Concerns arise as new temporary homeless camp is established at Miller Park in Sacramento
A new camping site for the unsheltered is opening at Miller Park in Sacramento to bring an easy access point to help people experiencing homelessness.
The safe ground will include 60 tents, provide access to restrooms, showers, garbage collection and 24/7 staff to assist with connecting people to health services and programs.
But as the setup began on Wednesday, boat owners at the marina next to the new safe ground are concerned about crime that they say already increased in the last year.
Karen Zampieri, whose son owns a boat the Sacramento Marina – next to the new safe ground – says that the last year has been tough for boat owners.
"Burglaries went up. Crime, everything. And then they were [homeless] going over into the actual docks, stealing generators. Just everything. So, I think this is going to make everything worse," she said.
Her husband Humberto Zampieri added that this temporary project is like putting a band-aid on a major wound.
They both blame it on the safe parking located in the area.
But District 4's Katie Valenzuela says there's no correlation between the homeless population and those crimes.
"I’m not denying that there have been incidents of these boats, but there's absolutely no evidence that that's tied to the safe camp that's been nearby and we really believe that we're going to be able to manage this site effectively," said the council member.
And hopes are that this can help get more people off the streets permanently just like a previous site under the W-X freeway that helped out nearly 200 people transition into stable housing. That location is almost entirely phased out.
The safe ground will open up on Monday, Feb. 7 and officials haven't yet determined an end date for the temporary project; however, say this isn't a years-long solution.
Council member Valenzuela and the Department of Community Response have set up a webinar on Saturday, Feb. 5 at 2 p.m. for community members who still have questions and concerns. You can register here or call 916-808-7004.