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| SafeGround in the News |
Number of homeless students in Sacramento County schools jumps 50% plus, Sac Bee, 7/14/11
Editorial: Litigation isn't the answer to homelessness, Sac Bee, 6/6/11
After ruling, Sacramento must figure how to handle homeless campers' property, by Cynthia Hubert, Sac Bee, 6/6/11
Would you support a homeless shelter near your home? Online forum about Safe Ground on Facebook
Still no safe ground - by Hugh Biggar and Jimmy Spence, Sacramento News & Review, 4/14/11
Sacramento's nomadic winter shelter deemed a success, but what next?, by Cynthia Hubert, Sac Bee, 4/6/11
Safe Ground supporters hold vigil, call for a state of emergency, by Hossana Paida, Sacramento Press, 3/15/11
Safe Ground offers strength in numbers, but its homeless must move often, by Gina Kim, Sac Bee, 3/5/11
Homeless In Harper's,
Sac News & Review, 3/3/11
Editorial in the Bee by Our Exec Director, Steve Watters 2/19/11
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Tents Needed
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We are in desperate need of 4-person tents that are lightweight, which work best for transporting daily.
If you would like to donate tents, sleeping bags, or any other equipment, even office equipment, please contact us at 916-448-2448 and/or come by our office, located across from Loaves & Fishes, in Friendship Park:
Safe Ground Office
Friendship Park
Across from Loaves & Fishes
1321 North C. St.
Sacramento, CA 95811
7:00AM-2:45PM
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Safe Ground Sacramento's
Community Bulletin Fourth Issue, July 2011 |
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Hello and Welcome:
This is a great issue with an informative
article on homeless kids in Sacramento by a
local expert
and Safe Ground Board member, Bob
Erlenbusch, an interview with one of our host
 | | Steve Watters, Executive Director |
church supporters, Glenn Tilton, and some poetry by one of our campers, Charles Miranda. We also send along a special thank you to supporters Gail Erlandson and Bruce Morse for the very succeesful and fun Safe Ground event they hosted and to Pastor Steve Curran and the Southside Church for their wonderful Bar-B-Q at Safe Ground. Read on, enjoy and send your comments to safegroundsactown@gmail.com. Here are some comments I wanted to share as we head towards the late summer months.
As we enjoy these warm summer months we can't help but think about the cold, wet months that lie ahead and remain highly concerned by the slow progress in the ongoing search for a permanent SafeGround site. We are continuing to work to locate a site and we are getting valuable support from supporters who care - but it is highly possible that we will not have a site by this winter. Our call for an emergency Safe Ground site for this winter went unheralded. That means another cold, wet winter for many of the SafeGround campers and our other vulnerable homeless neighbors, unless replacement funding that was previously lost is found for the winter overflow shelter and the winter sanctuary program and, of course, our wonderful Safe Ground Host Churches are able to continue their very successful Pilgrimage Program with us.
Why do we continue to move ahead so slowly?
In my opinion it is due to a number of reasons and funding is not one of them, Safe Ground has pledged to raise the funding necessary to build our model community once a site is selected. No, instead it is for reasons that have long been with us in this struggle. It is because the homeless individuals in Sacramento, as elsewhere, continue to be stignmatized and criminalized. They are stigmatized not only by some members of the general public, but more importantly, by some of our elected officials. We still struggle with the "not in my backyard" (NIMBY) response. Sacramento continues to stereotype the homeless as pathological or deviant individuals rather than as vulnerable citizens, to criminalize their situation and to turn a blind-eye to the suffering conditions they endure, rather than ensuring humane conditions for our most vulnerable citizens. As a society we continue to blame the victims for being homeless, if not directly, then by our collective actions.
In Our America and Our Sacramento, we provide insufficient affordable housing, insuficient shelter space, lack of access to public restrooms and safe drinking water, not enough well-paying jobs and too many jobs with unlivable wages. In Sacramento we have a criminalizing anti-camping ordinance and frequent harrassment by law enforcement that does nothing to help anyone. No matter what our elected politicians tell us, their actions clearly state that they don't place the needs of our vulnerable homeless friends very high on the public prioriy list of what needs to be addressed. If we think about what local projects get funded, what local projects make the front page, how can we honestly say that we care about the homeless? We must begin with a new perspective - practice real out-of-the-box thinking - that places all people's safety and well-being at the top of the list right along with emergency police and fire services, and be sure we are not just promoting projects that benefit special interests. Some will say this is naïve thinking, but whether we call these needed changes reforms to our community or progressive changes, they are sorely needed now.
On a much more positive note, in the next few months Safe Ground will be sponsoring several events starting with a
Second Annual Safe Ground Jubilee on Wednesday, September 14, 2011 at Caesar Chavez Park
across from city hall at 11th and I streets (see below). We need your support and participation. Come hear guest speakers and listen to great music! Please drop in at the Jubilee, say hello to Safe Ground, meet some new people and learn how you can stop homelessness. We appreciate your support and donations are truly appreciated. Thanks to all who are helping.
