By Mike Hazlip—
The city-funded “navigator” tasked with helping transition homeless individuals off the streets of Citrus Heights provided the City Council with an update on her efforts last month.
Navigator Gabriella Yost, who has been on the job since September 2021 after replacing prior navigator Toni Morgan, said during the Feb. 24 update that she had provided resources to 78 individuals this year to date. A total of 17 households and individuals have received temporary shelter, and 14 households have received permanent housing this year to date, she said.
Yost defined temporary shelter as a hotel or other short term housing, while permanent housing may last six months or more.
Last year, Yost said a total of 184 individuals representing 145 households were contacted and provided with resources. Ten of those were veterans.
A total of 35 individuals in 25 households received temporary shelter, and 45 individuals from 34 households were placed in permanent housing in 2021, Yost said.
She also highlighted two client success stories in the presentation, identified only as “client A” and “client B.” She said the first client was provided with identification documents and payee paperwork, and was then provided with a hotel stay and was able to maintain three days of sobriety before moving to Grace Recovery House.
Now, after completing her 90-day graduation from Grace Recovery House, she has moved to a women’s recovery home. Yost said the client is now a HART mentor who has her own bank account and is working to pay off old debts.
How many homeless are there in Citrus Heights?
Councilman Steve Miller asked for a current count of people experiencing homelessness in Citrus Heights, but was not able to be provided with an answer due to county’s “Point in Time” count being delayed for two years due to the pandemic.
Police Sgt. Seth Cimino said an internal count conducted by Citrus Heights police using interview cards when officers come in contact with homeless individuals has also been postponed because of the pandemic.
Yost gave what she said was an “educated guess” of about 250 to 300 individuals living on the streets of Citrus Heights, a figure that roughly agrees with what homeless advocate Alfred Sanchez previously told The Sentinel.
She also said the county’s Point in Time count had recently resumed and concluded last month, but she said final statistics are not expected to be made public for several months.
A previous report by The Sentinel shows the most recent survey by Citrus Heights police from 2019 found 163 homeless individuals in Citrus Heights, down from 186 the prior year. Countywide, estimates indicate more than 5,000 individuals are homeless on any given night in Sacramento County.
Council members offered various comments following Yost’s presentation, noting appreciation for her role and the difficulty of the position.
“You know a community gets what they tolerate and so we don’t tolerate what is seen in a lot of communities and so we’ll expect a lot out of you and I feel confident we’ll get a lot out of you,” said Councilman Bret Daniels.
Yost works with organizations such as the Citrus Heights Homeless Assistance Resource Team (HART), and Courage House to provide assistance to people experiencing homelessness. She also works with Citrus Heights police to contact individuals and provide resources.
