The Board of Supervisors, at its March 26 meeting, received a report on outreach and​ engagement efforts to address homelessness in the unincorporated County and Regional Parkway System. Photo courtesy of Sacramento County

SACRAMENTO COUNTY, CA (MPG) - The Board of Supervisors, at its March 26 meeting, received a report on outreach and​ engagement efforts to address homelessness in the unincorporated County and Regional Parkway System. In its March 12 meeting, the Board received an update about the Homeless Services Partnership Agreement between the County and the City of Sacramento.

The County of Sacramento (County) is the primary entity responsible for providing homeless outreach services to unincorporated areas and the Parkway System. The County’s approach to outreach services is multifaceted with teams dedicated to:

-Proactive outreach to County-identified priority encampments
-Response driven needs from Sheriff, Rangers, and other County partners
-Maintaining consistent outreach ‘office hours’ distributed throughout suburban areas and the Parkway system​

County funded outreach teams employ a ‘case carrying’ approach in which they provide on-going engagement focused on resolving a person’s experience of unsheltered homelessness. The case carrying approach may result in dozens of interactions with one person over the course of several months to ensure they are receiving the services they need. Services outreach teams’ offerings include (not limited to):

-Shelter and Permanent Supportive Housing through Coordinated Access System (CAS)
-Referrals and linkages to community resources
-Securing vital documents
-Transportation support
-Access to basic needs supplies​

The case-carrying method may result in less people served over the course of the year, but with a higher rate of positive outcomes. With the goal of ending homelessness for each person served, this method has proven to be more effective than volume alone.

The outreach team also created “Drop-In hours” that are held at the same location, on the same day and time in each geographic region to ensure that individuals can access services when they’re ready. Community Health Workers hold these 2-hour sessions in easily accessible community locations to let any community refer someone so that individuals in crisis have consistent access to navigation services. 

Outreach By the Numbers: January 1 – December 31, 2023

-55 encampments in unincorporated County and American River Parkway (ARP)
-16 consistent drop-in locations
-1,284 unduplicated individuals enrolled into County programs
-34,948 services provided (average of 27 services per client)

Services include:

-Shelter assessments and placements
-Connections to community resources
-Securing vital documents
-Basic needs supplies
-Transportation assistance

350 individuals transitioned out of unsheltered homelessness (35% of clients)

-Permanent Housing 11%
-Temporary Housing 2%
-Shelter/Interim Housing 22%

Behavioral Health Services

The Homeless Engagement and Response Team (HEART) uses a phased approach to help encampment residents enroll in needed behavioral health services and support. In the initial phase, they develop rapport and trust over time. The timeline for these phases can be weeks or years. The team’s ultimate goal is to reach enrollment phase so that encampment residents will consent to and can obtain the behavioral services they need. 

351 individuals enrolled in one or more specialty mental health programs*:

-Outpatient Services: 236
-Full Service Partnership (FSP): 30
-Substance Use and Prevention Treatment (SUPT): 85

 210 individuals linked to a program and received their first service*

-Outpatient Services: 123
-Full Service Partnership (FSP): 27
-Substance Use and Prevention Treatment (SUPT): 60

*Individuals who are enrolled in services may have been screened during a previous reporting period or by another program

Florin Road Safe Stay Community Update

The County opened its first sleeping cabin community, named a “Safe Stay Community” in August of 2023. The County contracted with City Net, a community-based non-profit, as the program’s operator. 

The Florin Safe Stay is a temporary shelter with lower-barrier entry for our unhoused community members. This site operates 24 hours per day, seven days per week with sleeping accommodations for up to 125 individuals. Meals, case management, rehousing services, secure storage, and supportive services are available for all program participants.

Individuals residing in the area around the Florin Safe Stay are prioritized for shelter access. The County has partnered with a number of entities to refer eligible individuals into the program:

-Community HealthWorks (CoHeWo)
-The City of Sacramento Department of Community Response (DCR) and it’s outreach partners
-County Behavioral Health’s Homeless Engagement and Assistance Team (HEART)

Ramping up the program takes time and effort. The Community was at full capacity in December 2023. Enrollments and subsequent outcomes can be slow, as residents learn to trust the community and system and case managers offering them services. 

Florin Road By the Numbers: August 2023 – February 2024

-Total number of unduplicated individuals served: 178 (164 households)

65% older than 45
57% homeless longer than two years
55% self-report a chronic disability
Average length of stay: 94 days
24% of exits to positive outcomes

City/County Partnership Outcomes – Year One

On December 6, 2022, the City and County executed the Homeless Services Partnership Agreement to improve the coordination and combining of efforts to meet the needs of the unhoused and to move individuals out of homelessness, specifically within the City of Sacramento.

The five-year agreement identifies the roles and responsibilities of the City and County and demonstrates a shared commitment to reducing unsheltered homelessness through systems-level changes and strategies. It includes joint outreach teams, hundreds of additional shelter beds and a commitment to do “whatever it takes” to meet the behavioral health needs of people experiencing homelessness. 

The City and County created 10 new multi-disciplinary teams that include contracted city and county outreach workers, as well as members of the HEART. Teams are out daily, at sites identified by the City, to conduct outreach, assessments and make referrals and connections to services. 

The City/County also identified a location for a new Safe Stay Shelter site, that will be funded and operated by the County once it opens for guests in Fall 2024, as well as the new Community Outreach Recovery Empowerment (CORE) Behavioral Health Center that opened on X street in the downtown corridor that can serve up to 1,100 people a year.

Partnership Outreach By the Numbers: January 1 – December 31, 2023

-28 Encampment Workers (12 Behavioral Health Staff, 15 CalAIM-funded outreach staff)

-5,192 unique locations services
-3,855 unique individuals supported with 27,316 services provided

373 individuals transitioned out of unsheltered homelessness (11%)

Behavioral Health Outreach in the City

380 individuals enrolled in one or more specialty mental health programs*:

-Outpatient Services: 299
-Full Service Partnership (FSP): 63
-Substance Use and Prevention Treatment (SUPT): 55

 261 individuals linked to a program and received their first service*

-Outpatient Services: 183
-Full Service Partnership (FSP): 60
-Substance Use and Prevention Treatment (SUPT): 43

For more information about what the County of Sacramento is doing to address homelessness, visit our Department of Homeless Services and Housing website: https://schs.saccounty.gov/pages/default.aspx