CEO’s Message | “All In” Sacramento Convening | Coordinated Access System | Youth Homelessness Demonstration Project | Racial Equity | Big Day of Giving | Trainings | COVID-19 Outreach | Emergency Preparedness HMIS | Naloxone Distribution Project | Meet the Staff | Careers | Meetings

Dear Partners and Friends, 

After months of working collaboratively on the development of the Local Homeless Action Plan (LHAP), SSF and our regional partners took the step of convening the greater community of advocates, business leaders, healthcare partners, and people with lived expertise to unveil and rally around the LHAP and its Year 1 Activities. 

At this “All In Sacramento” event, over a dozen speakers shared their unique perspectives and actions they have taken or will take in the future to help advance the collaborative efforts that the data demonstrate will reduce homelessness locally or make it brief when it occurs.  

The event was a success, with over 300 providers and other stakeholders coming together to understand their role within one unified, strategic plan. We were especially honored to have financial support offered by our event sponsors representing the healthcare community, Health Net, Sutter Health, Anthem, Kaiser Permanente, and UC Davis Health. Rounding out our sponsors was Legion, who donated the audio/visual support that helped ensure the event ran smoothly throughout the half-day program. 

What made the event so impactful was the deep personal connection of the speakers to our housing community. Serving as co-emcees, current CoC Chair, Angela Upshaw, and immediate past CoC chair, Erin Johansen, did a phenomenal job of guiding the audience through a variety of speeches, panel discussions, and moderated conversations about the state of homelessness and the actions being taken to address some of our community’s most urgent challenges. I thank them for their vision, flexibility, and humor throughout the event. I also want to emphasize how critical it was to the positive outcome of All In Sacramento to have speakers representing the CoC and its subcommittees, including Dawn Basciano, Julie Lo, and Joseph Smith, all of whom amplified the shared goals of the LHAP using their professional and personal expertise. 

I am happy to report that our impact did not end after the event concluded. As a result of All In Sacramento, we have already received requests from community stakeholders looking to join us and our partners in pursuing solutions to Sacramento’s homelessness crisis. We are grateful for the opportunity SSF had to gather our community in such an impactful way. If you were unable to attend this event, we invite you to review the LHAP Year-1 Activities, as well as the event PowerPoint presentation, by visiting SSF’s LHAP webpage.

Shortly following the success of the event, I headed from our state’s capital to the nation’s capital for “Cap-to-Cap,” an annual event for local leaders to advocate for the needs of the Sacramento area. I am part of a cohort that pushes for federal policies that enable local actions, and this year our focus is on increased funding and legislative flexibility for housing and homelessness programs (such as voucher administration, tax credit usage, and more). As a matter of fact, I am writing this message between nearly a dozen meetings with elected officials and policymakers, both those who are supporters of homeless programming and those who need further information and discussion involvement to understand the importance of the work we do. Whatever the ultimate legislative outcomes of this visit, this week in D.C. will have spread our message and increased awareness of the homelessness crisis we are all addressing here in Sacramento, California.  

I look forward to returning to Sacramento and continuing to work with each of you as we build a more equitable community and move our collective work forward.  

In gratitude,  

Lisa Bates 

Chief Executive Officer, Sacramento Steps Forward 

SSF thanks all our partners for helping us host the successful launch of the Local Homeless Action Plan (LHAP). The LHAP will be integral in strategically bringing together our community to create a future where homelessness does not exist or is brief when it occurs. The energy in the room at this plan’s launch was a testament to the passion and commitment that our community will bring to implementing this plan over the next year and beyond. You can see more details, including the LHAP Year 1 Activities and event presentation, on our LHAP webpage. You can see coverage of the event from KCRA3 here.

The Coordinated Access System (CAS) March 2023 report is now live on the website, showing a significant increase in calls managed and households exited or diverted from homelessness since February 2023.

We’re also pleased to announce the opening of two shelters this April. North A, a congregate-style shelter for single adults integrating 80 beds into our homeless response system, and a Salvation Army location open for single adults leading to an additional 60 beds.  

To support the growth of CAS, Elica Health is continuing to accept applications for Coordinated Access Navigators. These system navigators provide outreach to our community to serve our most vulnerable populations. We encourage you to apply or refer qualified candidates.

SSF and our local Youth Action Board have been hard at work developing a comprehensive Request for Proposal (RFP) to help distribute Youth Homelessness Demonstration Project (YHDP) funds here in Sacramento. We anticipate the RFP becoming publicly available in the next few weeks. You can stay updated on our website. If you have additional questions, you can email Jesse Archer, CoC Analyst.