Steve Watters
Executive Director
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Save the Date
Safe Ground Second Annual Jubilee
Wednesday, September 14th, 3:30 p.m. - 7:30 p.m. As the time gets closer we will let you know what we have planned for this special event. Save the date! 
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 | | In My Backyard |
Thank You to Gail Erlandson & Bruce Morse
For a Very Successful Fundraiser in May
It takes a very special person to even just have the thought of hosting a fundraiser for the homeless in her own backyard and doing
 | | Bruce Morse & Gail Erlandson |
all of the hard work, all the coordinating, all the organizing, opening her home and being responsible for all the funds that were raised on behalf of Safe Ground. Gail and her husband Bruce have earned a big cyber round of applause and a great big heart-felt thank you. The both of you and your team of dedicated volunteers are much appreciated. We love you!
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 | Bob Erlenbusch, Safe Ground Board
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Children and Homelessness
By Bob Erlenbusch, expert on Poverty, Hunger, and Homelessness Issues
Homeless Students in Sacramento has doubled in 5 years
The Sacramento's Children Report Card, produced by the Sacramento County Children Coalition, 2011 report [released July 8, 2011] reports an alarming increase in the number of children and youth experiencing homelessness. This is especially important since SacramentoCounty has a higher percentage of its students reported as homeless [3%] than the 2% reported by the NationalCenter on Family Homelessness.
Specifically, the number of children and youth reported as homeless in the SacramentoCounty schools has increased by more than 50% over the past five years. There were 7,254 students who experienced homelessness in 2009-10, an increase from 5,120 in 2007 -2008 and 4,774 in 2005-2006.
[Note: The 2011 homeless count by Sacramento Steps Forward [SSF] does not capture the school districts homeless count, since SSF uses the Housing and Urban Development [HUD] more limited homeless definition, while the school systems around the nation use the broader homeless definition used by the federal Department of Education. Hence, SSF counted only 627 families with children under 18.]
Overall, 18% of the homeless students were infants and toddlers; 47% were K-6th grade; while 35% were 7th - 12th grade.
The top 5 schools by the Sacramento County Office of Education by percentage of homeless student enrollment are:
Robla: 13%
Galt Joint Union: 11%
Twin Rivers Unified: 6%
Elk Grove Unified: 6%
Natomas Unified: 5%
The top 5 schools by the Sacramento County Office of Education by number of homeless student enrollment are:
Twin Rivers Unified: 1,844
San Juan Unified: 1,453
SacramentoCity Unified: 792
Folsom Cordova Unified: 662
Natomas Unified: 610
Why is this important? Drawing on the national statistics from the NationalCenter on Family Homelessness, our school-aged homeless children and youth are likely to experience physical and mental health issues, as well as reduced academic performance:
Physical Health
Children experiencing homeless are sick four times more often than other children. They have:
§ Four times as many respiratory infections;
§ Twice as many ear infections;
§ Five times more gastrointestinal problems;
§ Four times more likely to have asthma;
§ Nutritional deficiencies in homeless children often lead to high rates of overweight and obesity.
Mental Health
Children experiencing homelessness have three times the rate of emotional and behavioral problems compared to non-homeless children:
§ One out of five (between three and six years of age) have emotional problems serious
enough to require professional care;
§ 16% of homeless preschoolers have behavior problems including severe aggression and
Hostility;
§ 47% have problems such as anxiety, depression, and withdrawal, compared to 18% of
other school-age children.
§ 36 % manifest delinquent or aggressive behavior, compared to 17% of other school-age
children.
Developmental Milestones and Academic Performance
Children experiencing homelessness are four times more likely to show delayed development:
§ twice the rate of learning disabilities as non-homeless children
§ Of children in grades three through 12 who are homeless and participated in state assessment tests, only 48% were proficient in reading and only 43% were proficient in math;
§ 36% of homeless children repeat a grade.68
SafeGround cares about our children: SafeGround feels strongly that we do not want another general generation, the current children and youth who are homeless in our schools, to go without a safe place to be, especially a safe, decent, affordable home. We can not afford to have a these children and youth lose their future because we failed to invest in them now.
What can you do? Please contact Sacramento Steps Forward [SSF], 916-447-7063 and let them know that you think that the new, nonprofit SSF board of directors, the Mayor, City Council and Board of Supervisors, needs to prioritize ending and preventing homelessness children and youth. This needs to needs to be a top priority and not at the expensive of other homeless people, including the mentally ill and veterans.
