The winter weather, with rain and cooler temperatures, creates new challenges for the homeless in the area. Last year at this time, the Bridge to Housing Program was initiated. Under this program, long-term homeless residents were moved from encampments along the river to a converted motel. At that location, they received job and life counseling and were directed to services that included mental health and substance abuse treatment. But this winter, no motel is available to help them.

Just three months ago in August, the West Sacramento City Council approved a $20,000 payment from the general fund to cover the costs of hiring a homeless coordinator. They share the cost of the homeless coordinator with the cities of Winters and Woodland. The homeless coordinator focuses on program management for West Sacramento. Services include outreach, assessment, and police department requests for service and homeless encampment cleanups.

The homeless coordinator also works to maintain access to cold weather shelter beds at a facility that operates in Woodland from November 15^th to March 15^th. Under the terms of the agreement, the cities of West Sacramento, Woodland, and Winters will have a collective total of just ten beds per night during the cold weather.

The last count of homeless individuals, which took place in January 2015, indicated that there were a total of 167 people in West Sacramento who were considered to be homeless. Of these, less than 25 were classified as children. The total number of homeless counted in the Yolo County area were 498.

Woodland has an emergency shelter for homeless people in the area. It is located at Fourth and Hope. Individuals and families are welcome to go to the emergency shelter. While there, the staff can identify their needs and by doing so, connect them to the appropriate resources.

In 2010, a study was funded by Community Development Block Grant funds. This fund is managed by the State of California Department of Housing and Community Development. The study was entitled “One Piece at a Time: Ending and Preventing Homelessness for Yolo County Residents” (2010-2020).

The cities of Davis, Woodland, Winters, and West Sacramento all signed on. The plan was to create partnerships with public agencies, non-profit service organizations, faith-based organizations, rental property owners, and community members throughout Yolo County. The plan’s goals included prevention of homelessness for those at risk, providing a wide range of housing opportunities, supportive services to help them to maximize their self-sufficiency, and effective implementation.

Homelessness is on the rise in Yolo County. Associate Management Analyst Tracey Dickinson recently shared with the Board of Supervisors that the number of people identified as homeless in Yolo County is 498. The Board of Supervisors issued a report based on a survey of the homeless in the county. Sixty percent of those counted were between the ages of 25 and 54. Sixty-four percent reported that they had no family. Seventy-four percent reported that that had at least one health issue, which included PTSD, substance abuse, severe mental illness, developmental disabilities, and a physical illness or disability. Twenty-nine percent of them stated that they had three or more of these issues.

With winter weather now upon us, the question that many local residents are asking is where the homeless will seek shelter. Is it up to the West Sacramento City Council to come up with a plan for housing them? Should they direct them to Woodland, where shelter may be available? Should the homeless go to Sacramento where their services are also strained?

There are very few options available, but it is clear that studying the problem and issuing reports is not working. According to the “One Piece at a Time” study, “the efforts that are underway to end homelessness for Yolo County residents and their needs are still unmet.”

Sources: 10-Year Plan to End Homelessness; “One Piece at a Time: Ending and Preventing Homelessness for Yolo County Residents”; January 26^th, 2015 Homeless Count Overview conducted by the Yolo County Homeless and Poverty Action Coalition; Bridge to Housing Pilot Project.