The City and County of Sacramento are clarifying their shared communications regarding the opening of the City’s new shelter-and-service campus on Roseville Road.
Recent media reports have quoted the County saying it was not aware of the campus until its opening was announced by the City in January. This is not accurate.
The City and County staff communicated about the pending opening of the campus in December. The City on Jan. 5. publicly announced the site’s location and opening.
“The County works to be as responsive as possible when providing timely and accurate information to the public,” said Kim Nava, the County’s director of public information. “Unfortunately, in this situation, the information we shared previously was incomplete, and we have corrected the record with the media outlets that reported on the subject. We are happy to work with our City partners to provide this update and reiterate our commitment to continuous improvement in our communication and collaborative work to address homelessness.”
“The City and County communicate multiple times every week as part of our collaborative efforts to address the homelessness crisis,” said Tim Swanson, the City’s media and communications manager. “Nevertheless, there is always room for improvement, and both organizations are committed to doing everything we can to refine and enhance our shared processes.”
To better coordinate efforts and resources to address the homelessness crisis in the Sacramento region, the City and County last winter entered into a formal partnership agreement.
The agreement calls for increased outreach coordination from multidisciplinary teams that include County behavioral health specialists as well as staff from the City’s Department of Community Response. It also defines the creation of additional shelter space for people experiencing homelessness, among other requirements.
Staff from the City and County in February will be presenting a shared report about the one-year outcomes of the partnership to their elected councils and to the public.