SACRAMENTO COUNTY, Calif. — A $25 million plan is on the horizon to address the more than a thousand homeless people who live along the American River Parkway.
It was set in motion Wednesday morning after Sacramento County announced it would receive the funds from the state budget. The $25 million is set to go towards housing and services for all the homeless who are out here along the river.
"I was one of the ones digging holes, accumulating garbage, doing methamphetamine every day," said Tracey Knickerbocker, a case manager with the HOPE Cooperative.
For more than eight years, Knickerbocker called the American River Parkway her home.
According to Sacramento County's Department of Human Assistance, she was one of the estimated 1,500 other people who live there.
"Some of the homeless here, they don't have water. They don't have bathrooms. They don't have trash. They don't have safety. It's dangerous out here," said Kevin McCarty, Assemblymember with the 7th District.
Sacramento County and its leaders are also taking notice.
"Assemblymembers Ken Cooley and Kevin McCarty, through their leadership, were able to secure $25 million out of the current state budget. That $25 million is going to be used by the County of Sacramento to help protect what is in back of me," said Phil Serna, 1st District Representative with the Sacramento County Board of Supervisors, referring to the American River Parkway.
However, they're not just looking to push people out of the parkway. Instead, the county wants to help them with housing and services, which will in turn help restore the parkway. It's still up in the air how that will look.
"Probably something that we're gonna look at in terms of site acquisitions for things like tiny homes. You know, giving people different options in terms our continuum of care, perhaps they don't need emergency shelter right away," Serna said.
Assemblymember Kevin McCarty already has an idea for a location.
"They will probably be adjacent to the parkway. The county Board of Supervisors is working on that. We gave them state money to do this work. You know, we're not micromanaging them per se, but we have an understanding of what they're gonna do," McCarty said.
He's promising we'll see progress in the very near future, so they can support others like Tracey Knickerbocker.
"From my personal experience, I had to feel like I mattered. I had to feel like it was important for me," Knickerbocker said.
McCarty says the Sacramento County Board of Supervisors will be holding hearings in the coming weeks to identify locations and fund those efforts.
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