I am from Sacramento and it is going to get way worse, cutting off welfare, dramtically cutting the disabled etc. 

Here is one of my temp solutions that I posted elsewhere in the blogs.

State Parks for the Homeless

MY SOLUTION:  As part of the budget cuts, they are going to close State parks here in CA, most of which are campgrounds.  Maybe they will at least allow some of the homeless families to camp there, they wont let them camp anywhere else.  If this could happen then we could station some food closets and other necessities to the State parks for them.  Most all of them are equipped with toilets and showers and most are on lakes or rivers. They could allow them to fish for FREE and grow community gardens. They are going to need some place to camp and they will need some tents, sleeping bags, cooking stoves, solar flash lights, etc. which we could probably get WalMart, Target or other department stores to donate.  As for garbage, they could compost (for their gardens), recycle (money for some necessities) which they could have one commercial recycle company per park. 

What could be the States objection to this?  When they broke up Tent City here in Sacramento their excuses were lack of sanitation i.e. showers and toilets.  But a lot of it had to do with residents in the area did not want them in their sight.  State parks are not in residential neighborhoods therefore out of sight.

Janine, I hope something has worked out for you by now.

I know from personal experience that how our nation treats the poor is both cruel and inhumane and that the "resources" are AT BEST incredibly inadequate.  I tried leaving home due to abuse that has reached to point of intolerability and even with the help of the local police department's victim's assistance unit, there was NOT ONE shelter that would take me WITH my service dog and ONLY ONE shelter that had space for a single female.  That shelter was a drop in shelter, many were obviously drug addicts, the place was unclean, I was assigned a bed I couldn't get into, the blankets stunk like a wet dog who'd been rolling in something, you had to buy coffee (or their limited list of other beverages), you couldn't plug in anything for any reason (not even with their permission - like to get a cell phone charged) and I've seen cleaner rest rooms in gas stations.  Worse, I couldn't get even the most basic of help - like a locker or help with phones or the bus - until MONDAY.  Which ultimately meant that there I was in a part of town I didn't know with a cell phone with a dead battery, no other way to make phone calls, no food of my own, and not a thing I could do until Monday.   Plus, there were at least 3 screaming fights by 6 am.  Ultimately, I went back to my apartment where my abuser resides also - it really wasn't any different.  After all, I'm the one paying the rent and bills - plus it's calmer there. 

No, the poor and homeless in need of shelter shouldn't expect the Four Seasons or The Ritz Carlton, but we deserve to have a spot when it's needed - and it's NOT a secret that there ARE lots in need of shelter right now and have been for a long time.  Also we deserve to have our needs actually met and in a way that treats us with dignity and respect.  A filthy facility, one that warehouses people for days doing nothing  because those needed for doing something won't be available sooner, one that can't even adequately wash linens or provide accessible facilities is NOT meeting the needs of those who need shelter NOR are they treating those who need shelter with even minimal amounts of dignity and respect.