On November 5th, the County Board of Supervisors will vote to amend Sacramento County Code 9.120 to include a wider net for sweeping unhoused people in our County.  The proposed ordinance update is so drastic that large sections that [minimally] protected unhoused people from sweeps will be removed. Moreover,  shelter does not have to be provided when sweeping due to the recent Grants Pass v. Johnson Supreme Court decision. This proposed amendment changes the code title to 'Unlawful Camping On Public Property.' Encampments are more broadly defined to include people sleeping in vehicles, trailers, campers, or recreational vehicles. It also prohibits camping on public property or "within 1000 feet of emergency shelters and other locations providing shelter to homeless individuals."

Sacramento County spends over $220 million annually on programs and services to serve unhoused people, but it is not addressing the root of the issue: the absence of shelter. Loaves & Fishes is keenly aware of the need to address the crisis of homelessness. We agree that people should not be sleeping outside; however, with no alternatives to shelter, affordable/permanent supportive housing and public spaces are all that are left. 

At Loaves & Fishes, we advocate for policy decisions that support our guests; this ordinance only hurts them and pushes them further into the margins. We cannot continue to try to sweep away human beings fighting for survival. The meeting is scheduled for the9:30 AM (agenda item #52, consent calendar).  

We hope you will join us in our dissent by writing to the Sacramento Board of Supervisors. You may email the Board Clerk to submit public comment at BoardClerk@saccounty.gov.