Almost funny, if not so sad.
Article from KCRA 3 At MSN.
An excerpt.
“It has been more than two months since the city and county of Sacramento reached an agreement to coordinate efforts to address the homelessness crisis.
“KCRA 3 News checked in to see what has happened since the new partnership agreement was adopted in early December.
“Lots of work being done,” said Assistant City Manager Mario Lara.
“He explained that the city and the county have been meeting weekly, working out the details on how they will share data and what metrics they will use to measure progress or refining protocols for a shared training program to standardize how they are conducting outreach and assessments.
“I think the relationship and the communication has improved significantly, especially as a result of the partnership agreement because now it focuses us and we’re clear as to what exactly we’re working towards,” Lara said.
“The city and county have been combining resources for outreach teams, which include mental health workers that go out to encampments.
“Three days a week, we are out there, feet on the ground, working side-by-side county and city,” said Cait Fournier, mental health program coordinator with Sacramento County Behavioral Health Services.
“There are currently three outreach teams, but the goal is to increase that to 10 within six months.
“In the last couple months, we have added on; we are onboarding, interviewing and onboarding new staff as well to expand,” Fournier said.
“Another important piece of the puzzle is making sure there are enough beds to get people off the streets.
“The city announced it will reopen the Miller Park Safe Ground site by the end of the month after it closed during severe storms last month. However, instead of tents, it will offer travel trailers this time, accommodating up to 45 people.
“It is only a temporary option, Lara said.
“Clearly, Miller Park was never intended to be a long-term solution. It’s not an ideal site, and it is very costly to operate the way that we were operating it,” he said.
“Lara said the focus over the last few weeks has been on finding a more ideal location.”
What has happened since Sacramento city, county partnership to reduce homelessness? (msn.com)
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