As people of faith, we see a moral imperative to end homelessness in Sacramento. Practically speaking, though, we also see the need to marshal our resources around a common vision and a concrete plan.
So far, local government leaders and nonprofit service providers have struggled to align services and coordinate care, and to create a real safety net to end the suffering endured by those forced to live without shelter.
I enjoy good political theater. And the August 23 Sacramento Area Congregations Together community meeting on homelessness held at St. Mark’s United Methodist Church was political theater at its finest. A packed church with more than 300 focused and passionate people, plus a pinch of preaching and a bucket of data, equals sophisticated pressure put on elected officials. It does not get much better than that.
Other political players such as business groups and unions have a fiduciary responsibility to their constituencies, causing them to have a narrow focus, such as getting a tax break or a wage increase. Conversely, ACT is comprised of 56 different religious and neighborhood groups, representing 60,000 families, and therefore can take on big societal issues such as reforming the criminal justice system or ending homelessness.
After a violent summer that culminated with another deadly shooting in Meadowview, the Sacramento City Council voted unanimously last Tuesday (August 29) to fund a new program aimed at the most violent offenders.
Advance Peace uses mentoring and intervention to reduce gun violence and Sacramento will invest $1.5 million in the program during the next three years.
SACRAMENTO -- A group of church leaders held a panel Wednesday night with members of the Sacramento City Council and Sacramento County Board of Supervisors to address the growing number of homeless. Hundreds attended the community action meeting.
Starting with stories from former homeless pulling their lives together, hundreds gathered from several different churches, for an update on the growing number of homeless in Sacramento County.
"We're tired of continuing to put bandaids on a problem, we have the resources to fix this," said Dean Brian Baker with Trinity Episcopal Cathedral.
Hundreds of people filled the pews at a Sacramento church Wednesday night in a “call to action” for elected leaders to work together to solve Sacramento County’s growing homeless crisis.
“This is a critical moment, we believe,” said Alan Jones, pastor at St. Mark’s United Methodist Church, which hosted the gathering. “We believe we can do much better than we have thus far,” he said, in “helping our sisters and brothers who are being dehumanized” by living on the streets and in temporary shelters.
The event, organized by Sacramento Area Congregations Together, attracted more than 300 people, including Mayor Darrell Steinberg, who has made reducing homelessness a priority, and several other city and county political leaders.
There are over 5,600 people experiencing homelessness in Sacramento County and the affordability crisis in the region will worsen that problem.
Sacramento Area Congregations Together is one of many non-profits combatting homelessness in our area with a variety proposed solutions. They are meeting with Mayor Darrell Steinberg and the county board of supervisors Wednesday night in a public meeting to develop a cohesive strategy.
Sacramento’s spiritual community, citing an alarming increase in homelessness, has issued a “call to action” for a comprehensive, collaborative plan to get thousands of people off the streets in the capital city and beyond.
St. Mark’s and Sacramento Area Congregations Together are organizing a community meeting Wednesday evening at the church near Watt and El Camino avenues to urge political and community leaders to work together to begin drafting such a plan. Mayor Darrell Steinberg, who has made tackling homelessness a priority, is scheduled to attend, along with other city and county elected officials. The gathering is open to the public.