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 | | Glenn Tilton, Pilgrimage Program Volunteer |
Interview with Glenn Tilton
(Glenn Tilton is a church host leader from First United Methodist Church on 21st & J who volunteers with the Safe Ground Pilgrimage Program) Transcribed By Suzie Bowler You may be asking, "What is the Safe Ground Pilgrimage Program?" The Pilgrimage Program is a program that churches within walking distance of homeless services at Loaves & Fishes may participate in. The participating church hosts the Safe Ground group of homeless folks for a night. Folks usually sleep on the floor in a large auditorium-like room or whatever space is available. Men and women sleep separately during the night. Meals are frequently provided and served by church volunteers -- often both dinner and breakfast. Homeless guests work in shifts to provide night watch, and clean-up. Suzie: Describe one overnight stay at your church. Glenn: Safe Ground is the newest of 5 programs we are doing to help the homeless. Our first overnight here was a new experience for us in January. We relied on the elders and David Leeper Moss (Safe Ground Camp Liaison) to help us and show us what to do. There were 3 of us from the church that stayed overnight. It proved to be a very good experience for us and it was easy to do. Our second time in February was very difficult though. The weather was very bad and people showed up that were not involved in Safe Ground and not everyone followed Safe Ground's rules. It was a difficult group to control. The elders provided security which helped a lot. We had a meeting to organize ourselves better and our third session in March worked like clockwork. Our experience overall has been very positive. Suzie: How have you participated in the program yourself? Glenn: I am the chair of the homeless task force for the church. We are a task force of about 8 people. The objectives of the committee are to provide services for the homeless and to resolve the issue of people sleeping on our steps overnight. I also have the role of being the chair on the night that Safe Ground comes and we also do a homeless breakfast the morning after Safe Ground comes. I stay here overnight. That was a big deal for me. I didn't think I could do it but it turned out okay thanks to Brian Hite who works for Family Promise who stayed overnight - he stays overnight all week when they are here. It's not as hard as I thought. Suzie: What were some of your expectations going into the Pilgrimage Program? Glenn: Our Board Chairman said that the common experience with programs like this is that we are very nervous about it initially but once we work out the kinks it is fine. There are a lot of stereotypes about homeless people and we had to break the barriers that those stereotypes cause. But working with Safe Ground helped because of Safe Ground's agreement - they sign a pledge that they will not tolerate drugs, alcohol, or violence. It gives the church a sense of security and we can stand behind it. It's congruent with our church's mission. It's a good partnership. Suzie: How has Safe Ground met your expectations? Glenn: Once we got past the stereotypes it was fine. One expectation we haven't met is how to get the kitchen volunteers out of the kitchen and communicate with the homeless. We encourage our members to sit with the homeless and get to know them. That is a goal for the future. Suzie: How do you see homeless people benefiting from the program? Glenn: It gives them a warm, dry, secure place to be for one night. We provide good food. Suzie: What have you learned about the struggle of homeless people since you've participated in the program? Glenn: I met a man who had a business and lost it. I also met a woman who had had a business too. They had secure careers but lost them. I've worked with African Americans since I've lived in Sacramento and I feel an affinity with them. They seem to be more accepting and greet me warmly and openly and I don't get the sense that they feel the stigma of homelessness, which was an interesting discovery. Caucasian Americans seem to feel they are an outcast. Also I have become more aware of the plight of homeless women. One woman, the one I mentioned who had a business - she lost her house. She was a bed and breakfast operator and lost her home and business at the same time. It was very scary for her. All she had was a blanket. The homeless services in Sacramento helped her. I've also learned that there is no legal way to be homeless. It is illegal to sit or sleep or use the bathroom anywhere. The community wants to act as though you don't exist. You become invisible. The police have this terrible responsibility which they don't like but they have no choice to move homeless people around and kick them out of whatever place they are able to find. It is important that we find a place for them to be. As the economic crisis continues, more homelessness will occur. Another thing I have learned is I am very grateful that the Sacramento Bee continually discusses homelessness and they don't let us rest - they keep it in our face and the public needs that. We are fortunate. Which reminds me - there was a man in Martin Luther King's march in Washington who had a placard that said, "I am a man." Homeless people need to make a similar statement. You are a person who needs a place to call home. The way politics works is that an individual is considered insignificant but a group gives you a political base. Safe Ground is the political base for homeless people. Significant achievements of Safe Ground this year is that we asked for and got a hearing at city council. They are recognizing us politically as an organization. And also the court hearing. Most politicians don't want to touch the issue because the business community doesn't want to deal with you, which creates a vacuum. If you don't want us then help us get a piece of ground. There needs to be a Safe Ground in every district. Suzie: Do you expect your church