A Real Solution

What is Needed

	Any legitimate environment of care always includes the necessary services to manage psychiatric patients. Wrap around services are synonymous with comprehensive psychiatric services, which people don't seem to understand. They include a psychiatrist, a psychologist, a medical doctor, a social worker, a drug counselor, a vocational rehab therapist and an occupational therapist.
	Dr. Drew Pinsky Interview with California Globe January 28, 2020

[The Homeless] are desperately in need of help. But within this community comes, unfortunately, addiction, mental health, which forces these vulnerable individuals to commit crimes.... But we also have to understand that these are not actions they are making by choice. Yet, they are forced. When you are an addict, the drug tells you what to do. You don't have a choice. When you're mentally ill, you don't make decisions on your own. Decisions are made that you don't have any control over.

Sean Loloee
Sacramento City Councilmember - District 2
Sacramento City Hall Meeting
December 14, 2021

A homeless outreach center must have complete wraparound amenities and services nearby in order to be effective. People become homeless for a number of reasons such as:

drug addictions
mental illness
emotional instability or trauma
...or a toxic combination of all these debilitating issues.

Any environment must contain experts to handle all these issues and provide an isolated, safe, environment. For example, if someone is attempting to overcome a debilitating drug addiction, they should be recover in an environment far from drug dealers. The treatment sites cannot be randomly located around the City: selected more for the convenience, of the Government, than for the benefits of the homeless and the affected communities. There are programs that address all these challenges.

However, the City's plan does not.

The site, in the Vacant Powerhouse Science Building on Auburn Blvd, does not.

The City's Plan

The City of Sacramento is adopting a plan that fails to address any of the causes for homelessness, and only addresses the symptoms.

Poor Planning

City plans to create a number of, random, shelter sites around the City of Sacramento. These were chosen for convenience.
The sites are located in residential neighborhoods.
The public was, deliberately, not warned about the creation of the sites.
Homeless leaving the sites will spill over into the nearby communities.

Lack of Support

The sites will fail to provide a safe, isolated, environment conducive to treatment.

The sites do not contain 24/7 security.
The sites do not contain on-staff mental-health or addiction support.
The sites do not provide safe transportation to, and from, the sites.

A Real Solution

	There are dedicated services and beds for the homeless left unused and there is plenty of money to provide these services... If we start actually treating all the psychiatric illnesses in the street, we will quickly need to develop more environments of care like the Trieste Model or Haven for Hope, which are proven models that succeed.
	Dr. Drew Pinsky Interview with California Globe January 28, 2020

Many community members have suggested that the city focus on larger more comprehensive sites and adopt the model used in Texas at "Haven for Hope" or "Trieste". The following are some helpful links:

This website is not affiliated with Haven for Hope or Trieste.