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Safe Ground Sacramento's
Community Bulletin
September/October 2013
Sixteenth issue
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Hello and Welcome to Safe Ground's newsletter
 | | Steve Watters Executive Director |
Hello and welcome to Safe Ground Sacramento's Community Bulletin for September and October 2013. With the
cold and wet weather season quickly approaching, Safe Ground is making
preparations to expand our church shelter and meals program, the Pilgrimage Program, for the coming winter and throughout 2014.
We have some program updates to share about the Pilgrimage Program. Thanks to 2013 funding from several local sources including the Sacramento Regional Community Foundation, the Ann Land - Bertha Henschel Memorial Fund, UCC's Neighbors In Need Fund, and Bayside Church, we were able to provide all new sleeping bags and, for the first time, thick pads to go under the bags, as well as cots for our disabled guests. All this has made the Pilgrimage experience a bit more meaningful and the respite a bit more comfortable.
We also want to extend a special thanks to River City Phoenix members and Stacy Turner, their innovative community services coordinator, for starting to collect of winter jackets, hats, scarves, etc. Their donations will come just in time for the bad weather and will be shared with our guests at the Pilgrimage churches. We extend our appreciation to all the RCP guests and staff for their ongoing support of Safe Ground. Their kind support makes a difference to the lives of many homeless individuals in our community.
I continue to work hard, along with many volunteers, to select a site for the first Safe Ground community and to complete the fundraising for the pre-development and planning stage to gain entitlement to the site. Since our last newsletter, we have continued to build the planning fund with a new grant from Sierra Health added to previous grants from Dignity Health and Wells Fargo (see story below). We are now moving forward, gaining some momentum, and continuing to look for new and innovative funding sources. If you know of a source you think we should pursue, please contact us at SafeGroundDirector@gmail.com and share your ideas.
We always appreciate your comments and feedback and you can email us at SafeGroundDirector@gmail.com. We also need your ongoing support, so please consider visiting our donation page by clicking on the DONATE link to the left.
Thank you, and enjoy the rest of fall,
Steve Watters
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Safe Ground Benefit Show at Luna's Cafe (#3!)
Friday November 15th at 7 p.m.
Luna's Cafe is located at 1414 16th Street (near N Street) in downtown Sacramento. Admission is $7, on a sliding scale.
The first SG Benefit Show at Luna's on June 15th was an enjoyable success, as was the second, held on September 20th. Our thanks to Jenn Rogar for organizing a third fundraising event and to Art Luna for being a great event host!
Musicians Jenn Rogar, Sal Valentino and Marty Taters, Brittany Vanessa, Hans Eberbach and Miss Nyxi, Jackie Carroll, and the Sad Juicees will perform.
Come enjoy the music and help the Safe Ground effort.
We hope to see you there!
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Homeless Connect event
in Southside Park on Friday 10/25 from 10 to 3
Safe Ground will participate
Please say hello if you attend. If you would like to volunteer,
Project Homeless Connect originated in San Francisco in 2004 during Gavin Newsom's first mayoral term. The idea to assist the homeless by providing numerous services at one location has since spread nationally, and the US Interagency Council on Homelessness has recognized its innovative merit. Today more than 200 communities conduct annual, or more frequent, Homeless Connect events. See the "in the news . . ." articles on Project Homeless Connect events held recently in San Francisco and Baltimore.
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CA Homeless and poor and the Affordable Care Act
The major provisions of the Affordable Care Act will take effect in January 2014. In a key component of the ACA, the federal government offered to fund an expansion of Medicaid coverage for all eligible citizens for three years, and to pay 90% of each state's Medicaid health insurance costs thereafter. All a state had to do to partake of this generosity was to alter its laws to define anyone making up to 133% of the federal poverty as eligible for coverage.
