All people deserve a safe place to be.
Everyone deserves SAFE GROUND!

There are about 1,000 people sleeping outside every night in Sacramento! Shelters are full, so for many the options are few: sleep in a car, if you have one, or break the law and sleep illegally on the streets.

This is unjust!

Everyone should have a safe place where they can go at night and sleep without fear. That's why we need a safe ground. Sacramento needs a safe "legalized" campground where homeless folks can have clean water, bathrooms, and trash services until our City, County and State are willing and able to provide adequate shelters and affordable housing for the growing numbers of homeless folks.

Loaves & Fishes along with other homeless advocacy groups are supporting Safe Ground Sacramento's plan for a legalized safe ground site. The plans consists of 60 Tuff Sheds equipped for sleeping at night, communal food preparation area, and restrooms. The site will be staffed with support personnel to assist the residents in challenging their individual barriers to achieving more permanent housing.

Watch the media coverage on KCRA 3

The Plan

Safe Ground – a village community of 60 domiciles complete with cooking and bathroom facilities, meeting places, gardens including green houses and composting sites, storage rooms and security, social worker & job development offices.

Safe Ground is considering sponsored individual Tuff Shed like structures fashioned as cottages. They will have two windows that are enhanced by a flower box and/or shutter details. All doors and windows are detailed with wood trim. They are quaint and yet built with traditional 2-by-4 framing methods, utilize 6-inch galvanized steel floor trusses and are designed with a treated subfloor to prevent mold and mildew. They use premium plywood siding and a 30-year composition roofing.

Each cottage ranges from 8-by-10 feet to 12-by-14 feet, the size of most bedrooms. These sleeping cottages easily accommodate beds and dressers while providing individuals a private space. Each cottage will have all of the basic needs including curtains and linens and solar powered light. These cottages, with the support of the core facilities, will afford the homeless an opportunity to get back on their feet and build toward a new beginning in traditional housing.

The Site

There are several potential sites. One of the sites we have selected, that we consider to be an ideal location, is between VOA's Bannon Street Shelter, Union Gospel Mission and the Sacramento Water Treatment plant. There are several other potential locations. Any location needs the approval of the City and County and must balance the need for access to social service programs and be sensitive to the needs of surrounding businesses.

The Financials

Safe Ground Sacramento's is a nonprofit group that would raise both private and public funding. Ideally, funding will come from local businesses, individuals, Churches, and organizations.

Unless the local government requires additional features the plan would be a minimal cost to the City and County of Sacramento.

Download the SafeGround – Eden, a Stepping Stone to Home information packet here.