New report: Downtown Sacramento homelessness declined, but where did people go?
SACRAMENTO – The City of Sacramento believes it is seeing signs of progress when tackling homelessness. A new report shows the number of unsheltered people in a popular spot is going down.
On Tuesday, Mayor Darrell Steinberg shared that homelessness decreased by 40 percent in the heart of the city. Downtown Sacramento Partnership's monthly census saw a dip from last September when it counted 200 unhoused people.
The downtown area is often the pulse of the city while being the economic pillar for arts and entertainment. Yet, visitors see a clash between nightlife and homelessness.
"What we do in downtown Sacramento, we can do in every other community in Sacramento," Steinberg said.
However, homeless advocates are raising concerns.
"It's incredibly misleading to the public to say, 'Homelessness in the downtown area is down by 40 percent,' " said Bob Erlenbusch, executive director of Sacramento Regional Coalition to end Homelessness. "We're talking about 80 people."
Both homeless advocates and critics are also asking, where did these 80 unsheltered people go? Furthermore, do businesses think homelessness is on the decline?
"I do believe it's gone down by a little bit," said Lisa York, an employee at Garden of Enchantment located in Old Sacramento. "I don't believe it's gone down as much as they say they do. I feel like there still needs to be more programs with their mental health."
York told CBS13 the spiritual gift shop has been in business for 38 years at the same location.
"Business is booming following COVID-19 restrictions," York said.
Amid this bounce-back, the city says more than 40 people found long-term shelter. Most found long-term shelter at places like congregant shelters, motels, tiny homes and the reopened Miller Park site.
The rest is unclear at the moment.
When asked how the city is certain people did not migrate elsewhere, the mayor gave much credit to the city's partnership with Sacramento County, business leaders and outreach teams.
"We are actually reaching out to them," he said. "We're actually intervening with them."