Nearly 500 parents, children have found new hope through City of Sacramento motel program

Since the City Council adopted the comprehensive plan to address homelessness last month, public attention has focused primarily on the 20 priority sites identified as places for new beds, roofs and safe spaces for people living on the streets.

Another, less noticed, part of the plan is already sheltering 470 people and is poised to expand.

Over the past seven months, the City has used a combination of state and federal funds to help secure 370 motel rooms it now has under contract around the city. They currently house 470 people experiencing homelessness, many of them families with children, and, in some cases, people escaping from domestic violence.

Unlike traditional motel vouchers, these allow people to stay for months if needed. Wrap-around services provided by City of Refuge, Hope Cooperative and Step Up help get residents ready to move into permanent housing.

People become unhoused for a variety of reasons,” said Nick Golling, the City’s new director of homeless services under the Department of Community Response. “The motel voucher program is a quick way to get people back into stable shelter and connected to the services that can get them back on their feet.”

For people who have been living on the street, in a car or couch surfing, a room with a bed, a private bathroom and in some cases, a small kitchen, offers safety, stability, dignity and path toward a more sustainable living situation.

“Within the first three days we were here, my son said this was the first time he felt like we had a home in four years,” said one mother of two boys who recently found refuge in one of the City motels. Her name is being withheld to protect her privacy. Many of the motel residents are victims of domestic violence, and the city is not publicizing the location of the motels.

The stability of a motel room where a family can stay for an extended period of time can be especially important to school-age children, many of whom have been returning to in-person class this week. The City has worked in partnership with the school districts serving children in the motels and has seen average attendance soar from less than 10 percent to more than 90 percent.

“Imagine how hard it is to go to school and excel if you’re not waking up in the same place every morning,” Golling said.

Bridgette Dean, director of the City’s new Department of Community Response, said the motel effort will expand. “We’re in negotiations now for another 30 hotel rooms, and we’ve had interest from several more,” she said. “Motel rooms may not be a permanent solution, but for a lot of people experiencing homelessness, they can lead to long-term housing.”

Contracts and development for the City’s motel-voucher program are overseen by Danielle Foster, the first person to hold the newly created position of housing policy director for the City of Sacramento.