The concept of creating legal campgrounds for the homeless often creates serious problems for the community adjacent to the designated camping areas, and the local problems allegedly suffered by the family next door to the campground (whose legality is yet to be determined) in this article from the Sacramento Bee are, if found to be true, truly a tragic consequence of trying to help resolve the tragedy of homelessness in Sacramento.
The solution we support is the Housing First concept, which we addressed in our 2005 report The American River Parkway Lower Reach Area, A Corroded Crown Jewel: Restoring the Luster. (pp. 25-49)
An excerpt from the Bee article.
“An elderly Sacramento man is suffering health issues because of a downtown homeless camp that has sprung up next to his home, his lawyer told a judge Thursday.
“Pedro Hernandez, 71, is seeking a temporary restraining order that would drive away 15 to 30 men and women who have been allowed to live on the property at 13th and C streets for the past month.
"He has health problems that are deteriorating by the minute, hour and day," Aldon Bolanos told Sacramento Superior Court Judge Shelleyanne Chang. Bolanos said he has medical reports showing that Hernandez's heart condition, high blood pressure and diabetes have worsened since the encampment sprung up.”
