作者：辛西娅·休伯特

2023年12月13日

萨克拉门托 State held a spirited community discussion on Dec. 12 about one of the region’s most vexing and divisive issues: homelessness.

教师、学生、倡导者和无家可归的人参加了为期一天的研讨会，探讨了无家可归的原因，并集思广益，讨论了如何扭转越来越多的人的生活。

在卡尔森创新与创业中心举行的活动中，100多名与会者了解了当地过渡性住房社区的建议，并分享了有关帮助无家可归者获得心理健康和其他服务的信息。

The University’s School of Social Work and Department of Design hosted the discussion.

Solving homelessness requires a delicate balance between “protecting the rights of people living outdoors, and sanitation and public safety concerns” associated with encampments, said Social Work Professor Arturo Baiocchi, who has conducted extensive research on the subject.

无家可归者营地与水道污染、垃圾堆积、吸毒和酗酒以及犯罪等问题有关。

“People lose everything in these sweeps. 他们失去了所有的归属感。 It’s devastating.” -- Angela Hassell, executive director of 萨克拉门托’s Loaves & Fishes homeless program

挑战正在迅速增加：包括拜奥奇在内的博彩平台教师2022年的一份报告显示，萨克拉门托县估计有9278人没有住所，自2019年以来增加了67%。 Data for the report was gathered over two nights in February during the region’s annual “Point in Time” count.

“The problem is not going away until we have more infrastructure and permanent housing,” said Jessica Bruce, chief program officer for Los Angeles-based City Net Homeless Services. 但发言者指出，拟议的无家可归者住房项目经常面临邻居的强烈反对，可能需要数年时间才能开放。

与此同时，无家可归的人除了临时避难所之外几乎没有其他选择，其中许多避难所都有很长的等待名单和一些人认为过于严格的规定。

The city of 萨克拉门托 has responded to complaints about large homeless camps with regular law enforcement “sweeps” to clear the areas, a controversial practice that advocates call inhumane and ineffective.

“People lose everything in these sweeps,” said Angela Hassell, executive director of 萨克拉门托’s Loaves & Fishes homeless program and a 囊状态 alum. “They lose every single belonging that they have,” sometimes including wheelchairs, medications, and important documents. “It’s devastating.”

该市表示，它有义务回应有关难民营的投诉，并试图将人们与服务联系起来。 但支持者反驳说，无家可归的人通常只是搬迁到其他地区。

Participants in Tuesday’s conference also learned about more than a dozen proposed or active homeless housing programs in the 萨克拉门托 area. One is designed for graduates of Women’s Empowerment, an education and skills program. 另一个为青年提供紧急住房。

莎伦·琼斯和乔伊斯·威廉姆斯在户外帐篷里住了十多年，她们向观众讲述了萨克拉门托北部的“决议营”。 大约一年前，这些妇女建立了这个营地，其中有50人合法地住在拖车里，住在市政府以象征性的成本租给他们的土地上。

萨克拉门托 County’s district attorney is threatening to file criminal charges over the encampment, which is governed by its residents and prohibits drug and alcohol use.

“It’s not perfect, but it’s our community,” said Jones. “Every day is a fight, but it’s worth it.” 她补充说，这里的居民希望最终能搬进永久性住房。

有些人呼吁在机场附近等偏远地区建立大型无家可归者社区，而拜奥奇等人则主张在市区靠近交通、杂货店和其他服务设施的地方建立小型社区。

他说，这种方法可以让以前无家可归的人与邻居有机地互动。

“If we make homelessness invisible,” Baiocchi said, “it’s only going to worsen the problem.”