to continue with the program? Glenn: Definitely. We want to expand it beyond once a month. We will take it one step at a time. Suzie: What have been some of the disadvantages of the program? Glenn: Our major disadvantage is that our facility has too many doors. It is hard to guard and control. The other problem is communicating with the congregation about what we are trying to do and getting them to support us. The third problem is raising the money for the food we provide, but now we are getting help from food closets. Suzie: What have been some of the advantages of the program? Glenn: The major advantage is that the church gets to practice what it preaches. Instead of preaching it and saying let's put pennies in the bank and send it to Africa, we get to do ministry ourselves on site. It's graphic and real. Suzie: What got you interested in helping homeless people? Glenn: My parents were homeless farm workers when I was born. I was born in a borrowed, rent-free log cabin in a cow pasture. It was the Great Depression in the 30's. Also I have been a social worker. And I wanted to be in ministry. Suzie: Did you have any stereotypes of homeless people when you started? Glenn: Definitely. The Safe Ground agreement - those issues were my stereotypes. I was under the impression that homeless people were addicts, abusive, mentally ill. Some are that way but we have learned to deal with those things. You have to have a strategy. Suzie: How have your views about homeless people changed since your involvement in Safe Ground? Glenn: They are people, real people, in unfortunate situations. Sometimes they have made poor decisions, but sometimes all the bad things that could happen to a person can happen all at the same time. Once you get a bad mark on your employment record there's no way out. If you have a criminal record, or are homeless, you are unemployable. One of the young kids I know is a dishwasher. He can't let the people he works with know he is homeless. Has to get to work early and keep his clothes clean. It's hard. My parents were lucky - they were farm workers. There was a job for them. The homeless were allowed to camp in city parks back them. I liked what John Kraintz said one time. Computers are great but they don't buy houses or cars, they don't pay for healthcare. The needs of society are not met by computers. People say computers are labor-saving devices but the labor they are saving are the jobs that would have been available to the people who are now homeless. I have learned a lot about homelessness in these past 6 months that we've been involved. It's a social problem crying for a solution. |
A Poem by A Safe Ground Homeless Camper:
Charles H. Miranda
Haunted by Her Love
I'm always haunted by her
Love;
I'm always haunted by her
Memories that keeps on
Linger on and on in my
Heart of her,
She has gone on to her
Reward in heaven;
I'm always haunted by your
Love of you,
I'm always haunted by her
Love;
I'm always haunted by her
Lovely deep beauty,
I'm always haunted by her
Sweet and lovely conversation
Of yesterday years;
She has gone on to her
Reward in heaven,
I'm always haunted by your
Love of you;
I'm always haunted by her
Love,
I'm always haunted by her
Sweet and lovely pretty
Smile;
I'm always haunted by her
Lovely deep radiant eyes,
She has gone on to her
Reward in heaven;
I'm always haunted by your
Love of you.
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 | | Safe Ground Camp BBQ |
Thank you to Pastor Steve Curran & Southside Church (in South Sacramento)
For Sponsoring a 4th of July Barbeque for Our Homeless Friends on the American River
For some folks, Loaves & Fishes provides their only meal per day. Loaves was closed for the 4th of July holiday, so Suzie asked her church to sponsor a 4th of July Barbeque at the Safe Ground Camp on the river. Many of our friends were there. We had all the best food you could dream of having -- tri-tip, BBQ chicken, polish sausages, corn-on-the-cob, potato and macaroni salad, veggie trays (can't forget the veggies), soda, and pancakes with whipped cream and maple syrup along with plenty of coffee for breakfast the next morning. Suzie spent the night and watched fireworks from Cal Expo! What a great day and a memorable evening!
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About Us
SafeGround needs churches, synagogues, congregations, union halls and business owners in the Midtown area to permit up to 100 SafeGround homeless persons to stay overnight on their property, from 6 p.m. to 7 a.m. the next day. This would provide the SafeGround campers a sanctuary from arrest, and also give them a life-saving night free of the elements. SafeGround provides its own staffing and cleanup. Many hosts also provide a dinner and/or breakfast, but this is not required. Those who sleep with us promise to be alcohol free, drug free and nonviolent. All we need is a large room and someone to open the doors. We provide the rest. We have been doing this for over a year with four downtown churches and they may be contacted for reference at your request. Please contact David
Moss at 916-834-2228 or davidmoss43@gmail.com for more information if you can help.
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Save 33% with this notice!
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Come to Loaves & Fishes, 1321 North C St., Sacramento, CA 95811, 916-446-0874, (where SafeGround is located), and in the Welcoming Center, at the corner of North C Street and Ahern. Purchase a $15 short or long-sleeve T-Shirt at a discounted price of $10. (While supplies last: first come, first served.) Your shirt purchase price, and wearing it, support SafeGround. New Safe Ground hats (tan with logo) and T-Shirts (tan or a subdued green) now available. All hats and shirts are half price for our homeless supporters. Contact us for details. safegroundsactown@gmail.com  | | David Moss Modeling New Tan T-shirts and Hats |
| | Offer Expires: 8/31/11 |
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