Another terrific column, and be sure to read the comments online, that says what most folks who have been paying attention to this issue for some time, have always known; that our public leaders have helped create a magnet in Sacramento that draws homeless from around the region, to the detriment of the neighborhoods adjacent to homeless services or illegal homeless camping, and in particular, the American River Parkway, which is unfortunately, the closest available (though illegal) camping area to the concentration of services along North 12th street.
A must read.
An excerpt.
“There are many who say it's deplorable that the homeless are "forced" to live in squalor along the American River. Forced? Really?
“Then there are the concerned and critical citizens who worked with Mayor Kevin Johnson this week to hammer out a "solution" to Sacramento's homeless issue.
“One wonders, how many of these people would be willing to have a homeless camp next to where they live?
“How many of you would?
“Johnson is going to bring the issue before the City Council on Tuesday. He said he is willing to consider a permanent tent city in Sacramento.
“Maybe a good spot would be the Fabulous 40s? Or Curtis Park, Land Park, McKinley Park, East Sacramento or the Pocket?
“Or how about taking a regional approach to homelessness and spread the responsibility around?
“That could mean a homeless camp in downtown Davis or in El Dorado Hills, Granite Bay, Carmichael or Fair Oaks.
"Surrounding communities have to step up," Johnson told me on Thursday. Yes. But if the past is any judge, they won't.
“We tend to stick homeless people next to poor people or people with no political power.
"We're upset that we haven't been heard," said Chris Dunne, who lives in the north Sacramento neighborhood next to where homeless people have been camping along the American River. "We've seen attacks on bike riders, drug dealers, prostitution. … Is it fair for all the homeless people in the area to be dumped in one spot?"
“None of this is fair. Politics and policies in surrounding communities push out homeless and they gravitate to Sacramento. Homeless advocates push for more services in Sacramento, with barely a nod to people like Dunne – or the reality that Sacramento is a homeless magnet.
“The homeless freely admit this:
"I'm not in Roseville or Rocklin because Roseville and Rocklin export their homeless to Sacramento," said John Kraintz, a long-time homeless person who spoke at Johnson's press conference on Thursday.”
