Supporting Unhoused Neighbors Safely: A Community Guide

Leading with dignity, not assumptions

Homelessness is a housing and public-health crisis, not a security problem to be solved through confrontation. Most interactions residents have with unhoused neighbors involve no danger at all, and treating every unhoused person as a threat causes real harm and does nothing to address the underlying need. At the same time, property managers and HOA boards do have a legitimate role in managing trespassing on private property and unsafe encampments — the two things are not in conflict when handled with clear boundaries and basic compassion.

What residents can do

• If someone appears to need services (shelter, medical attention, mental health support), 211 Sacramento is the official referral line connecting people to housing, food, and health resources.
• If there's an immediate medical or safety emergency, call 911 as you would for anyone else.
• Avoid confrontation; if someone is on private property where they shouldn't be, notify the property manager or, for public space concerns, the appropriate city or county department rather than intervening directly.
• Support local efforts (shelters, food programs, outreach organizations) that are structured to actually help, rather than ad hoc individual interventions.

For property managers and HOA boards

Encampments or trespassing on private common areas are a legitimate property-management concern, distinct from how any individual should be treated as a person. A documented, consistent process — professional trespass notice, coordination with property management and, where appropriate, official outreach teams before removal — is both more humane and more legally sound than an ad hoc response. Sacramento County and City outreach teams can sometimes be looped in ahead of a removal to connect the individual with services first.