Homelessness & Housing

Sacramento has an severe affordable housing and homelessness crisis.  ACT has worked to gain cooperation between the City and County of Sacramento to develop a comprehensive plan to end homelessness.  We also understand the intersection between homelessness and mental health and work to expand mental health resources.  We are working to increase housing stability and access in impacted communities, including housing for formerly incarcerated residents and youth.  We are working on inclusionary zoning and ways to assure that affordable housing is distributed through the region.  We are raising affordable housing and homelessness as critical issues continuously during budget processes and throughout the year.

SacACT Response to U.S. Supreme Court Ruling:

CITY OF GRANTS PASS, OREGON v. GLORIA JOHNSON, ET AL. June 30, 2024

SacACT and its partners are profoundly disappointed by the Supreme Court’s decision

in favor of the City of Grants Pass in the above matter.  The Court held that local

government ordinances with civil and criminal penalties for “camping on public land” do

not constitute cruel and unusual punishment of homeless people. Falling in line with a

disheartening pattern of recent years, the ruling will embolden local and state

governments to move to criminalize poverty and dehumanize the most vulnerable

members of our society.

Our organization is a coalition of Sacramento area faith groups, most of which provide

direct services to our unhoused neighbors. Like the City of Grants Pass, our goal is

that none of our neighbors should sleep on the streets. Unlike Grants Pass, our local

governments and federally-funded agencies utilize federal, state and local funds to

operate shelters and provide supportive services, and permanent supportive housing

when necessary.

The concluding paragraph of the “Brief of Amici Curiae Kairos Center for Religions,

Rights and Social Justice and Other Religious Organizations in Support of

Respondents” summarizes our position:

“The universal bedrock beliefs of faith traditions have affirmed for centuries that

punishing poor and homeless people for the effects of their poverty and

homelessness fails to honor the holy nature of creation, and thereby fails society

as a whole. The resilience of these interfaith religious principles over space and

time demonstrates that “the evolving standards of decency” applicable to the

punishment of the poor and unsheltered, who have nowhere else to go, are clear

and urgent.”

Although the Supreme Court rejected the “cruel and unusual punishment” argument to

restrain inappropriate actions by state and local government overreach, we have faith

that here in Sacramento local governments will continue to pursue a compassionate

approach. Advocates will continue to seek protection of our vulnerable neighbors’ safe

space and, indeed, their very existence. SacACT will continue our work to influence

our own local governments to operate from a place of compassion and to expand local

efforts to end homelessness in our community. When everyone has a home, everyone

in our community is better off – housed and unhoused alike.

Housing & Homelessness Updates

WANT TO GET INVOLVED IN OUR HOMELESSNESS & HOUSING WORK?

Contact Hazel Watson - hazel@sacact.org