Tents, showers, meals and a legal place to camp. Sacramento opened a “safe camping” site for unhoused residents north of downtown on Tuesday, less than two weeks after a city audit raised questions about the effectiveness of its shelter services.
The campground is off Sequoia Pacific Boulevard in the River District, an industrial area home to one of the region’s largest concentrations of homeless people.
The audit examined more than a dozen homeless shelter programs. It found there is no correlation between shelter services and positive outcomes such as finding stable housing. The report found that’s due, in part, to a lack of data.
It also called on the city to find ways to save money on homeless services.
Mayor Kevin McCarty, who campaigned in 2024 on the promise of addressing the city’s homelessness crisis, said the River District campground marks a first step toward tackling homelessness in a more cost-effective way.
“We have expanded shelter and bed capacity and built stronger connections to services, but we still have a long way to go,” McCarty said in a news release. “We need to meet people where they are; this Safe Camping site is one piece of the puzzle.”
Sacramento spent approximately $2.5 million to open the site and will spend about $1.2 million annually to run it. The city’s more traditional brick and mortar shelters, in some cases, serve more people but also cost more to build and operate. The city council in 2023, for example, approved $4.6 million to run the X Street shelter near Oak Park for one year. It served nearly 800 people in its first two years.
Officials say the River District campsite has the capacity to serve between 100 and 125 people at one time. Along with tents and meals, the city is providing 24/7 onsite security plus bathrooms, charging spaces and animal kennels. There will also be a curfew and other rules to address neighborhood concerns, known as a “good neighbor” policy.
The city's new "safe camping" site in the River District offers free tents, meals, showers and animal kennels.Ruth Finch/CapRadio
The city said case managers will help campground residents create a more stable future, something the city hasn’t fully demonstrated it can do, according to the recent audit.
This isn’t the first time Sacramento’s opened a sanctioned campground. Officials opened similar sites along X Street near Southside Park and at Miller Park with mixed results. Powerful winter storms knocked over tents and drenched the sites, which eventually closed.
‘Safe and comfortable’
Standing outside the new campground, James Hailey said he’s spent four decades unhoused. During that time, he said he’s received little help from the city.
But recently, city officials reached out to him about the new camping site.
“They said they can help me with jobs or housing or opportunities to get a place,” Hailey noted. “And they can help you with Medi-Cal and get all your documents, help you be safe and comfortable.”
Hailey said he plans to give the site a shot in July.
At a press conference announcing the site’s opening on Tuesday, McCarty said the campground is just one option for those experiencing homelessness, and that it may not work for some.
“There's not individual AC units. There are not individual bathroom facilities for everybody here,” the mayor added. “But I'd like to go for a walk 100 yards down the street and ask, ‘Is it better than what we have outside?’ So we can't let the perfect be the enemy of the good.”
City Councilmember Phil Pluckebaum echoed those sentiments.
“I don't think anyone aspires to live in tents under shade on a gravel field in an industrial area, which is what this is,” he said. “But it is also better than being on the street, and we can provide some dignity and security.”
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