Racial Equity

Taking steps to end homelessness with no person left behind

In Sacramento County and across the country, people of color experience homelessness at disproportionately higher rates because of historic and ongoing inequities. 

In Sacramento, Black/African Americans are three times more likely to experience homelessness than the general population. Meanwhile, American Indian and Alaskan Natives are four times more likely to experience homelessness than the general population. 

Sacramento Steps Forward and the Sacramento Continuum of Care (CoC) are committed to ending racial inequities in our homeless response system.

Our work

In 2021, we launched the Racial Equity (REQ) Committee to uncover the scope, causes, and potential solutions of race serving as a predictor for homelessness in Sacramento. 

As we step into this brave leadership space to enhance racial equity in our homelessness system of care, we are excited to share this committee’s work. We will elevate the voices of those who are contributing to this community-wide effort and advocate for meaningful change. 

The 20-member committee is comprised primarily of Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC), many with lived experience of homelessness. 

This diverse committee will uncover the ways in which BIPOC experience homelessness and our local homelessness system. As knowledge is generated, it will be disbursed through interactive trainings, accessible reports, and other user-friendly mechanisms. 

The committee is tasked with developing an action plan to guide the decision-making process of the CoC Board over the next three to five years. This plan will be fully informed by BIPOC with lived experience of homelessness, as well as input and recommendations from stakeholders, studies, pilots, local systems evaluations, and the learnings of other communities. 

The ultimate vision is to create an equitable, accountable, and transparent homelessness system that catalyzes structural change both inside and outside of our current sphere of influence.

As we embark on this exciting journey, we invite members of the public to join our committee meetings, which are held via Zoom from 9:00-11:00 a.m. the third Wednesday of each month. 

More committee information can be found here. The committee’s schedule of purpose and workplan can be found here. 

Our accomplishments:

Since the beginning of the year, this 20-member committee has:

• Finalized a purpose statement and work plan
• Conducted three racial equity trainings with follow up courageous conversations
• Initiated interviews and listening sessions with 14 BIPOC with lived experience of homelessness
• Held two stakeholder forums
• Provided feedback on street outreach standards under development
• Developed a draft racial equity action plan

REQ Resources:

• REQC Action Plan
• REQ Data & Context About the Disparities in Homelessness
• BIPOC Interviews Presentation
• REQ Interviews Summary
• REQ Training Series 
• REQ Stakeholder Forums
• REQ Overview Workshop 
• Non-Profit Housing Association of Northern California’s REQ Resources Library