​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​Frequently Asked Questions

The Department of Homeless Services and Housing (DHSH) was created to coordinate the response of various County departments to provide services to those experiencing homelessness in Sacramento County, as well as mitigating the impacts of homelessness on the community.  DHSH staff work on long term programs and solutions to homelessness, provide regular report outs to the Board of Supervisors (BOS), and engage with a variety of community stakeholders on solutions.

The DHSH is committed to developing programs that endeavor to make homelessness in our community rare overall and brief when it occurs and that treat those experiencing homelessness with dignity, respect, and compassion. DHSH's mission is to bring together a collaborative team of county departments, social advocates, those with lived experience, businesses and community based organizations to focus on improving housing outcomes and reducing homelessness in Sacramento County.  DHSH finds the unique solutions to serve our community members experiencing homelessness, via a comprehensive offering of programs and services such as shelter, re-housing, behavioral health, physical health, and prevention and diversion.​​

Nearly all County Departments a​re working on issues intersecting with the homelessness crisis.  Some of the departments that are regularly involved in responding to homelessness are:

• County Executive Office
• ​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​Department of Homeless Services and Housing​
• Human Assistance​
• Health Services
• Child, Family and Adult Services
• Code Enforcement
• Animal Services
• Regional Parks
• Department of Transportation
• Sheriff​
• Finance
• General Services

The latest 2024 Point in Time Count (PIT) estimates there are 6,615 people living unhoused in Sacramento County on any given night. Of those, 59 percent of those living unsheltered– which means they are living in a tent, a vehicle or without any shelter.

• The County built and currently operates three Safe Stay locations creating more than 300 individual and private beds that provide privacy, dignity and a place for people to receive services to end their homelessness. 
• The County invested in 32 beds of a new affordable housing project that are earmarked for extremely low-income people exiting homelessness – as part of a larger affordable housing complex designed for workforce housing. This is the County’s first direct capital investment in development.
• The County added 11 new behavioral health staff to the Encampment Service Teams to connect people to mental health and substance abuse services.
• Created the Landlord Engagement and Assistance Program (LEAP), which has served more than 700 individuals and families.
• Allocated $28 million in MHSA funding since 2017 through the MHSA Housing Program and No Place Like Home Program.

Yes, Sacramento County Division of Behavioral Health Services is responsible for providing specialty mental health and substance use and prevention services throughout the County, inclusive of all of the cities. Whether homeless or not, Sacramento County is responsible for providing specialty mental health assessment and treatment services for those with severe needs and functional impairment. 

There are approximately 2,600 emergency shelter beds throughout Sacramento County, serving individuals, families, seniors and transition age youth. Most are available year-round; some are seasonally opened during inclement weather. The County currently funds about 1,300 of these beds, with another 350 set to welcome guests within the next six months.

Additionally, the County has encampment team and homeless navigators, as well a behavioral health access clinician who offers ‘office hours’ at all shelters in the County, including those in the cities.

Sacramento County continues to diversity its outreach, engagement and sheltering programs to meet the dynamic needs of the homeless population. The County has strengthened its partnerships with the Cities within the County, non-profits and service providers to create a fully regional approach to homeless solutions. These diverse solutions include:

·       Better targeted shelter options

·       Increased prevention measures

·       Individualized services to achieve better outcomes

Homeless encampments take a variety of forms, including groups living under freeway overpasses, sleeping in parks, living on sidewalks or in vehicles/RVs. Encampments include those living with nothing more than sleeping mats, within makeshift cardboard configurations, or in tents.

The EST is a collaborative, inter-agency, multidisciplinary outreach team that engages individuals experiencing unsheltered homelessness where they are to develop trust, address immediate needs, and provide supportive linkages to interim shelter or permanent housing​​.

The EST staff directly working in encampments include:

• Mental Health Counselors
• Behavioral Health Peer Specialists
• Contracted Outreach Navigators

The EST aims to:

1. Connect individuals to shelter, housing and supportive services and 
2. Support the County’s broader efforts to reduce the health, sanitation, and safety issues associated with living unsheltered that affects all Sacramento residents

• Support with connecting to and entering shelter or permanent housing
• Enrollment in public benefits (CalFresh, CalWorks, etc.)
• Referrals to CalAim or other healthcare plans and providers
• Referrals for substance use treatment services
• Referrals to mental health providers and services
• Supporting the coordination of water delivery and sanitation services​​

Encampments located in the unincorporated County are prioritized considering several factors, including: the size of the encampment; the percentage of highly vulnerable individuals in the encampment; the encampment’s longevity; and any associated public health, safety or sanitation issues that impact all Sacramento residents, regardless of housed status​​.

The intent of the broader County encampment coordination effort is to reduce the number of encampments through sustained monitoring by County departments and ongoing engagement. The County understands the community’s frustration with the return of encampments; however, the County is working within the legal constraints that require adequate notice and due process prior to resolving encampments. The key to supporting people on a pathway out of homelessness is through building a strong and trusting relationship over time. ​

While everyone is different and reasons for rejecting shelter vary, it is not uncommon for some people to reject services. Outreach workers cannot force people to accept shelter or housing, however, they have many tools to help motivate and encourage people to move, the most important of which is building a strong and trusting relationship. Individuals may choose to not go into shelter for a number of reasons including: 

• Unwillingness/inability to go to shelter (reasons for this can range from previous bad experience, concern about losing a partner, pet or their possessions, perception of shelter as being a dirty place, history of incarceration, lack of reliable transportation, etc.) 
• Current encampment location provides protection from natural elements 
• Encampment provides a sense of community and safety
• Individual(s) feel a connection to the surrounding neighborhood 
• Mental health condition may hinder them from accepting services 

For more information, visit the Sacramento County Responding to Homelessness website at schs.saccounty.gov​. 

