Sacramento City Attorney issues statement following judge’s denial of preliminary injunction for Camp Resolution

Sacramento City Attorney Susana Alcala Wood has issued the statement below following a Sacramento Superior Court judge's denial of a preliminary injunction to enjoin the City from closing Camp Resolution (2225 Colfax St.).

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"The City of Sacramento in 2023 agreed to enter into the lease agreement with Safe Ground Sacramento because they approached the City about allowing them to provide a new and innovative approach to the homelessness crisis. That was to establish a self-governed and self-sustaining community providing a safe place for unsheltered residents to stay temporarily as they sought more suitable housing. The City viewed Camp Resolution as a pilot program and a potential model for other cities working to address the ongoing homelessness crisis.

Unfortunately, Camp Resolution has proven to be a failed experiment, largely because of the counterproductive interventions from the Sacramento Homeless Union and its attorney Anthony Prince. From the beginning, the union, which purports to represent the best interests of the people staying at the camp, has refused to abide by the terms of the lease agreement and has continually blocked City and social service workers from entering the site to work with the people staying there, which is a necessary step to obtaining housing. The union also tried to thwart a routine safety inspection by the State Water Board and the Sacramento Fire Department, even though it was agreed to by Safe Ground Sacramento and a representative group of Camp Resolution guests.

The latest chapter in Camp Resolution's troubling saga is the infighting between Safe Ground Sacramento and the Sacramento Homeless Union. Safe Ground Sacramento, which operates the site, has elected to terminate the lease effective Aug. 10, 2024, because it can't fulfill its lease obligations. The Sacramento Homeless Union subsequently filed for a preliminary injunction to keep the camp open and to preclude the City from providing services to the people who live there. That request for a preliminary injunction was denied today by a Sacramento Superior Court judge.

Earlier this week, the Sacramento Homeless Union stated they plan to flaunt the law and remain at the site no matter what a judge rules regarding their request for injunctive relief. This is no surprise given the history of antagonistic, uncooperative and unproductive behavior that has been the hallmark of interactions with the union's attorney Anthony Prince.

Lost in all the noise and grandstanding is the ultimate wellbeing of the people staying at the camp. Earlier this summer, the City offered move the camp to a new location that did not have any environmental concerns - an offer that was rebuffed by Prince. And despite having every obstacle thrown at it by those purporting to have the campers' best interests at heart, the City for months has provided every individual at Camp Resolution with shelter opportunities, including spots at the Roseville Road campus, the Outreach and Engagement Center and, in fact, in July made multiple attempts to reach guests with offers of durable housing in the City's motel program.

As with the relocation efforts for the camp itself, the offers to transition people to more stable shelter were rejected out of hand. Nevertheless, the City continues to make alternate shelter available to everyone staying at Camp Resolution."