Good news! … sort of … maybe … Cbs13.com & sacbee.com report that two Sacramento homeless programs have been flooded with donations since they were featured on Oprah Winfrey’s show last week (yes, last week, I know this story is old news, not trying to scoop here, and stop looking at me like that).
CBS13 also profiled St. John’s Shelter shortly before the story ran on the Oprah show. John’s Shelter for women and children is filled to capacity, thanks to the economy. Executive Director Michele Steeb says the shelter turned away 25 women and children a day in 2007, but that number jumped to 80 in 2008 and is now 130 per day in 2009.
“Thanks to the economy“. Nice.
And from the Oprah article:
Tent cities are illegal in Sacramento, but Lisa says that may change soon. “So many people are seeking out shelter because all of the homeless shelters are filled beyond capacity, that they’re actually thinking about legalizing tent communities, and the city is actually thinking about providing services,” she says. “Surprisingly, the community has been extremely sympathetic because so many people in Sacramento have gone into foreclosure. … The shelters say that people have actually been donating more because the attitude is ‘I’d rather spend money so that people can have shelter than buy new material stuff.'”
If you are actually interested in learning more, watch the video of Lisa visiting Tent City.
The Sac Rag 