Sacramento DA explains why he is pressing the city to do more on homelessness | Opinion

Our community is at a breaking point. We have an unhoused population living in conditions typical of Third World countries. And we have the rest of the community stuck between compassion and chaos. It is the time for action.

As your District Attorney, I am committed to using this office, the law, and every tool available to spurn action on homelessness. Even if that makes some of us uncomfortable.

Opinion

Our humanitarian crisis is getting worse, not better. I have personally and professionally witnessed the deterioration of our city—and I am certainly not alone. Over the last six years, our unsheltered population has increased by over 200%. According to a federally-mandated point-in-time count of homeless people, there are now more unhoused people in Sacramento, per capita, than in San Francisco.

The unhoused deserve to be safe and to be provided services. And we are not going to criminalize the unhoused for being unhoused.

However, our public safety problem is also getting worse, not better. In the last year, my office has documented 87 incidents around the downtown courthouse, many of them involving unhoused individuals. The Presiding Judge of the Sacramento Superior Court and I wrote separate letters requesting assistance to address these public safety concerns, but the situation has only worsened.

Here are just two recent examples: A court reporter was assaulted in broad daylight at Cesar Chavez Park during the local farmer’s market. And just this past week, a district attorney employee was threatened while walking back to our offices from the courthouse.

In response, my office invited the community to complete a survey regarding 16 encampments located throughout the City of Sacramento. We have received over 1,000 responses in just a few days, and many were chilling.

Residents reported they were assaulted at gunpoint by an unhoused individual; a girls’ soccer game was postponed because of hypodermic needles on the field; a homeowner was diagnosed with PTSD due to the constant harassment and break-ins by unhoused people living in an encampment across the street from her home; residents were forced to shield their children from public sex acts; children having to walk through human feces and urine to get to school; and a woman was attacked by dogs while trying to walk her own.

Some respondents said their calls to the city for help had gone unanswered. I urge the city of Sacramento to join me in answering the call. It is our duty to keep the housed and the unhoused safe.

We cannot look the other way when it comes to requiring all of our residents to follow the law. Does that mean locking up everyone currently living on our streets? Of course not. But it does mean the city of Sacramento must consistently enforce our laws.

Our community has resources and programs available to address these issues and some individuals are taking advantage of them. But many are not. The consistent low-level enforcement of city codes and ordinances will also help compel participation in these services. To this end, I encourage the city of Sacramento, the Sacramento Police Department, and the City Attorney’s Office to consistently use their powers to enforce city codes and ordinances. My office stands ready to prosecute violent crime and repeat offenders.

Some say this approach lacks compassion. But is it compassionate to let someone die in the sweltering summer sun or freeze to death in the cold winter night? Is it compassionate to allow unsafe conditions to fester so badly that parents are too afraid to take their children to the park? Is it compassionate when someone in a wheelchair cannot use a sidewalk blocked by tents or a small business is forced to close forever due to repeated broken windows and vandalism?

We cannot be paralyzed with inaction as we wait for the perfect solution that may never appear. We need safe and centralized locations for the unsheltered to camp so that focused services can be efficiently provided. The use of Safe Ground locations can help address this crisis in the short term, but the city must consistently enforce the law in and around such sites to prevent public safety issues in the communities where encampments are located.

These are important first steps, but more will be required.

Among the chronically homeless population, 82 percent report a serious mental health condition in some period during their life, according to the largest state study of its kind. Long-term solutions are necessary to address this complex crisis.

That’s why we must pass the ballot measures proposed by Governor Gavin Newsom. The first measure would create 10,000 new community beds and housing units for behavioral health patients. The second measure would modernize and expand the Mental Health Services Act to provide funding to include substance abuse disorders. This modernization will allow for more effective intervention to provide much-needed substance abuse treatment for those in need.

We also need legislation to update archaic laws that hinder the state’s ability to help its most vulnerable through the use of conservatorships. State Senator Susan Talamantes Eggman is pursuing this change with SB 43, which would allow for involuntary guardianship and treatment for those who suffer from substance abuse disorders.

Past approaches have failed. We cannot stand idly by while lawless zones of our city proliferate. They erode the well-being of our community and those who live and work here. Making progress on homelessness is going to be hard, but I am committed. My actions are deeply rooted in my commitment to protecting and enhancing public safety. My office stands ready to give this crisis the urgent attention it demands.

Thien Ho is District Attorney of Sacramento County