Access to Water and Sanitation for People Experiencing Homelessness in Sacramento https://grants.dudleytdoughertyfoundation.org/proposals-2019/access-to-water-and-sanitation-for-people-experiencing-homelessness-in-sacramento https://grants.dudleytdoughertyfoundation.org/@@site-logo/sitelogo-75x75.png

Access to Water and Sanitation for People Experiencing Homelessness in Sacramento

Additional Information
Used for	This funding will allow two small grassroots organizations to convene a diverse group of stakeholders in Sacramento, California to address the pressing humanitarian, environmental, and public health crisis that is the extreme lack of access to water and sanitation for people experiencing homelessness. There's momentum to address the overall problem of homelessness, but unfortunately what's being proposed in Sacramento is not enough to get the majority of people off the streets, and does nothing to address the lack of water and sanitation access and its impacts to the environment and public health, which is unfortunate because there are several proven solutions including bathrooms like the Portland Loo, mobile shower and sanitation stations, and increased/better coordinated waste pickup and disposal. With this funding, we can develop a comprehensive plan and identify and apply for additional funding streams to address these elements with the buy-in necessary from diverse sectors like chambers of commerce, labor groups, community, and environmental organizations in addition to the support and involvement of normally silo-ed local agencies with little room to fund integrated and collaborative approaches.
Benefits	This funding will lead to the implementation of an integrated approach to addressing a human rights crisis that is affecting thousands of communities where there is homelessness. By providing bathrooms accessible to the public and increased and coordinated waste pickup and disposal, not only will people experiencing homelessness benefit, but also every community member who uses public spaces. By providing mobile shower and sanitation stations, public health crises like the recent outbreaks of typhus and Hepatitis A among the homeless population in LA can be avoided in Sacramento's growing homeless population.
Proposal Description	This funding will allow the newly formed Sacramento Homeless Environmental Justice Alliance, founded by the Environmental Justice Coalition and the Sacramento Regional Coalition to End Homelessness to convene a diverse group of stakeholders in the county of Sacramento to develop a comprehensive plan for implementing 4 proven common sense solutions to truly realize the human right to water for all Sacramentans: 1) increased access to 24/7 bathrooms in public spaces, including for people experiencing homelessness, 2) Mobile Showers 3) Mobile wash/sanitation stations 4) Increased and coordinated waste pickup and disposal. This funding will allow EJCW and SRCEH to host at least 4 meetings of the Alliance to develop an actionable plan and identify streams of funding for the County and other local agencies to actually implement. The implementation of these common sense solutions will immediately benefit the growing populations of people experiencing homelessness in Sacramento county and the public at large in the longer term by lowering the costs of clean ups, healthcare costs passed on to taxpayers incurred by preventable disease and health complications, and slowing/alleviating the pollution of our waterways in the north Delta. The first meeting is being convened without funding with the hope that the group will work together to fund the staff time necessary to guide this work. We are expecting up to 50 participants in the inaugural meeting, with plans to reach out to over 125 organizations with a presence in Sacramento. This funding would pay for materials for 4 subsequent gatherings: refreshments, printed materials, and stipends for community members who may need to take time off work to attend, at a total cost of $1,200. The rest of the funding will pay for staff time to plan and execute the meetings, coordinate the group in between meetings, and identify implementation funding streams.