Sacramento Clears Self-Governed Homeless Camp, Ending a Pilot Program Once Seen as a Model

A pilot program to test out a self-governed and city-sanctioned homeless encampment as a steppingstone to permanent housing has ended in Sacramento, with the city ordering it removed this week.
The city leased the land to the nonprofit Safe Ground Sacramento in March 2023 under an agreement that automatically renewed every 120 days. The nonprofit didn’t renew the lease earlier this month.
The city first received permission for homeless people to live at the former dumpsite and vehicle maintenance yard in 2022 from the California Water Quality Control Board, which had restricted the land from residential use because of cancer-causing chemicals beneath the surface.
The eviction comes after camp organizers denied attempts by the water board and the Sacramento Fire Department to inspect the grounds, despite Safe Ground Sacramento agreeing to the inspection, according to the press release.
Camp organizers were acting under the leadership of the Sacramento Homeless Union—a support organization that has been representing people at the site—whose actions were characterized by the city as “counterproductive interventions.”
Representatives for Safe Ground Sacramento and the Sacramento Homeless Union did not respond to a request for comment.
According to the city, Safe Ground Sacramento had hoped to create a model for other cities to follow. But the Sacramento Homeless Union was a hindrance, the city said, as organizers instructed camp residents to decline outreach services meant to direct them to permanent housing.
The city accused the group of refusing to follow terms of the lease agreement and of blocking city and social workers from entering to assist residents. The city added that the union also refused an offer to move the camp to a safer site last spring.
Since March 2024, the city has attempted to connect with Camp Resolution residents more than 60 times, the statement said.
“Unfortunately, Camp Resolution has proven to be a failed experiment, largely because of the counterproductive interventions from the Sacramento Homeless Union, which purports to represent the best interests of the people staying there,” officials said.
Sacramento outreach workers have successfully referred 10 people from the camp to city shelters or motels since the clearing and helped one person reunite with family, a city spokesperson told The Epoch Times.
The people evicted were offered shelter at the city’s Roseville Road Campus or its Outreach Engagement Center, where they would have access to temperature-controlled rooms, hot showers, bathrooms, and a case manager to help find permanent housing.
At the Roseville shelter, travel trailers or pallet homes are available, rather than congregate shelter, which the other location offers. Roseville shelter residents are allowed one pet per household, with some medical support and veterinary care for pets.
In total, 47 vehicles were towed from the camp, located at 2225 Colfax Street, including 16 city-owned trailers, 12 cars, 16 other trailers or RVs, and three utility trailers, according to city spokesperson Julie Hall. Registered owners of the vehicles have been asked to work with the city’s police department and the tow companies to retrieve their vehicles or any belongings.
Hall said 11 dogs and three cats were taken to the Front Street Animal Shelter, and 76,200 pounds of scraps and 750 needles were also removed from the site.
Cleanup efforts are ongoing, Hall said.