Today, the Sacramento City Council will vote yet again on whether to expand its harmful and longstanding policy of fining and arresting people experiencing homelessness.
In Mayor Kevin McCarty’s first proposed homelessness policy, the city would fine people up to $25,000 and incarcerate them for up to a year for sitting or lying down in front of Sacramento City Hall between the hours of 9 p.m. and 6 a.m. It would also displace dozens of unhoused Sacramentans who sleep in front of city hall due to the city’s shortage of shelter beds or other safe and legal alternatives.
McCarty suggests that these policies are a common-sense approach to solving homelessness. As advocates for unhoused people with over 30 years of experience, we can assure you that the mayor’s proposal is anything but…