determine which sites the engagement teams will be deployed to each day, and will be responsible for the coordination of city services, such as waste removal.
- Sac County behavioral health workers will conduct behavioral health assessments in the field as well as in city shelters.
- The county will establish a new behavioral health center within city limits.
- Sac County will add 200 shelter beds within 12 months, and another 200 beds within 36 months.
- The county will agree to operate 200 additional shelter beds if the city provides a “shovel-ready site” (one that is ready for construction).
The agreement is set to be formally voted on tomorrow, Tuesday, Dec. 6, at both the City Council and the Board of Supervisors’ regularly scheduled meetings.
