California city rolls out ‘glamping’ for homeless amid fierce criticism over costs

Sacramento’s latest attempt to tackle homelessness comes with a hefty price tag: roughly $20,000 per bed for a government-run tent camp complete with raised wooden platforms, city-issued tents and around-the-clock security.

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The new $2.5 million safe camping site in the city’s River District officially opened this week with room for up to 125 people. 

And the costs don’t stop there.

City officials estimate it will cost another $1.2 million annually to operate — about $9,600 per bed each year, according to ABC10.

Each resident will receive a city-provided tent set atop a raised platform, along with a cot, two storage bins and a lawn chair. 

The site also includes shared showers, portable restrooms, behavioral health services and 24-hour security.

There is no kitchen or air conditioning, although officials say swamp coolers and fans will be brought in during the summer.

The opening comes just days after Sacramento’s independent city auditor released a review of the city’s homelessness response that raised questions about whether taxpayers are getting the best return on their investment.

The audit found Sacramento spent $63.2 million operating 14 homeless shelter programs during fiscal years 2024 and 2025.

But auditors found Sacramento has no clear standard for determining when its pricier shelter models are worth the cost — and no consistent method for figuring out which homelessness programs deliver the biggest bang for taxpayers’ bucks.

“Given limited resources and growing demand,” auditors recommended the city develop a system to evaluate shelter costs, outcomes and efficiencies to improve how homelessness dollars are allocated.

The report also found the city could shelter more people at minimal additional cost by increasing occupancy at some existing congregate shelters instead of continuing to pour money into new projects.

While outcomes varied depending on the type of shelter and the populations they served, auditors found “no strong link” between the services people received and positive outcomes based on the available data. 

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They also concluded the city lacks a comprehensive performance framework, making it difficult to measure overall success or compare which shelter models perform best.

According to the audit, more than half of people leaving in the city’s shelters, tiny-home villages and motel programs returned to homelessness or had an unknown outcome.

At Sacramento’s largest tiny-home village on Roseville Road, 65% of residents returned to homelessness or had an unknown outcome after leaving, according to reporting by Abridged.

Despite the audit’s findings, city leaders say additional shelter remains urgently needed.

Sacramento County’s identified more than 7,400 people experiencing homelessness, including 3,944 living unsheltered.

Mayor Kevin McCarty acknowledged the new campground offers only basic accommodations but argued it is preferable to leaving people on the streets.

“There are too many people who are still languishing on our streets, and sometimes, unfortunately, dying on our streets,” McCarty said during Tuesday’s opening, according to Abridged.

“And look, this isn’t perfect,” he added. “There’s not individual A/C units for everybody here, there’s not individual bathroom facilities. … But I’d like to go for a walk 100 yards down the street and ask, is it better than what we have outside?”

City Manager Maraskeshia Smith called the campground a temporary step toward permanent housing.

“The long-term solution is to get people into housing, but that doesn’t happen right away,” Smith said, according to Abridged, noting many people need identification, employment and supportive services before they can secure permanent housing.

The River District site replaces Sacramento’s previous sanctioned camping site.

The city shut down the self-governed Camp Resolution in 2024 after officials declared it a “failed experiment,” according to Abridged.

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