Tent City's Moment of Truth Set for Thursday
CPR photo/Ben Adler
Police have given residents of Sacramento’s homeless “tent city” along the American River until the end of the day today to leave their current campsite. But how will officials deal with those who defy the warning and refuse to move?
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(Sacramento, CA)
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson calls the city’s strategy “tough love.”
Johnson: “Our commitment is, we’re gonna give you one or two options. We give you a timeline. We hope you take up this offer. If not, the thing that we’re all trying to avoid is people not just being noticed but eventually being cited.”
Or worse. Assistant city manager Cassandra Jennings says she hopes the residents will leave. But if not …
Jennings: “They’ll be escorted out so the property owners can fence their properties.”
She says arrests are a possibility too.
Officials say they’ve listened to the concerns of the tent city residents and have offered them a mix of short- and long-term housing options. But some of the homeless say those solutions don’t fit their needs and have vowed to stay.
If there is a standoff, it will come tomorrow. That’s when city officials and police officers plan to head out to the campsite and start cleaning it up -- so property owners can fence it off.