The Globe writes frequently about the widespread, growing population of drug-addicted street people in Sacramento. I take photos to illustrate my observations.
This weekend I added to the photo album. Readers can see Sacramento is headed for more tragedy if 11,000 drug-addicted and mentally ill homeless transients are allowed to continue to live on the streets, in the parks, and where ever they park their tents or RVs.
The Sacramento Land Park neighborhood is where long time resident Kate Tibbitts was brutally murdered in her home by a parolee. Last fall “homeless” transient Troy Davis, out on the streets despite his recent parole violation, raped and murdered downtown Sacramento resident Kate Tibbitts, in the Land Park neighborhood, killing her dogs and setting her house on fire,” the Globe reported.
Tibbitts horrific murder remains a fresh imprint on locals’s psyche, but seems to be a far-away, inconvenient memory for local politicians.
A neighbor’s vigilance resulted in the arrest of a transient guy with a $250,000 warrant Sunday at the amphitheater at William Land Park. The park is home to the Sacramento Zoo, Fairytale Town, Sunderland Amusement Park and a 9-hole municipal golf course.
The Globe recently reported on what was serving only as a respite center for the homeless, with the begrudging approval of the nearby residential neighborhoods, is being turned into an actual shelter, and without the approval of City Council members or the nearby neighborhood groups – primarily because it is so far away from City Hall and from the residents of the city.
But this latest homeless shelter is right next door to the Children’s Receiving Home, a home for children and young adults who have suffered abuse and neglect.
Deadly shootings, narcotics, burglary, aggravated assault, battery, vandalism, and weapon-related crimes are now commonplace in Sacramento residential neighborhoods, in parks, near schools, by businesses and grocery stores. No parking lot is safe. Women have been assaulted while running on park paths.
Sacramento City Council is ineffective. They blame the Sacramento County Board of Supervisors for sitting on the pot of money to be used for treatment, shelter/housing for the transients.
What the local elected officials don’t understand is Sacramento residents no longer care whose fault it is. Residents just know nothing is being done, and that officials are actually allowing the drug-addicted vagrants to live in public parks, on sidewalks and along the rivers putting our children, the elderly, moms, dads and families, homes, businesses and pets in jeopardy.
The Sacramento City Council actually gave Miller Park, a once-lovely city park, over to a homeless tent camp along the Sacramento River.
This homeless woman lives in the park, and frequently screams at people, while making violent slashing movements. She needs help, and is beyond the point of making sound decisions for herself.
What the city officials don’t want us discussing is that these homeless camps are rat and cockroach infested. Ask any local pest control agent – he will describe the infested conditions the transients are living in, which spreads to nearby residential homes and businesses. Local business owners now report seeing cockroaches and rats at their places of business in previously vermin-free zones.
The violent confrontations the transients have with residents occur daily. On Broadway, businesses are closing and leaving the area. Starbucks and Jamba Juice recently closed because of safety concerns. Business owners on Broadway held a protest this weekend, only to have it hijacked by homeless advocates claiming if the homeless transients all had homes, this would all go away.
The housing first policy has been a failure – except for those financially benefitting from the government funded renovations and rent payments.
Treating the drug-addicted homeless transients as if they are patrons at the Ritz Carlton, city officials refers to them as “guests” and “people experiencing homelessness,” never acknowledging how violent and dangerous many of these “guests” are, or that they are meth and heroin addicts.
And because there isn’t a seamless pipeline for those who want to get out of the life and into treatment, those wanting to get off the street find themselves stuck in dangerous situations.
“People experiencing homelessness” is supposed to soften the fact that many of the city’s homeless transients were let out of prison and jail early “for good behavior,” and are violent drug addicts. The police reports prove this.
In October 2021 Sacramento’s new homeless shelter opened and moved 26 transients off the street. Sacramento has 11,000 homeless transients, and increasing commensurate crime rates.
But that didn’t stop the Mayor from patting himself on the back: “Mayor Darrell Steinberg applauded the DCR staff and said he hoped its success could be replicated to help people experiencing homelessness while at the same time responding to neighborhood concerns about the effects of unsheltered homelessness.”
Sacramento’s homeless has even surpassed San Francisco’s. “Within the city limits of Sacramento, just over 5,000 unsheltered people… were counted in a new homelessness report, compared with about 4,400 people in San Francisco. But with Sacramento’s population of 525,000 versus San Francisco’s 874,000, that works out to a rate of 952 per 100,000 in Sacramento versus 503 per 100,000 for San Francisco,” the San Francisco Chronicle reported.
The City of Sacramento is spending more than $44 million to provide eight homeless shelters and camping options, most not yet built or ready, and three Project Homekey motel conversions, the Globe reported in April. According to city officials, “most of that comes from state and federal grants that are not certain year to year.”
