Sacramento County supervisors signed off Tuesday on a new Community Defined Wellness Practices Program, locking in $16.38 million for mental health focused housing and on site wellness services aimed at people experiencing homelessness. County officials say the idea is simple, if not exactly small: pair housing with culturally defined, community led care in neighborhoods where unhoused residents are most heavily concentrated.
The board approved a pooled contract authority of $16,380,000 for the effort, with agreements running through June 30, 2029, according to the Sacramento County Board of Supervisors. The item landed in the Health Services section of the Nov. 18 meeting packet and directs staff to build a contracting pool so the county can quickly bring on community providers. Staff told supervisors the pooled setup is meant to speed the launch of multiple program sites and partner projects around the county.
What The Program Will Do
The initiative, labeled in county documents as the “Unhoused Individuals INN Project,” is designed to deliver long term mental health services, expand outreach to people who repeatedly cycle through homelessness, and grow the county’s peer workforce, as reported by The Sacramento Bee. The plan calls for co locating clinicians and peer specialists with community groups and building housing supports that center culturally defined wellness practices. Officials say putting providers where people already are is supposed to lower barriers to care, make it easier to accept services, and accelerate moves into stable housing.
Funding And Policy Background
County staff told supervisors the project will rely primarily on Mental Health Services Act money, along with Medi-Cal funding and administrative Medi-Cal activities. The Mental Health Services Act, also known as Prop. 63, pays for local innovation projects and allows five year pilots that test community driven models, according to the Sacramento County Department of Health Services. By tapping MHSA dollars, officials said, the county can try culturally specific wellness approaches while at the same time building out housing connections.
Why The County Says It Is Needed
Advocates and county staff argue the program is a direct response to ongoing mental health needs among people who are unhoused. The 2024 Point in Time count estimated about 6,615 people experiencing homelessness in Sacramento County, and county data included more than 2,000 people with a serious mental health condition, according to KCRA. Officials on Tuesday said combining housing with embedded mental health supports could finally reach residents who have repeatedly turned down clinic based services. Supporters hope the approach will cut down on crisis calls and shorten the time people spend living on the street.
Timeline And Next Steps
With the pooled authority in place, county staff can begin signing agreements with community partners and rolling out program sites over the next several months. The board packet sets the contract term through June 30, 2029, giving Sacramento a five year window to operate and assess the initiative, according to the Sacramento County Board of Supervisors. Supervisors placed the program on the Health Services consent calendar, clearing the path for work to start as soon as contracts are finalized. Officials say they will coordinate with local housing agencies and nonprofit providers to identify sites and prepare requests for proposals.
County and community leaders are quick to point out that the plan is not a cure all, but rather a test of whether hyper local, culturally rooted wellness practices tied directly to housing can help people who are chronically unhoused move into long term stability. Neighborhood organizations and mental health advocates are already watching to see how quickly contracts are awarded and whether services on the ground actually reduce emergency encounters. The next stretch will show whether Sacramento can turn that $16.38 million into permanent placements and support networks that last longer than a funding cycle.