Unfortunately, for what should be a basic human right, the Supreme Court decided states are allowed to retain their own idiosyncratic, and often highly restrictive, Medicaid eligibility rules. States are allowed to reject the available ACA based expansion of Medicaid, effectively turning down near total federal payment for basic medical coverage for their poorest citizens. Roughly half the states have chosen to do this, as can be seen in this graphic, taken from bluestreetjournal.com
The states rejecting an ACA based Medicaid expansion are predominantly the same states that have historically made it very difficult for their poor citizens to receive Medicaid coverage. For example, a family earning more than $4,500 per year in Alabama will remain ineligible for Medicaid, as will a family of
three earning more than $4,894 a year (25% of the poverty level) in Texas. This striking graphic, taken from an
The high correlation between states that make it impossible for all but the most indigent to receive Medicaid, and states that
have rejected Medicaid expansion under ACA, results in
increased percentages of the very poor among the 8 million
Americans who will remain without health insurance, despite the
the poor blacks and single mothers and more than half of the
low-wage workers who do not have insurance" will remain
without insurance. All because so many states, out of some twisted mix of ideology and/or animus toward President Obama, refuse to make Medicaid available to their poorest citizens.
In contrast, the homeless citizens of California are actually fortunate for once, at least in comparison to the homeless in many other parts of the country who will remain without health insurance. California was one of the first states to embrace the benefits of the ACA, and has a well designed, straightforward website at coveredca.com . It covers all aspects of the ACA, and provides both online and printable application forms. The ACA will affect everyone except those happy with privately purchased or employer provided health insurance. And they may benefit by reviewing the available, competing health insurance offerings. Of particular interest to homeless and low income Californians is this quote, taken from coveredca.com -
"Medi-Cal assistance: Starting in 2014, the state of California
is planning to expand the Medicaid program (called Medi-Cal in California) to cover people under age 65,including people with disabilities, with income of less than $15,856 for a single individual and $32,499 for a family of four. The coverage is free for those who qualify and is part of the provisions of the Affordable Care Act."
The State Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) administers Medi-Cal (again, the term for Medicaid in our state) and these two quotes are from the DHCS website -
"Under the Affordable Care Act (ACA), Medi-Cal coverage will be expanded and up to two million new people may be eligible for Medi-Cal in 2014. As a result, the Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) has partnered with Covered California to create an online "one-stop shop" for health coverage."
"If you would like health coverage after January 1, 2014, go to Covered California to complete your application for Medi-Cal eligibility or low cost health insurance."
All of which is good news! Almost every homeless Californian, and many low income California individuals and families, will have access to free basic health care coverage in less than two months!
It is to be hoped that area leaders in helping the homeless such as Sacramento Steps Forward, Loaves & Fishes, Francis House, and The Salvation Army will energetically spread this good news, inform our homeless neighbors and fellow citizens about the ACA, and conduct registration workshops.
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Support Fresno's Homeless
(and Sacramento's !)
The July-August edition of this newsletter contained an article titled "Support Fresno's Homeless". Since then, the City of Fresno continues to make life very difficult for its homeless citizens.
Here is a a moving and interesting video about the situation.
 | | Homeless Advocate Press Conference |
The website helpfresnoshomeless.org has recently been updated to show data from a Public Records Act Request submitted to the City of Fresno. The City spent a little less than 142 thousand dollars on dismantling homeless encampments during August and September.
On September 26th, NPR placed an article and an audio clip about this on their website - NPR's Fresno coverage
Sacramento officials last dismantled a large homeless encampment in month/year. City and County police and park rangers now routinely break up any encampments they encounter during increased patrols. We can take dubious pride in being ahead of Fresno in this regard. Lately, Safe Ground has anecdotally heard (aside from documented harassment of Food Not Bombs; see "in the news ...") that homeless citizens in the downtown area are being increasingly pressured by the police. It is reasonable to wonder if this might be related to the pending construction of the new King's arena, and the City's unfortunate willingness to displace a human problem rather than solve it.
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SG wins $15,000 grant from
Sierra Health Foundation!
Safe Ground was recently awarded a $15,000 grant for an application submitted to the second round of the Sierra Health Foundation's 2013 Responsive Grants Program. The grant is awarded -
"To reduce homelessness by completing planning and development activities required to develop an emergency housing community site, as a first step to permanent housing."
Sierra Health describes the RGP -
"Through the Responsive Grants Program, we ask nonprofit organizations and public agencies to tell us how they can improve health and well-being in their communities, and how a grant from Sierra Health Foundation can help support their work. We award at least 30 percent of available funds to support projects serving rural areas of our funding region. The remaining funds are available for projects serving urban areas or urban/rural areas."