As the City Council waits for the County Board of Supervisors to make the first move, locals are fearful that another dangerous drug-addicted transient will physically harm or kill another resident.
The City Council did pass an ordinance in August that tents and other obstructions blocking sidewalks will need to be moved under an update to the city’s sidewalk regulations adopted unanimously Tuesday by the Sacramento City Council.
This photo was taken Sunday:
View Comments (21)
I just watched the twin movies, Seattle is Dying, and the more recent, Fighting for the Soul of Seattle. (both still available on Youtube). These are shocking, heartbreaking documentaries made by a local news station there. Just see what has been done to once safe and beautiful Seattle through the radical Left. Seattle is a miserable wasteland of drugs and violence. Sadly, this appears to be happening in Sacramento as well. Liberalism kills --- kills dreams, options, businesses, and, sometimes, even people. Katie: Thank you for covering this most important issue. More homeless in Sacramento than in SF???
Katy, I just HATE seeing this nightmare continuing without end in Sacramento. These photos show a horrendous scene. I'm sure you are right that this situation is ripe for another tragic incident. The politicians simply refuse to do their jobs. So what is the answer? I wish I knew. This is awful, and only getting worse. For the mayor, council, supervisors, etc. to see to it that a percentage are picked up, cleaned out, removed, arrested would act as a deterrent against this encroachment but they seem unwilling to do even that. We point to the Homeless Industrial Complex as the explanation, and it is, but fat lot of good it does when residents are in the midst of this and it is only getting worse as predicted and the politicians don't care. I know it's been said here, many times --- seemingly in order to make a point ---- but it's looking now as though an effort to shift the camps to the streets in front of the homes of the worst of the politicians IS the only viable option now.
I have so much to say not just a community member but as a Social Worker. I have seen how the mental health system has failed those with mental health related issues. The treatment plan is always "stablize" discharge. There are no discharge options , homeless shelters decline most of the unhoused because of some not all unwillingness to comply to rules. We all have them. Back to the community they go. The concept of housing first doesn't work, because guess what their mental health conditions are so severe and substance abuse results in homes being destroyed and then getting evicted. The county doesn't want to conserve them so getting them the help they need is impossible because you can't treat the symptoms of addiction and mental health when you are paranoid and delusional. The community fails the unhoused because " not in my back yard, " is a reality. My suggestion is creating a hub we're psychosocial assessments are conducted and based on the severity of their condition then you create a treatment plan. This means conserving and requiring medication be taken so you can provide therapy and substance abuse counseling, then working on housing. Maybe then we can create a sustainable plan.
Reopen the mental hospitals which were closed by P. Brown (not Reagan). If these people need help, then in medically supervised settings.
Nothing else will ever work
wouldn't it be simpler to dislodge all the communists (sorry, "Progressives™") from amerikan public life?
All thanks to the yarmulke mayor steinberg. WHEN WILL HOMELESS SET UP CAMP IN FRONT OF HIS HOME, IN HIS NEIGHBORHOOD?????? Show his address here...DOX HIM!
Withhold your property taxes until the city performs its duties!
March together with placards.
Be heard!
Candace Owens on Tucker the other night hit it right on the target - the left is using these people under the guise of "compassion" to tear down the fabric of the civilized culture that was expected only a few years ago...
Now, lax drug enforcement from law enforcement and misguided "compassion" on drug-addicted or mentally disturbed individuals is taking priority over the rights and privileges of non drug-addicted or mentally disturbed citizens....
These politicians need to be held to account for their incorrect priorities of the rights of the minority over the rights of the majority... they bleat constantly about "democracy", so put your words into ACTION and protect the rights of the majority!!!
Right where that 76 gas station is, I recently accepted an amazing job, not knowing the exact location, and as soon as I found out and drove by....there was no way in hell I could work there. I had the late shift and was not comfortable having to get out of my car to A. enter the gate code to get in and B. being the last one to leave at night. So I lost a perfect job opportunity that would've bettered mine and my family's life. Thanks Sac City!!
Another effect of this ridiculous situation, or should I say ENDLESS NIGHTMARE. So unsafe and unpredictable, you can't even work the amazing job you landed that would have done so much for you and your family. Best wishes to you, Jamie.
Elections have consequences. California has now become a one party Democrat state. How many commenting here had a hand in making that outcome a reality voting on the local, state and national level?
All of them.
Excellent reporting and photos. Thank you for bringing light to this subject. You should see the situation in the Arden Arcade and Carmichael communities in the county! And thank you for mentioning the poorly located and unsafe shelter next to the Children’s Receiving Home. Truly awful location and is being forced upon the nearby neighborhoods in the county.
I don't live there. I am wondering what happens when a business in Sac calls the cops to have a homeless person removed from their property for trespassing?