Sacramento Mayor Aims To Make Shelters A Right For Every Homeless Person In California
SACRAMENTO (CBS13) — Mayor Darrell Steinberg wants to make it a right for every homeless person in the state to have shelter.
"Think about what your life, anyone's life would be living out in the elements for a long time without protection and without a roof over your head. We gotta do different and better," said Mayor Steinberg.
He is proposing enough shelters for all the homeless people living on the streets of California.
"Until we get people indoors, it is much harder to help them reclaim their dignity and their lives," said Mayor Steinberg.
The proposal is modeled after a program in New York, spending $1.5 billion a year to shelter about 75,000 people. California has around 90,000 people living on the streets.
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"Would you be willing to spend a billion five a year from the state including some local resources to clean up our streets and to bring people indoors in a more humane way?" Mayor Steinberg asked.
He went on to say he believes the majority of people would say yes.
Once enough shelters are built, anyone who is still living on the streets could be fined or cited. While the details are still being worked out, some homeless advocates say more still needs to be done.
"We should be even more forward-thinking and progressive to say at the same time, we're going to double down on affordable housing," said Bob Erlenbusch with the Sacramento Regional Coalition to End Homelessness.
