Kaiser Permanente Commits $32 Million To Address Homelessness In Sacramento

SACRAMENTO (CBS13) — Mayor Darrell Steinberg announced a $32 million plan to address the homeless crisis along with the help of Kaiser Permanente.

People who live and work near X Street and Alhambra Boulevard said they're no strangers when it comes to dealing with the homeless.

"Somebody went through our car and took keys for our house and stuff," Genevieve Larocque said.

"Sometimes somebody's doing something on our property that they shouldn't be doing," Erin Pomidor said.

And, more could soon be on the way. Of the money pledged by Kaiser, $5 million is going toward opening shelters at X and Alhambra and next to the Pannell Meadowview Community Center on Meadowview Road.

Kaiser Permanente told CBS13 that a chunk of the plan would also invest up to $25 million to preserve and create affordable and supportive housing. The first investment of these funds will preserve 172 affordable units in three Section 8 properties in Sacramento and Rancho Cordova.

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A portion is also committing $2 million to leverage the city's national partnership with Community Solutions and its Built for Zero initiative to support systems change working with cities, counties and other key stakeholders.

It's something some homeless people including Jonathan Humphrey are grateful for.

"I think that's very important you know for the community that we can move forward with helping and not just talking," Humphrey said. "You can look around; you see a lot of homeless."

While the money might be going to addressing an ongoing crisis, people here are sympathetic but hesitant at the same time.

"No one's controlling it whereas they would have controlled that before," Larocque said. "But I have mixed emotions. feel like everybody should have space to go and nobody's really helping them."

"I know it does reduce property values and that always has to be a concern. But at the same time everybody's got to live somewhere," Pomidor said.