Top Stories

Sacramento's Latest News

 

Mayor Steinberg Proposes 'Right To Shelter' Legal Plan For Homeless

Sacramento City Council To Meet On Fate Of Tent City

Sacramento Mayor, Darrell Steinberg and Los Angeles County Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas are pushing to establish a "right to shelter" plan for California's homeless population.

Under the plan, homeless people would be legally obligated to stay in facilities shelters when invited. Steinberg and Ridley-Thomas will work with lawmakers as to how that will be enforced.

The "right to shelter law" is modeled after New York City, who has already adopted similar plans. Approximately 95 percent of the 79,000 of NYC's homeless now sleep indoors. NYC will spend about $1.6 billion to enforce the plan in 2019, according to the Los Angeles Times.

Mayor Steinberg noted that 68 percent of California's 130,000 of homeless population are currently sleeping outdoors, according to an article released by the Mayor's Office of Civic Engagement.

“We must acknowledge that it is infinitesimally harder to help sick and forgotten people while they are living outside instead of indoors,” Mayor Steinberg said. “We must treat homelessness and its victims no different than the way we rightfully rush to shelter and house people who are victims of earthquakes and wildfires.

Gov. Gavin Newsome appointed Steinberg and Ridley-Thomas as co-chairs of the governor's newly created Homeless & Supportive Housing Advisory Task Force. Ridley-Thomas labeled the California's homeless situation as "an emergency that requires bold and immediate action" in a recent statement.

"As co-chairs of the Governor's Statewide Task Force on Homelessness, Major Steinberg and I will leave no stone unturned and no policy examined so that both the public and private sectors can step up to meet this challenge," said Ridley-Thomas. "It won't be easy and it will require substantial investments in shelter, new housing option s and tenant protections to counter the overwhelming force of economic and housing insecurity. But we will absolutely remain steadfast."

The proposal is receiving legal criticism from homeless advocates with concerns of potential consequences if people refuse the obligation to accept shelter.


Sponsored Content

Sponsored Content