Voters in Sacramento to decide whether city should clear more encampments
SACRAMENTO – Voters in Sacramento will be deciding on whether the city should clear more homeless camps.
The issue will be on the November ballot despite a legal challenge from advocates who tried blocking it after a judge sided with the City of Sacramento on Measure O.
If passed, Measure O would require the city to create 600 more shelter beds and would allow officials to clear encampments of four or more people – even if the city cannot give them somewhere else to go.
Sacramento County also released some grim numbers on Thursday showing the number of homeless deaths last year.
Nearly 200 unhoused people died on the streets in 2021. This number is higher than in recent years.
Most deaths were due to substance abuse, the statistics show.
The county saw the most overall deaths ever last year, with 8,600 reported to the coroner.