Conducted by California State University, Sacramento, the 2022 Sacramento Point-in-Time Count report documented every individual in the county experiencing homelessness on a single night in February. The count displayed a substantial increase in the county’s homeless population, with an estimated 9,278 individuals without shelter in the state’s capital. Those numbers were about half the size in 2019, the report says.
However, Dustin Luton, President of the board of directors at the American River Parkway Foundation, a nonprofit organization focused on preserving the 23-mile river in Sacramento, claims the latest data from the PIT Count does not show the true picture of the homelessness crisis on the river.
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“The American River Parkway is ground zero for the homelessness crisis in Sacramento County,” Luton said in a statement. “Even such a small sample size shows the large percentage of unhoused individuals that are illegally camping in the Parkway.”
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The foundation said only seven sites that run through the City of Sacramento on the Parkway were surveyed, showing the count only included 594 illegal campers.
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“Imagine what the count would have showed if the whole Parkway had been included,” he added.
Dianna Poggetto, executive director of the American River Parkway Foundation, told ABC10 that the county is at a “crisis level,” adding that she hopes to see the stats move city and county officials to create more shelters and affordable housing.
“No one wants a shelter in their community, but at the same time, if we don’t create shelters, then we’re not going to solve the problem,” Poggetto said. “These individuals need assistance, and we as a society should be able to assist them.”
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Nevertheless, according to the official count from Sacramento State University, 72 percent of those 9,000+ individuals slept outdoors rather than in shelters. That statistic includes 1,600 tents and 1,100 vehicles identified in the count — a number that quadrupled since 2019.
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The homeless people interviewed in the report said they have a disability or have struggled with chronic homelessness, which has more than doubled since the last count three years ago. About 58% of those reported said that their disabilities or chronic health conditions decreased their chances of securing employment or housing.
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Although homelessness rose, veterans’ homelessness decreased by 6 percent — and homeless families with children dropped by about 31% since the last count. Researchers said COVID-era federal, state, and local aid contributed to the decline.
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