Sacramento County has spent tens of millions of dollars in recent years creating temporary transitional housing for people experiencing homelessness. But some advocates for the region’s unhoused community and local government leaders say more permanent options must be part of the mix. 

Camp Resolution, a self-governed homeless camp that was shut down by the city last August, was filled with people pushing for Sacramento to provide permanent housing. Instead, the city offered most residents temporary housing.

Housing advocates say that’s why projects like Auburn Oaks, an affordable housing complex that will create 88 permanent housing units for older adults at risk of homelessness, are critical in the county’s efforts to address homelessness. The property, located along Sunrise Boulevard in Citrus Heights, previously served as an assisted living facility and had fallen into disrepair, according to the county.  

Most recently, it served as temporary shelter for unhoused residents during the pandemic, as part of the county’s Project Roomkey.

Then last month, the Sacramento County Board of Supervisors approved $2.5 million in Mental Health Services Act funds to help transform Auburn Oaks into its next phase: permanent housing. 

The project will also benefit from a $24.8 million grant from the state’s Department of Social Services. 

Together, the funds will be used to develop or renovate 30 permanent supportive housing apartments dedicated to older adults living with serious mental illness who are homeless or at risk of homelessness. Officials expect to have 50 people living at the property by early spring. 

People living at the facility will have access to social and medical services, including from HOPE Cooperative, the nonprofit that owns and operates the facility. Services will include intensive case management and mental health support, the county said. 

Sacramento’s permanent supportive housing

Karina Riley, a spokesperson for the nonprofit, argued that permanent supportive housing programs are critical in addressing homelessness in the region.

“While transitional housing can be beneficial for people facing short-term homelessness, permanent supportive housing has been proven to be the most effective intervention for individuals with chronic homelessness and significant barriers to stability,” Riley stated in an email.

She argued that providing long-term housing with supportive services helps break the cycle of homelessness. That, in turn, reduces the strain it puts on emergency services.

Riley said her organization recognized the “critical shortage of affordable housing as a major barrier to helping” unhoused individuals. In response, HOPE Cooperative has expanded its role to include developing additional housing opportunities within the county. 

HOPE Cooperative provides behavioral health services to individuals in Sacramento and Yolo Counties. Those include homeless outreach, crisis intervention, intensive case management, supportive housing, life skills education, psychiatric services, therapy, co-occurring substance use treatment and residential support services.

The organization has operated in Sacramento County since 1981 and currently serves over 10,000 individuals a year. In 2021, it expanded to also serve  Yolo County. 

Behavioral health services in Sacramento 

Residents living at 30 of the permanent supportive units at Auburn Oaks will receive treatment services for the next two decades from Sacramento County’s Behavioral Health Services Division.

Elizabeth Zelidon, a spokesperson for  Sacramento County’s Department of Health Services, said this project is one of 23 local housing developments where the division has invested or committed funds to build and renovate dedicated apartments for homeless individuals. 

According to Zelidon, 16 of these developments provide 401 dedicated apartments with another 175 expected to be added across seven properties in the next two years.

Dr. Ryan Quist, director of the division, said this represents another piece in the county’s commitment to develop permanent supportive housing designed to meet the needs of people with behavioral health challenges. 

Adult services in Sacramento

Macy Obermuefemann, a spokesperson for Sacramento’s Department of Child, Family and Adult Services, said she’s happy to see the site open because it will “meet older adults where they’re at.”

“It also will help provide them with a sense of community because there will be other residents there who are in the same age group who are facing the same issues,”  she added. 

 Auburn Oaks will house some “adult protective services clients” who rely on her department for services. Her department works with individuals who have experienced abuse or neglect. . 

She said these services are becoming critical given the increase in Sacramento’s older homeless population. 

“We do know that there is an increase in people who are 60 plus who are experiencing homelessness,” she said.  “There are certain accesses that some older adults are going to need, like wheelchair ramps, handrails or help getting to a hospital.”

The county also opened Nattoli Place roughly two years ago. It’s a 15-bedroom emergency shelter for older adults experiencing homelessness. Obermuefemann said the shelter has helped dozens of people by providing temporary shelter and services. 

“Thanks to opening up Natoli Place, there have been several older adult clients who have been able to become housed,” Obermuefemann added. “We’ve had success stories with people who have been happily able to graduate from Natoli place and have now moved into their own apartments and other homes.” 

The need for more permanent supportive housing

According to the Terner Center for Housing Innovation at UC Berkeley, permanent supportive housing can be crucial in helping people exit homelessness because of its effectiveness at addressing chronic homelessness. 

“In some studies, more than 75% of residents remained housed after two years,” the center’s report stated. “At the community level, places that have expanded access to [permanent supportive housing] tend to see larger declines in chronic homelessness overall.”

Sacramento is one of several cities in California expanding its permanent supporting housing. The report noted that between 2013 and 2023, the state added roughly 33,500 units — an 80% increase. 

HOPE Cooperative is helping add more units to this number through several of its other housing projects that  will open in the next few months:

  • Hope Landing will provide 122 units of studios and one-bedroom apartments for seniors experiencing or at risk of homelessness. The Howe Avenue project is expected to open in March. 
  • Powell’s Landing is scheduled to open along Howe Avenue in March. It’ll provide 69 studio apartments for adults experiencing or at risk of homelessness.
  • Grow Florin plans to open in April. This will add 72 tiny homes for transitional housing. 
  • Renewed Hope is opening in April. The project will provide “reentering adults” 59 studio apartments.

Gerardo Zavala is the communities reporter at CapRadio. CapRadio is a partner of The Intersection and CVJC.