Safe Stay - some more temporary housing beds

Shoutout to our note-taker Robert Gonzalez for his work on this write-up!

A quick update on Safe Stay.

What's Safe Stay?

Well, it's a community for unhoused folx that the Sac County BOS is working to create.

Image below taken from this County news release regarding the community

The current board direction:

“Safe Stay” communities are being designed to

• Expand shelter capacity

• Create new options for those living unsheltered

• Provide relief to communities

The Shelter Crisis Declaration allows for the expedition of the planning processes, but the Board still has to formally approve sites before construction begins

The site will include (according to the plan):

• Fully fenced, monitored access

• 34 single occupancy cabins

• 11 double occupancy cabins

• On-site sanitation

• Trailers for staff offices

• On-site gathering spaces

• Large storage containers

• 24/7 on-site staff

• Monitoring, check-in/check-out for guests

• Case management services

• Connections to behavioral health services

• Daily facility operations (meals, trash, coordination of visiting service providers, etc.)

• Outreach and community engagement

• Meals, laundry, and sanitation on-site

• Accommodation for pets & couples

All of the public comments for this item were in favor of this project and the Board of Supervisors approved this plan.

It's a shame that they're going so hard on security measures to appease conservative folx, that seems to be the way of things currently. Although this plan does add some more temporary housing, it is representative of the County's larger failure to implement solutions that would actually provide permanent long-term housing for people experiencing homelessness.