Skip to content
CapRadio

CapRadio

listen live donate
listen live donate
listen live
donate
  • News
    • News

    • State Government
    • Environment
    • Health Care
    • Race and Equity
    • Business
    • Arts and Lifestyle
    • Food and Sustainability
    • PolitiFact California
    News
    • News

    • State Government
    • Environment
    • Health Care
    • Race and Equity
    • Business
    • Arts and Lifestyle
    • Food and Sustainability
    • PolitiFact California
  • Music
    • Music

    • Classical
    • Jazz
    • Eclectic

    • Daily Playlist
    Music
    • Music

    • Classical
    • Jazz
    • Eclectic

    • Daily Playlist
  • Podcasts & Shows
  • Schedules
  • Events
  • Support
    • Support
    • Ways to support
    • Evergreen Donation
    • One-Time Donation
    • Corporate Sponsorship
    • Vehicle Donation
    • Stock Giving
    • Legacy Giving
    • Endowment Support
    • Members
    • Member Benefits
    • Member FAQ
    • Member Newsletter

    • Fund drives
    • Drawing Winners
    • Thank You Gifts
    Support
    • Support
    • Ways to support
    • Evergreen Donation
    • One-Time Donation
    • Corporate Sponsorship
    • Vehicle Donation
    • Stock Giving
    • Legacy Giving
    • Endowment Support
    • Members
    • Member Benefits
    • Member FAQ
    • Member Newsletter

    • Fund drives
    • Drawing Winners
    • Thank You Gifts
  • About
  • Close Menu
 We Get Support From:
Become a Supporter 
 We Get Support From:
Become a Supporter 

Sacramento City, County Leaders Approve $15 Million Plan To Keep COVID-19 From Spreading In Homeless Population

  •  Chris Nichols 
Wednesday, April 8, 2020 | Sacramento, CA
Scott Rodd / CapRadio

Tents along the bike trail near the American River.

Scott Rodd / CapRadio

Sacramento city and county leaders approved a $15 million joint plan on Tuesday to help prevent a coronavirus outbreak in the region’s homeless population. 

The plan focuses on three things: Keeping existing homeless shelters safe; providing greater sanitation at homeless encampments; and paying for 1,100 motel rooms to isolate those infected or who are at risk. 

Bruce Wagstaff, deputy county executive for Social Services, urged the Board of Supervisors to approve the document. In doing so, he relayed a colorful warning from the county’s Health Director Dr. Peter Beilenson.

“If you don’t get a handle on this homeless population, as Mr. Bielenson says using a medical term, ‘We’ll get hammered,’” Wagstaff said.

Both the Sacramento County Board of Supervisors and Sacramento City Council approved the plan in unanimous votes.

“We are in lockstep with the county,” Mayor Darrell Steinberg said in a news release. 

The Council will come back within two weeks “to begin hammering out a plan to rehouse people longer-term so they don’t wind up back on the street after their stay in an emergency unit is over,” the release added. 

Wagstaff said homeless people who have tested positive for COVID-19 will be given top priority for the “isolation sites.”  

“The first priority is going to be those who are sick and who can spread the virus if we don’t put them in a location and put them there quickly,” he said. 

The next consideration will go to those who are presumed positive and are awaiting test results, along with those who have been exposed to people who tested positive, the county official said. 

Also high on the priority list are people who are homeless and 65 or older with pre-existing conditions, those 65 and older with no pre-existing conditions and those under 65 with pre-existing conditions, Wagstaff said. 

Staff at homeless shelters will refer individuals for isolation. Other referrals will come from the county’s healthcare partners, outreach navigators, the Sheriff’s Department’s Homeless Outreach Team and corrections staff. 

Bob Erlenbusch, executive director of Sacramento Regional Coalition to End Homelessness, called the plan “a good start,” but said officials should have passed a plan weeks ago. He said he’s concerned the document doesn’t spell out how individuals will be transported to the isolation sites. 

“They don’t have a way to get them there. That was pretty shocking,” he said. 

The document calls for on-site private security and medical providers. 

Wagstaff said not all 1,100 motel rooms available to the county would be used at once. The county will first use a 116-room motel and gradually expand after that. He added that the first individuals could be moved into rooms on Thursday. 

Meanwhile, dozens of trailers and sanitation supplies continue to arrive at Cal Expo for homeless people. Wagstaff said the first occupants there could move in on Friday. 


Follow us for more stories like this

CapRadio provides a trusted source of news because of you.  As a nonprofit organization, donations from people like you sustain the journalism that allows us to discover stories that are important to our audience. If you believe in what we do and support our mission, please donate today.

Donate Today  

    More about Coronavirus

  • NIAID-RML via AP

    Coronavirus In California: Latest Updates And Resources

    The coronavirus has impacted nearly every aspect of life in California and around the world. Here are resources and all our coverage at CapRadio and NPR.

 Coronavirushomelessness

Chris Nichols

Homelessness and Housing Affordability reporter

Chris covers homelessness and housing affordability across the Sacramento region with a focus on the local and statewide policies that shape these topics.  Read Full Bio 

 @christhejourno Email Chris Nichols

More Stories

AP Photo/Gregory Bull, File

Colorado River deal: What does it mean for California?

May 23, 2023

Courtesy California State University

The new president of Sacramento State is also an alumnus

May 24, 2023

AP Photo/Terry Chea

Almond hulls in your coffee? Some growers look to upcycle almond byproducts into food

May 25, 2023

We Get Support From:
Become a Supporter

Back to Top

  • CapRadio

    7055 Folsom Boulevard
    Sacramento, CA 95826-2625

    •  
      (916) 278-8900
    •  
      (877) 480-5900
    •  Contact / Feedback
    •  Submit a Tip / Story Idea
  • About

    • Mission / Vision / Core Values
    • Stations & Coverage Map
    • Careers & Internships
    • Staff Directory
    • Board of Directors
    • Press
  • Listening Options

    • Mobile Apps
    • Smart Speakers
    • Podcasts & Shows
    • On-Air Schedules
    • Daily Playlist
    • Signal Status
  • Connect

    •  Facebook
    •  Twitter
    •  Instagram
    •  YouTube
  • Donate

  • Listen Live

  • Newsletters

CapRadio stations are licensed to California State University, Sacramento. © 2023, Capital Public Radio. All Rights Reserved. Privacy Policy | Website Feedback FCC Public Files: KXJZ KKTO KUOP KQNC KXPR KXSR KXJS. For assistance accessing our public files, please call 916-278-8900 or email us.