A sanctioned encampment, also known as a “safe stay community,” is a temporary shelter setting with lower-barrier entry for our unhoused community members to stay in a safer and more sanitary environment, without the risk of being arrested or cited. These areas are bound by code of conduct and good neighbor policies, and on-site sanitation and food services. Additionally, the County will concurrently be standing up an Encampment Services Team to provide occupants with deeper connections to County behavioral health services, connection to benefits like CalFresh, CalWorks, Medi-Cal, etc., linkages to longer-term shelters, and flexible funding to help support individuals’ transition into permanent housing. Ultimately, these sites should be considered as stepping stones to stabilize and support individuals on a pathway to permanent housing.​

Stable housing that people can afford, with appropriate services and support is what ends homelessness.  However, safe stay communities can provide us the opportunity to provide immediate safe and hygienic locations for our neighbors experiencing homelessness to live and access services.  They also provide a consistent location for service providers and outreach workers to engage on a more regular basis with residents. Additionally, some of the broader community benefits include a reduction in trash and debris, the mitigation of environmental and health hazards, and the ability to restore land previously occupied by scattered encampment sites to its intended use.​

The County is looking at properties throughout the unincorporated County that are approximately one acre (or more) in size, have access to infrastructure, are close to existing homeless encampments, are relatively close to public transportation lines and services, and that do not have obstructions to development (e.g. utility easement through property, excessive sloping terrain, etc.).​

Each site will be scaled to reflect the size of the parcel, community needs, and to ensure appropriate services can be offered to the population. 

The safe stay communities are intended to be an interim solution between unsheltered homelessness and traditional shelter or housing. As compared to a traditionally constructed, permanent shelter, any built facilities at a safe stay site will be temporary as well. Some sites may accommodate safe parking where a household currently living in their vehicle can safely park their vehicle within the facility, and transition either directly from the vehicle into housing or into a shelter facility offered on site. For the shelter facilities built on site, the County is exploring a number of manufactured “sleeping cabin” products as a way to provide safety and dignity to the occupants and to ensure we can meet social distancing needs. Staff facilities, such as private offices for conducting case management sessions, will also be provided.​

Yes. The safe stay communities will provide on-site restrooms and shower, with a preference for those units to be plumbed into the underground sewer system. If portable units are used, they will be regularly serviced to ensure proper sanitation.​

Yes. The safe stay communities will provide on-site trash receptacles that will be regularly serviced by a commercial waste management company. The on-site operator will be responsible for daily cleaning of the site and the immediate perimeter and ensuring that occupants pick up after themselves. ​

Yes. The County has design staff who will be preparing site plans for each site that will include security fencing/gating to ensure that access in and out of the site can be supervised. The on-site operator will be responsible for monitoring the access points, and ensuring that only registered occupants, service staff, County staff, and emergency personnel have access.​

The safe stay communities are intended to be an interim solution to addressing unsheltered homelessness in the County. The County will work with property owners and the surrounding community for each individual site; it is anticipated that initial occupancy of most sites will be 24 months, with extensions considered site by site.​​​

The County will contract with an experienced shelter operator(s) for daily operational responsibilities. That operator will be responsible for 24/7 operations, provision of food and other supplies, regular cleaning and maintenance of the site, safety and security services, managing entry and exit from the site, engaging with occupants and connecting them to other services (including behavioral health services), providing individualized case management and housing support services, and on-going data collection and reporting.​

In addition to the day-to-day operational services described above, through the County's new Encampment Service Teams, deeper connections to County behavioral health services will be available, connections to longer term shelters, and flexible funding to help support transition into permanent housing, as well as support connecting to benefits such as CalFresh, CalWorks, Medi-Cal, etc.​​​

The on-site operator will be required to provide daily meals, snacks and water to all occupants. This could be through the provision of pre-packaged, non-perishable food and/or partnerships with food preparation services that cook meals off site and deliver them to the occupants.

Access to the sites is by referral only through the County Encampment Service Team. The Encampment Service Team works with outreach partners and community advocates to engage people experiencing homelessness in the surrounding community and invite them into the sanctioned encampment. There are no walk-up referrals to the site and currently the Safe Stay Communities are designed for adults only (no minor children).​​​​

Yes. In an effort to reduce barriers to people's ability/willingness to enter shelters, pets will be allowed on site and provisions for storage of personal belongings will be made, although efforts will be made to support people with de-cluttering as a way to prepare for movement into permanent housing. Pet policies will be established and enforced by the on-site operator that will include rules around restraining the animals, care and feeding, and cleaning up after them.​​​​​​

The safe stay communities will have a goal of moving people out of the site(s) into other longer term shelter programs or housing as soon as possible. However, people will not be “kicked out" after a predetermined length of stay, so long as they are complying with rules and engaging with service team members.​​​

The on-site operator will make every effort to engage occupants on-site and limit the necessity of leaving the site to meet daily needs by providing necessary services and supports on site. Service providers working with the occupants will support this by arranging transportation to appointments, to view housing, or for medical needs. Sites will have curfews after which (except in the case of a documented exception, such as employment) all occupants must be on site for the night.​​

If a person leaves on their own, the operator will be responsible for arranging transportation, either by taxi or by a shuttle. In the case when a person is asked to leave, it will only be in limited circumstances, and the operator will have an exit plan for that guest.​​​​