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Our recently filed Federal 990 forms are also accessible below.
A letter from Susan Rice, our Acting Executive Director:
As Acting Executive Director of Sierra Roots, I want to make the public aware that our organization is not endorsing any political candidates for public office. Under the Internal Revenue Code, all tax-exempt charities are absolutely prohibited from directly or indirectly participating in, or intervening in, any political campaign on behalf of (or in opposition to) any candidate for elective public office.
In his column “Harris-Trump debate was a disappointment” on Sept. 12, Tom Durkin identified himself as the creative director of the Sierra Roots/No Place to Go Project. His column endorsed one of the candidates. He should not have associated Sierra Roots with his personal opinion, as he was not authorized to speak on behalf of Sierra Roots. He has apologized to me and to the Board of Directors, and we have been assured that this will never happen again. We want to apologize for any confusion that this may have created.
HOW CAN WE ADDRESS THE PROBLEM OF HOMELESSNESS IN NEVADA COUNTY?
The issue of homelessness is a complex one…our view is to pursue a holistic approach which includes housing, healthy food, self-governance, re-skilling and community support.
In 2005, the State of Utah set out to fix a problem that’s often thought of as unfixable: chronic homelessness. The state had almost two thousand chronically homeless people. Most of them had mental-health or substance-abuse issues, or both.
At the time, the standard approach was to try to make homeless people “housing ready”: first, you got people into shelters or halfway houses and put them into treatment; only when they made progress could they get a chance at permanent housing. Utah, though, embraced a different strategy, called Housing First: it started by just giving the homeless homes.
Our solution is also a ‘Housing First’ approach
Housing is treatment:
- Fewer Emergency Room visits
- Safety and security of person & effects
- Better quality of life
- Reduce substance abuse
- Shelter from inclement weather
- Reduce involvement with police and criminal justice systems
- Reduce fire danger from un-permitted campfires
HOMELESS FAQS
Community Concerns of the Homeless are:
- Un-permitted & unsafe camping
- Fire dangers & environmental degradation
- Multiple public health concerns, such as lack of adequate sewage/bathrooms
- Animals needing care
- High cost of Emergency Room & Hospital visits
- Effect on beauty of historical district
- Behaviors that alienate local business owners and tourists.
Challenges and Barriers for the Homeless include:- Risk of illness or death, by being unsheltered
- Low to zero income, lack of employment, & limited job opportunities which can’t afford any type of housing
- No access to basic hygiene facilities
- No transportation to access support systems
- Substance misuse/overuse and behavioral health struggles
- Multiple unaddressed physical and dental health needs.