Complete information about the RGP is available here -
Sierra Health 2013 RGP
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Safe Ground Pilgrimage Overnight Shelter Program in Midtown Sacramento
Safe Ground wants to recruit churches, synagogues, mosques, temples, congregations, union halls and business owners in the midtown area to permit Safe Ground sponsored homeless to stay overnight on their property from 6pm to 7am the next day. This provides the homeless with a sanctuary from arrest, and also, during much of the year, gives them a life-saving night free from the cold and the rain. The SG Shelter Program 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.
We need your help with the following:
Volunteers All Ages:
* Fellowship hosts - Safe Ground sponsored homeless provide check-in. Volunteer hosts welcome people and provide information.
* Coffee host - Brew and serve
* Food supplies, paper cups and napkins - Food and paper supplies are provided by volunteers - bulk items always welcome
* Food preparation and cooking - we have great kitchen captains that would love your assistance
* Food serving - Fill those empty bellies!
* Kitchen & Great Hall cleaning
* Dishwashing
Volunteers 18 Years and older:
* Overnight/breakfast hosts - men and women
All we need is a large room and someone to open the doors. We provide the rest. Please contact Dave Coburn at 916-337-7733 or coburn180@gmail.com or Amani at 916-893-0736 or amani.sfg@gmail.com for more information if you can help.
We are actively seeking new religious organizations within a walkable 3 mile radius of Loaves & Fishes to participate in the Pilgrimage program. If you are a member of such an organization, and think it might like to join hands with us in providing overnight shelter, food, and fellowship once a month, please contact Dave Coburn.
Pilgrimage Overnight Shelter Program calendar
First United Methodist Church
2100 J Street
Sacramento CA 95816
Contact: Glenn Tilton
tilton2@comcast.net
916-446-5025
September 22, 2013*
September 29, 2013*
October 20, 2013*
October 27, 2013*
* = breakfast 8:30 - 9:30
The House Church
1901 Broadway
Sacramento CA 95818
Contact: Ashlei Baker
ashlei@thehousechurchsac.com
916-706-2337
September 19, 2013
October 24, 2013
Pioneer Congregational United Church of Christ
2700 L ST
Sacramento, CA 95816
Contact: Pam Tureen
pamelat2@sbcglobal.net
(916) 442-0814
September 13, 2013
October 25, 2013
St. John's Lutheran Church
1701 L Street
Sacramento, CA 95811
Contact: Steve Ruder
scruder@gmail.com
(916) 412-0075
September 5, 2013*
September 12, 2013*
September 19, 2013*
September 23, 2013
September 26, 2013*
October 3, 2013*
October 10, 2013*
October 17, 2013*
October 21, 2013
October 24, 2013*
* = homeless services open house 9 to noon
Trinity Episcopal Cathedral
2620 Capitol Avenue Sacramento, California 95816
Contact: Cheri Meadows
cheri.meadows123@gmail.com
(916) 601-6441
September 4, 2013*
September 11, 2013
September 18, 2013*
September 25, 2013
October 02,2013*
October 09, 2013
October 16, 2013*
October 23, 2013
* = dinner at 6
Trinity Lutheran
1500 27th Street Sacramento, CA 95816
Contact: Church Secretary
(916) 456-8701
September 20, 2012
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Contact Safe Ground
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Location: 1800 21st Street Sacramento, CA 95811 (21st & R)Mailing Address: PO Box 1644 Sacramento, CA 95812 Website: safegroundsac.orgLetters, Questions, Comments
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About Us
Safe Ground was founded in December 2008 by homeless leaders of Sacramento's 2008-2009 Tent City encampment along the American River near downtown Sacramento. We have been incorporated as a 501(c) 3 since January 2010. We support and assist an underserved population of unsheltered homeless adults who sign a covenant to be alcohol, drug and violence free, and who are committed to using every opportunity to reintegrate into mainstream society. We help those who are among the neediest and the most overlooked.
Safe Ground advocates for the rights of homeless adults. Our goal is to create cost effective, model communities where homeless people can live in safety and dignity, without threat of violence, addiction or arrest. We envision communities that, rather
than treating homelessness as a crime, embrace the dignity of each person, and provide supportive housing with a full range of social services. |
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