There have been significant strides in moving SSF's Racial Equity work forward. Most prominently, our Language Needs Work Group and Core Equity Team have worked tirelessly to ensure that equity in language accessibility and housing availability become a normalized reality. In addition to this amazing work, we are happy to announce Julius Douglas and Keon Johnson as our newest PLE Cohort members. Julius is the CEO and founder of Ceaze the Moment, a nonprofit which provides food, clothing, and other respite and survival supports to those living in encampments. Keon is a long-standing activist, advocate, and educator within the Black community in Sacramento. He is the founder and CEO of Yours Mine Ours (YMO), a local non-profit organization that produces and curates culturally informative programs, workshops, events, and activities in the Sacramento area.

Click below to learn about more exciting work coming up in the Racial Equity sector this year, described in the 2023 Racial Equity Committee Work Plan.

During Big Day of Giving, our region will rally around the nonprofits that make the capital area our home—and that can use support, now more than ever. Between now and Thursday, May 4, visit and give to Sacramento Steps Forward in support of our vision to make Sacramento an equitable community where everyone has a safe place to call home. 

Your support provides us with a flexible pool of funding that can be used to meet the changing needs of a community in crisis. Your donations will also help fund the Housing Problem Solving program, where the funds go directly to support someone in need! Housing problem-solving aims to prevent households from becoming homeless or quickly help them resolve their housing insecurity needs using a strengths-based approach with creative problem-solving conversations, mediation, resource connections, and financial assistance. 

SSF’s work can be strengthened with your donations. Every gift, no matter the size, makes a difference for us and will make a huge difference in improving the lives of our most vulnerable residents.

Join the training on “Fair Housing: Ensuring Equal Access to Housing & Supportive Resources” on Thursday, May 11 at 10:00 a.m.! In a 90-minute discussion, Project Sentinel and Sacramento Steps Forward will introduce new, updated, and upcoming policies that ensure equal access to housing for individuals and families experiencing homelessness. This includes exploring how to implement the Equal Access Final Rule and Gender Identity Final Rule so we can create communities that are supportive of preserving family units regardless of how members self-report their gender or sexual orientation. This session is intended for CoC- and ESG-funded service providers and is open to homeless advocates and other providers who serve people experiencing homelessness (PEH) in Sacramento. Zoom registration is required. 

Thank you to our incredible volunteer network, homeless providers, and interns who have facilitated culturally sensitive conversations and offered essential resources for COVID-19 prevention to unsheltered and sheltered individuals. Through the COVID-19 Community Health Project 3.0, we completed nearly 7,000 interactions and administered over 500 COVID-19 vaccine doses through community outreach events, meetings, and trainings. This was made possible with financial support from The Center at Sierra Health Foundation and California Department of Public Health, as well as a continued partnership with Sacramento County Public Health. Please help continue sharing about ongoing Sacramento COVID-19 clinics and watch out for critical updates in the coming months.

With warming weather and melting snowpacks this spring, make sure to prepare before disaster strikes—especially in areas known to have increased flood risk. You can make better decisions about how to stay safe during severe storms and flooding if you stay informed. Be sure to also use official TV, radio, and county emergency services channels to get the information you need to be safe. We encourage you to visit listoscalifornia.org for general safety tips and our website for information if you’re working with people experiencing homelessness.

The SSF HMIS Department is pleased to announce that the Sacramento Sheltered Point-In-Time (PIT) Count and Housing Inventory Count (HIC) data has been reported to the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) this month. HUD will use these data to determine the size of our homeless population and weigh what additional resources are needed to serve the clients in our community. Thank you again for the collaboration and support from our Sacramento partners!

The Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) created the Naloxone Distribution Project (NDP) to combat opioid overdose-related deaths throughout California. The NDP aims to address the opioid crisis by reducing opioid overdose deaths through the provision of free naloxone. As of April 17, 2023, NDP applicants can apply to receive naloxone through the NDP by submitting an application via the new NDP online application form. After July 1, 2023, all applications must be submitted via the new online form. Visit the link for requirement details and to apply.

Meet Ashley Wyant. Ashley recently graduated with a Bachelor's focused on Business Management through the lens of servant leadership and social entrepreneurship. She looks forward to contributing to the work needed from institutional technology to reduce and ultimately end homelessness. In her spare time, Ashley is out in nature, painting, and teaching yoga.

Passionate about using your talents to serve your community? Our mission is to end homelessness through leadership, convening partners, data-driven best practices, and improving system performance. We are looking for team members who share our goal to end homelessness and encourage you to apply for our open positions today.

Join us at the upcoming Sacramento CoC meetings below. Be sure to check the CoC Meeting webpage for meeting schedules, materials, and Zoom details:

• 5/10/23 | CoC Board Meeting
• 5/11/23 | Coordinated Entry System Committee
• 5/17/23 | Racial Equity Committee
• 5/25/23 | System Performance Committee

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