Florin Safe Stay Shelter

The Sacramento County Department of Homeless Services and Housing (DHSH) seeks to contract with a qualified provider to operate a year-round, 24-hour emergency shelter located at the intersection of Florin and Power Inn Road in South Sacramento, known as the Florin Safe Stay Community (Florin Safe Stay). The selected proposer will be responsible for the day-to-day operations, case management services, oversight of the facility trailers, shuttle transportation, meal service, and the maintenance and upkeep of the site. The Florin Safe Stay is a shelter site constructed by the County of Sacramento, on leased property, which provides sheltering and housing services to people experiencing homelessness. The site is composed of 100 sleeping cabins which serve up to 125 adults nightly, aged 18 and over, who were previously experiencing unsheltered homelessness in Sacramento County. Please see the Site Description under the Project Details section.

In Fiscal Year 2021-22, the Board of Supervisors (Board) approved funding to develop and operate new non-congregate sheltering communities. These programs became known as Safe Stay Communities (Safe Stays), which utilize sleeping cabins to provide emergency shelter to individuals experiencing homelessness. The Board’s commitment recognized that existing shelter space was not adequate to serve those experiencing homelessness, and that alternative shelter options, like Safe Stays, were a necessary part of a shelter crisis system.

The Florin Safe Stay was the County of Sacramento's (County) first Safe Stay Community, which opened in August 2023. The Safe Stay Communities were created in response to the County's shelter crisis and were designed with a non-congregate sheltering approach by offering individual sleeping cabins and private communities for adults experiencing homelessness. The Department of Homeless Services and Housing (DHSH) is the lead County department responsible for the oversight of the shelter program, along with the Sacramento County Department of General Services (DGS) who supports the facilities management and maintenance of the site. The Safe Stay Communities operate as emergency shelters that offer a temporary living environment with on-site support services, collaborative case management, and rehousing programs. DHSH partners with the Department of Health Services (DHS) Behavioral Health Services (BHS) to serve Behavioral Health Bridge Housing (BHBH) clients at the shelter. The BHBH program provides support services to those with Serious Mental Illnesses (SMI) and Substance Use Disorders (SUD) through the coordination of on-site groups, Peer Specialists, and Clinicians. 26 out of 125 beds are set aside for the BHBH program.

The Florin Safe Stay serves up to 75 individual adults and 25 adult households consisting of two individuals, that are experiencing homelessness and living unsheltered in Sacramento County. Prioritization is given to individuals within a 3.5-mile radius of the shelter site. The shelter operates as a low-barrier program and ensures services are geared appropriately to support vulnerable individuals with a history of chronic homelessness. (Please see definition of vulnerable population/vulnerabilities in the Project Details Section). Referrals are coordinated through the community’s Coordinated Access System (CAS), 211, and County of Sacramento Behavioral Health Services.

Upon approval of this shelter program, the County Board of Supervisors made the following commitments to the local community and businesses regarding eligibility for the Florin Safe Stay: 1) All shelter guests must complete a background check prior to entry; 2) All shelter guests must be shuttled in and out of the site (no walk in and walk out entry at this site); 3) the shelter would operate under the County’s Good Neighbor Policy (attached), and 4) that the operator would further the objectives of the Sacramento County Code Section 9.120.040, aimed to report encampments within a 1000-foot radius of the shelter.

Through this Request for Proposals (RFP), the County is seeking a qualified provider to operate the Florin Safe Stay Shelter and provide supportive services for up to 125 individuals nightly.