Community Forum Held to Address Crime and Homelessness

Carmichael residents can help address issues of crime and homelessness by reporting suspicious activity, area elected, law enforcement and community agency officials said Thursday.

"Carmichael is more safe because of... Neighborhood Watch groups," said Karen Maxwell, an assistant chief deputy district attorney for Sacramento County. "You can help pay attention and report any suspicious activity you see."

During the forum, held at the , residents were able to submit a written question that was passed on to Sacramento County Supervisor Susan Peters, who moderated the discussion.

"We have seen an increase in homelessness," Jesse Wyant, a Barrett Hills neighborhood resident who attended the forum with his wife Mia, said as he left the event. "Especially in homeless people coming into the residential neighborhoods going through recycling bins while panhandling is also up."

Also serving as panelists were , Kevin Shriver, the supervising county code enforcement officer,  Countywide Services Agency administrator Bruce Wagstaff and Jack Harrison, administrator of the .

Jones said the Carmichael area sees instances of vagrancy, illegal camping, public drunkenness and begging that the sheriff's office can't always keep with because of budget cuts.

"Is Carmichael safe? Overall, I'd say yes, but it's a quality of life issue," he said.

Shriver said code enforcement officers generally most calls in the area.

"We reduce blight and deter crime while making the community a better place," he said.

The main thing is to help get homeless people off the streets and into programs that will help them in the long term, including mental health and substance abuse, Wagstaff said. About 13 percent of the homeless population are military veterans.

The countywide agency works with non-profit groups, the faith community and law enforcement, among others. In 2006, the county came up with a 10-year plan to address homelessness.

A recent street count shows that overall homelessness in the county is down and chronic homelesness is down by about 25 to 30 percent, Wagstaff said.

"It looks like our approach is working," he said.

Harrison said parks see relatively few problems and that while some homeless people hang out in parks, the neighborhood parks close at sundown and the Carmichael and La Sierra parks close at 11 p.m.

"The parks are for everybody, as long as they're not breaking the law or violating park rules," he said.

Panelists stressed the importance of residents reporting any suspicious activity.

"It's not a crime to be homeless, though some behavior may be," Maxwell said.

The forum was sponsored by the .

"While we must have a compassionate eye toward our fellow man, we want to figure out how to address this issue (homelessness)," chamber president Chris Meyer said.

A follow-up meeting will be held May 3 at 7 p.m. at the , 4949 Kenneth Ave.

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TO CALL

-Sacramento Steps Forward, homeless issues 916-447-7063, ext. 337

-Sacramento County Code Enforcement 875-5656