Sacramento Housing Alliance

The Sacramento Housing Alliance gave a presentation at last Wednesday’s West Sacramento City Council meeting.  At the meeting the organization asked that the West Sac City Council approve the building of low income housing in the city to accommodate those families who are designated as very low or low income.

The SHA states that they “engage in advocacy and education in the Greater Sacramento region with the goal of ending homelessness and ensuring that all members of our community have safe, accessible, and affordable housing.”

While their stated goal is an admirable one I have to wonder how effective any organization is at reducing the area’s homeless and disenfranchised population by addressing just one facet of a multi-faceted problem.  There isn’t a singular answer to the issue of homelessness or poverty and I think that assembling an organization that uses public funding to address just one of the issues is a bad idea and poorly managed.

What I have been able to find out about the SHA is that their organization is filled with people who mean well, but the overall efficacy of the group can be called into question when one looks at the statistics that surround the homeless in Sacramento.

Last week I posted an infographic that showed the growth of the homeless and chronically homeless in Sacramento.  There is no denying that the SHA is a large and effective housing organization in Sacramento.  However, by just addressing the issue of shelter for a population with multiple issues I think that they are doing the residents and people of the area a disservice.