Sacramento, Calif., District Attorney Thien Ho sued the city for causing a "collapse into chaos" and "descent into decay," referring to the severe homelessness crisis the county is experiencing :
We have an unhoused population living in conditions typical of Third World countries. And we have the rest of the community stuck between compassion and chaos.
Ho commented that the lawsuit is the first of its kind in the country and declared that his actions are justified by the need to "address this public safety crisis for both the housed and the unhoused":
The unhoused deserve to feel and be safe. Among the chronically homeless, those who have been unhoused for over a year, 9 out of 10 women have been victims of sexual assault.
scan_orio-shelly-da_202309190820 by Veronica Silveri on Scribd
Ho's complaint was accompanied by another lawsuit filed by a group of city residents and business owners for the same reasons. The district attorney had warned city officials two months ago about the need to address the homelessness crisis. He called for enforcement of local regulations and demanded the creation of shelters or officially designated areas so that the homeless could sleep and go about their lives without compromising the safety of other residents:
It's not compassionate when someone in a wheelchair cannot use a sidewalk blocked by tents or a small business is forced to close forever due to repeated broken windows and vandalism.
The lawsuit states that the community "is at a breaking point" and says the homelessness crisis is like living in the "Third World." It also reveals that over the past seven years, "In the last 7 years, Sacramento's unhoused population has exploded by over 250%" and notes that "There are more homeless people in Sacramento than San Francisco."
The Democratic mayor's response
Sacramento's Democratic Mayor Darrell Steinberg called the DA's request a "performative distraction" and responded by stating that he understands "frustration that members of our community feel." However, he argued that "the DA’s lawsuit will not clear a single sidewalk nor get a single person off the streets."
The mayor defended the city's management of the crisis, claiming that "No local government in the Sacramento region has done more to address the crisis on our streets: 1,200 new emergency beds, ordinances to protect sidewalks, schools and other sensitive sites; a legally binding partnership with the county; thousands of new affordable housing units-to name a few."
"The city needs real partnership from the region’s leaders, not politics and lawsuits," Steinberg concluded.
