Sacramento County’s second tiny home village, or Safe Stay Community, is set to welcome unhoused residents starting next week.
The collection of 45 tiny homes at 7001 East Parkway will provide temporary shelter and an array of social services for people who live in tents and vehicles in the surrounding South Sacramento neighborhood near Florin Road and Highway 99.
“We want to do outreach and create relationships and bring people that are unhoused in that immediate area in off the streets,” said Janna Haynes, a county spokesperson.
Haynes described the new community as “somewhere that is safe, somewhere that is private, they have their own cabin, they have their own locking door.” She added the county’s goal is to “stabilize their basic needs so that we can ultimately treat whatever acute needs they have that are keeping them in homelessness.”
The new shelter is located in a parking lot near a county health services office. With 34 single-occupancy cabins and 11 double-occupancy cabins, the site can house up to 56 people.
The county opened its first Safe Stay community with 100 cabin-sized homes in August following months of delays, cost-overruns and community opposition from nearby residents and businesses. Haynes said neighbors have generally supported plans for the East Parkway shelter, which is modeled after the first project.
Residents will move into the new shelter next week and can bring their pets, partners and possessions. The county will provide services including security, meals, restrooms and laundry. Health and case management services will also be offered, while re-housing specialists will work with residents to find them temporary or permanent housing.
Haynes says the county’s overall cost to get the community up-and-running was $5.5 million, which covered the purchase of the homes and trailers that will provide a location for meals and other services and the lease of the parking lot.
In addition, the county will pay contractor City Net $2.7 million to run the shelter for one year. Haynes said the shelter is not permanent, but will renew its lease and contract as needed with City Net, which also runs the Safe Stay community on Florin Road.
Unhoused residents cannot walk-up and enroll for a spot at the Safe Stay communities. They must be referred by social service groups. Haynes said people experiencing homelessness can call 211 to schedule an assessment for any county service, including shelters.
Contact CapRadio news reporter Chris Nichols at [email protected]
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