Governator to coordinate with Johnson, Sacramento

"Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, left, and Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson hold a news conference Wednesday outside the winter shelter at Cal Expo. Schwarzenegger said the mayor approached him at an event, and "that very same day we went out to the tent city."

-Photo by BRIAN BAER/mailto:BAER/bbaer@sacbee.com

"The governor said he will try to find state money and suggested he would provide assistance for other cities struggling with chronic homeless problems." (SF Chronicle article linked below)

Sacbee Article

SF Chronicle Article

Bloomberg Article

Good reads. Commendable that both the city mayor and state governor are working address short-term needs of "tent city" in Sacramento through temporary accommodations. But the question still remains of how communities (or a nation) can meaningfully alter systems and configurations that have led to such a moral and societal failure. It is, however, encouraging that some leaders and policymakers can publicly agree that WE CANNOT allow circumstances like of "tent city" to continue without a compassionate, coordinate, and sustainable response from ALL

of us.

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Schwarzenegger, Johnson partner to address homeless issues
By Loretta Kalb lkalb@sacbee.com

Published: Wednesday, Mar. 25, 2009 - 12:20 pm Last Modified: Wednesday, Mar. 25, 2009 - 5:30 pm

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson said today they are working together to address short-term public health and safety issues and long-term solutions for the city's growing homeless population.

"We cannot look away and pretend this is not happening. It is happening, and we must take action," Schwarzenegger said in a joint press conference at Cal Expo.

"We must do all we can to do right by these people, who are living in these difficult times."
Johnson said, with the governor's help, 50 new beds will be available at the winter shelter at Cal Expo. The operation, managed by Volunteers of American, will stay open until July 1.

Near Loaves and Fishes, 500 bins will be available for personal belongings and kennels for 20 pets.

Johnson and Schwarzenegger vowed to do address longstanding problems of homelessness.
"This was a problem when I came into office. I said we are not going to ignore it any longer," Johnson said. "The city has swept this under the rug, ignored it. We are no longer going to accept that in the city of Sacramento."

The governor said Johnson approached him at an event, saying "one more thing." That led to a breakfast meeting to talk about homelessness, and a tour of Sacramento's tent city encampment that same day.

Schwarzenegger said the campers didn't have drinking water, toilets or wash water. "People in America for years have tried to find answers" for dealing with this issue, he said. "Nobody has found the sweet spot."

Johnson said homeless people should be treated with dignity and compassion. He praised the combined efforts of government, business, nonprofit and homeless advocates in developing a program in two weeks, culminating in a unanimous City Council vote Tuesday night on a $1 million homeless program.

It will provide 150 additional beds in Sacramento as a first step in easing the plight of the homeless, whose numbers have been growing with the downturn in the economy.

The city allocated $880,000 in city and redevelopment agency funds for the program, which includes other area shelters and plans for long-term housing. Sacramento County may agree to provide another $150,000 early next month.

The program will enable closure of a tent city along the American River, which gained wide prominence when Oprah Winfrey featured it on her television show.

A county survey last year found 2,700 people are homeless in the county, including 1,200 who are living on the streets.

Call The Bee's Loretta Kalb, (916) 321-1073.