Sacramento Approves ‘Safe Stay’ Parking for Unhoused Residents

The Sacramento County Board of Supervisors voted to approve a $1.3 million, federally funded safe parking lot for unhoused residents, reports Ariane Lange for The Sacramento Bee. “The one-acre ‘safe stay’ lot will be administered by City Net, a nonprofit that works with homeless people. City Net could receive more than $1 million of state grant money each year for operating the site.”

According to Lange, “The director of the county’s Department of Homeless Services and Housing, Emily Halcon, told the board that this is an interim project as the county stands up the rest of the property for various homeless services.” The lot will include portable bathrooms and sinks, an office space for administrators, and enhanced lighting.

The lot will accommodate up to 30 people and could open early next year. Halcon called it a short-term solution, adding that people who stay there “will be expected to engage in the services that we offer.” Kyle Stefano, vice president of clinical programs at Community HealthWorks, told the board the concept of people refusing services is “misleading” when, in many cases, the “services” offered don’t fit an individual’s needs or situation.