A standing-room-only crowd of approximately 150 gathered at the Food Bank of El Dorado County on December 2 to hear from county and community officials about homeless housing options. The event was co-sponsored by the Taxpayers Association and Shingle-Springs Cameron Park Chamber of Commerce. It was organized to provide the public with additional information on two programs under consideration by the county – Homekey, a state program that provides funds for the purchase of properties to convert into shelters, and HOSTESS, a temporary encampment proposed by Sheriff John D’Agostini and a group of citizens.
The main event of the evening was a panel discussion featuring El Dorado County Chief Administrative Officer Don Ashton, Tahoe Coalition for the Homeless Executive Director Cheyenne Purrington, and El Dorado County Sheriff’s Lieutenant Jeff Leikauf. The three answered many questions from the audience. The answers provided information on the potential benefits and risks of both programs. Additionally, Sheriff D’Agostini, County Supervisors John Hidahl and George Turnboo, South Lake Tahoe Mayor Tamara Wallace, County Auditor-Controller Joe Harn, and Assemblymember Kevin Kiley addressed the crowd.
The event was recorded and is available in three parts (due to technical difficulties with wifi in the room, two brief portions were unfortunately omitted): Part 1; Part 2; Part 3. The Mountain Democrat was also on hand to cover the event – read their coverage here.
Photo credit Shingle Springs Cameron Park Chamber of Commerce
