Sacramento County did the right thing last week by reversing course on the imminent closure of three motels housing more than 300 formerly homeless people. Following criticism aired at the supervisors’ meeting Tuesday, the leaders of the largest government in the region decided to extend the housing program known as Project Roomkey. Sacramento County only extended Roomkey until the end of June, however, instead of shutting it down later this month as originally planned. And let’s not forget that despite knowing the federal funds for Roomkey would end in March, the county waited until late February to announce it would be “ramping down” the program…
…Not one of these projects would add housing. Some 58,000 low-income Sacramento County residents can’t find an affordable home to rent, according to a California Housing Partnership survey released in May 2021. They need more than nurses and data management. They need roofs over their heads. The county must graduate beyond its current responses to the problem.