Sacramento outreach center will help homeless people get vital services and housing

Sacramento (Sept. 27, 2022) Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg Tuesday joined non-profit and city employees Tuesday to announce that the former science museum on Auburn Boulevard will open starting Thursday, Sept. 29 as a full-time respite and service center for people experiencing homelessness.

Previously open only during weather-related emergencies, the city’s new Auburn Boulevard Outreach and Engagement Center is designed to play an important role as a hub where caseworkers from the non-profit Hope Cooperative can enroll clients in health care, mental health, substance abuse treatment and other services. They will also be able to connect clients with housing.

The center will be open 23 hours a day and be able to accommodate 50 people for short-term stays. Admissions are by referral from the City Department of Community Response or Hope Cooperative.

“This is not a drop-in shelter,” said Mayor Darrell Steinberg. “It is a full-service center that will allow up to 50 people at a time to not only come off the streets and get respite but as importantly to get the services they need to end their homelessness. We need about 10 more of these facilities throughout the city and county.”

Nick Golling of the City’s Department of Community Response said having a service center will allow outreach workers from his department to connect people with caseworkers as soon as they say they are ready to take the first step toward becoming housed.

“We are striking while the iron is hot because we have a tangible resource we can offer rather than saying, ‘Can you hang on for three days?’” Golling said.

Erin Johansen, CEO of Hope Cooperative, said guests at the center “are going to find safety, they’re going to find compassion, and they’re going to find a connection to desperately needed services.”