Petition aimed at Sacramento City Council Members Carr, Warren captures 19,000 signature on homeless shelter

Sacramento City Council Members Allen Warren (left) and Larry Carr. | 
August 14, 2018 |  

A petition aimed at persuading Sacramento City Council Members Allen Warren and Larry Carr to support a homeless shelter plan has gathered over 19,000 signatures according to its organizer.

The Care2 petition, which was started by Sacramento resident Nigel Nieva calls on Carr and Warren to drop their opposition to plans proposed by Sacramento Mayor Steinberg's to address homelessness, which includes positioning shelters in several locations throughout the city. Nieva started the petitions after what he characterized as not in my backyard behavior by both council members.

“A potential homeless shelter could be located at Marysville Boulevard and Grand Avenue, and another one could be close to a public transit station where homeless people would have easy access to the trains and buses, but Warren said those sites are 'off the table' in his district,” Nieva wrote in his Care2 petition. “Two potential locations could be on Meadowview Road, next to the Pannell Community Center, but Councilman Larry Carr who represents the neighborhood has voiced opposition to a homeless shelter being built there.”

Like many communities across the country, Sacramento is grappling with a growing homeless population even though the unemployment rate is low and the economy is relatively healthy. It is estimated that since 2015, Sacramento's homeless population has grown by approximately 30-percent.  

The majority of this population is sleeping outdoors and is starting to have environmental consequences. A recent analysis found dangerous levels of E. coli bacteria in the lower  American River. 

Council members Carr and Warren did not respond to an email seeking comment on the petition.

“Councilmen Allen Warren and Larry Carr's Not-in-My-Backyard behavior couldn't come at a worse time when the homeless population aren't receiving adequate services from private charities and are forced to sleep in the parks and the streets during the night," Nieva said. "These proposed shelters would get them off the streets and a safe place to sleep."

Nieva plans to deliver the advisory Care2 petition at an upcoming city council meeting.







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