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Safe Ground Sacramento
To Turn Lives Around
Being homeless, being in need, should
not be a crime. And it can no longer be
an invisible problem that we just turn
away from, or that we assume can never
be “solved.”
That’s why three of Sacramento’s largest
and oldest homeless service
organizations - Loaves & Fishes, Francis
House, and S.H.O.C. – have banded
together to find a solution to at
least part of the problem.
Tough times demand creative solutions.
Sacramento has public land that no one
is using – land that, along with a
unique “WorldShelter,” can provide a
homeless person with a safe
place to stay for only $2 a night.
We are asking the City to provide our
homeless neighbors with the most basic
human right – a safe place to be - and a
safe place to rebuild lives - a place
called “Safe Ground”
Join the Rally and March
to what we hope will be our new Safe
Ground site
With Special Guests Papa Roach
Wednesday, July 1st - 10:00 a.m.
Meet at Loaves & Fishes
1321 North C Street, Sacramento, CA
95811
More About the Issue
"Safe Ground" is…
§ A secure location, sanctioned by the
city & operated by the residents
§ A place with clean water, toilets, and
garbage collection
§ A place where residents can be free
from harassment and danger
§ A place where homeless people can
access services they need to turn their
lives around
Every day, more than 1,200 homeless men,
women, children and families are
struggling to make it on Sacramento
County’s streets.
Homelessness is not a new problem. But a
bad economy means more people on the
streets, and fewer government dollars to
help them.
On June 30th, hundreds of the County’s
shelter beds will be shut down – forcing
as many as 350 more homeless people out
onto the street with no place to sleep
or call home.
The County is also considering another
$5 million in cuts to homeless programs
– meaning the loss of an additional $25
million in federal funding.
Making it a crime to be homeless means
even fewer can work their way out. The
City’s “camping ordinance” makes it
illegal for anyone to use or store
camping paraphernalia on
public property. It makes being homeless
a crime.
The constant threat of arrest, the lack
of sleep and of sanitary conditions,
exacerbates any mental or physical
impairment that may have contributed to
their homelessness in the
first place. And the lack of “safe
ground” – where homeless people can
stay, leave their belongings and be more
accessible to service providers, lessens
the chance they will be
able to work their way out of
homelessness. [Link to legal brief with
psychologist’s statement]
It’s time that our state’s Capitol show
some leadership on this issue.
Sacramento can be a model for all cities
around the state and the nation by being
the first city in
California to declare a “safe ground”
for homeless people.
In the News
What follows is a compilation of links
to articles and videos that illustrate
the work we have just begun, on behalf
of our brothers and sisters who live in
the shadows of our
cities, in tents and in sleeping bags.
For all of us who have ever experienced
poverty of body, mind or spirit, we
rededicate ourselves to loving one
another and providing "Safe
Ground" or "a place to be" for every,
man woman and child, and their pets.
What is more important for us to
accomplish?
"Lord, we thank you for this circle of
people who care for one another... and
for the purpose you have brought into
our lives. And guide us in the future
weeks to make an even
greater impression on those who have the
power, as we do, to change the world."
- Greg Bunker, ED, Francis House
Click on these recent
news articles for more information:
Oprah web piece
The Nation –
“Tales of Tent
City”,
Ben
Ehrenreich –
§
Live From Tent
City YouTube Day 21
(Safe Ground Rally)
(by
Costa
Mantis,
includes
quotes
from
Sister
Libby,
Joan
Burke,
Mark
Merin
and
Greg)
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Founding
Agencies
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Take
Action
Now.
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