Sacramento to close homeless shelter while over 800 families sit on waitlist
With over 820 families on the waitlist to get into a city homeless shelter, the city and county of Sacramento are closing a shelter that holds up to 68 homeless adults and their children.
The shelter, in the River District just north of downtown, has old piping that would cost over $4 million to fix, said Gabby Miller, a city spokeswoman.
“There are major issues with both the plumbing and the sewer pipes,” Miller said. “Galvanized piping was used, and it has failed in some locations beyond repair. Any efforts to repair the plumbing would trigger additional requirements for the building, which was constructed in 1977, to be brought up to the current code.”
Kristi Phillips, who’s been staying at the shelter with her 14-year-old son since late January, said she has not noticed any issues with the building or its water. She said she was in “shock and disbelief” when she learned the shelter will close Sept. 7.
“I’m feeling discouraged because it’s not a guarantee that we will be housed somewhere before it closes,” said Phillips, who works full time and has been searching for housing for years. “I can’t tell there’s anything wrong with the building except for the fact that there is a tarp on the grass by the office entrance with some pipes that were dug up and left. It’s really depressing for me.”
Rich Chowdry, president of Intech Mechanical in Roseville, said pipes of that condition could cause health issues for the people living in the facility.
“Leaky sewer lines can cause exposure to E-coli, giardia and salmonella,” Chowdry said. “Galvanized pipes as they deteriorate can release metals into the water that make you sick with diarrhea, etc.”
The shelter is located on Bannon Street, where hundreds of homeless people sleep outdoors near the Loaves & Fishes nonprofit.
The building was built in 1977, and was originally owned by the Sacramento Housing and Redevelopment Agency, said Miller. The nonprofit Volunteers of America started leasing it in 2011, then the city in 2017 acquired the building from SHRA.
The shelter has capacity for 68 people, and is currently housing about 43 people, said Janna Hanyes, a county spokeswoman. VOA stopped accepting new families to the site once the city and county decided it would close.
The county just signed a new year-long contract for about $1 million with VOA for the shelter, starting July 1. The county will only pay a portion of that amount since it’s closing two months into the contract. The County Board of Supervisors will decide how to reallocate the funds.
VOA has put over $1 million into the property over the years, funded by donations, said Christie Holderegger, a VOA spokeswoman.
“The inside looks beautiful warm and inviting,” said Holderegger, who declined a request from The Sacramento Bee to enter the shelter due to guest privacy. “It is the infrastructure that you can’t see which is the sewer and plumbing that is the biggest culprit. It truly is a shame that we have to close this beloved shelter that has stabilized hundreds of families over the years.”
Why isn’t shelter being moved?
The county does not have another facility currently to move the shelter into, Haynes said.
The city last year bought a large building on K and 9th streets for $18.5 million as part of a legal settlement to developer Paul Petrovich, just about a mile south of the Bannon Street shelter.
City Councilwoman Katie Valenzuela, who represents the area, has said she wants to explore using that building for the homeless. But the city has not yet announced what it will do with it.
“The city continues to explore its options for best uses of the property to support city goals and objectives as well as enhance the vibrancy of K Street,” said Tim Swanson, a city spokesman.
A new count found there are roughly 6,600 homeless people living in Sacramento on any given night, most of whom are sleeping outside and in the city limits. After the Bannon Street shelter closes, the city will have roughly 1,300 shelter beds and the county, which has a larger budget, will have about 700. A new shelter site is set to open on Stockton Boulevard later this year with 175 tiny homes.
None of the families in the Bannon Street shelter will be exited to the street, said Kim Nava, a county spokeswoman.
The city has yet to determine a future use for the Bannon Street building, Swanson said.
