A few weekends ago, my girlfriend and I took a long run down the American River Bike Trail in Sacramento. It's one of the most beautiful adornments of the region - a paved bike trail along a greenbelt that follows the winding passage of the Sierra-snow fed river as it makes its way down through the valley to meet up with the Sacramento River.

I normally jog several days a week, but because we were so lost in conversation, I was unaware just how far we'd run. We stayed on the trail until we crossed over the river on a footbridge near Del Paso Boulevard, teasing and chasing each other along the way. Suddenly, as we came to the City side of the bridge, we saw the sea of tents splayed out beside the river and north of the cityscape. It was an interesting site, and initially disarming. We just kept on the trail (actually I did my tough guy stance while she laughed and said she'd protect me!)

It was midday on a Sunday, and I didn't feel particularly unsafe. But I did suddenly remember this was an area that had been in the news sometime in the recent past. It actually looked at least as nice as many of the camping areas I've paid good money to stay in - the only concerning thing was passing a couple arguing about who was the bigger druggie.

For some reason, Tent City suddenly attracted widespread media attention, as an emblem of the economic downturn. Oprah decided to do a segment on Tent City to "humanize" the challenges people are facing in our harsh economy and former Sacramentan Lisa Ling came to town to interview some folks: http://www.oprah.com/article/oprahshow/20090218_tows_lisa-ling/1.

I didn't see the story, but following the Oprah report, news stations from around the globe immediately jumped on the salacious story. I have read several news feeds on prominent news channels explaining how the economy has gotten so bad it's forced homeowners out of their homes into the homeless camps. Reports throughout the globe are reporting upward of 1,200 people at the encampment, and images are being splashed all over the news, comparing this with the shantytowns of the Great Depression (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldnews/article-1159677/Pictured-The-credit-crunch-tent-city-returned-haunt-America.html).

It's really interesting to see your city in an international context with comparative photos like the one on the below.

Pretty dismal stuff, huh? My parents were raised during the Great Depression, and the impact of this terribly sad time lasted throughout their lifetimes. I've seen photos, I've heard the descriptions, and I've gotten a sense of what it was like during that time. I'm reminded of the imagery from the movie, Cinderella Man, which I felt captured the desperate feelings of that time. Back then, none of our economic systems that we enjoy today were in place. AVERAGE people were living in shantytowns, not just the occasional person who had a string of bad luck. That doesn't make it right, but it does bear some reflection.

Things aren't great right now. Many people - myself included - have had to give up their homes and find other arrangements. It's not good, and I am in no way minimizing that. I think the key here; however, is not to automatically assume everything you hear, in the way you hear it, is completely accurate. We love to be shocked, and there is a proliferation of alarmists in our midst who are anxious to be able to report on the Story of the Century (which changes each week.) I enjoy briefly scanning the collection of headlines of the gossip magazines as I check out at the grocery counter. It's entertaining, but I've learned to discern that some images are real, and some are, perhaps, a little colorized . . .

Like all major cities, Sacramento has a grand plan for dealing with homelessness, which isn't perfect, and clearly isn't error-proof. News reports say there are from 1,200 to 2,000 people at the camp, when in reality there a mere fraction of that, even less when the cameras aren't there.

Here are some local sources that give some perspective on the issue:

Some news organizations are erroneously portraying the tent city "as a refugee camp" for formerly middle-class people who have been hit by the recession, said Tim Brown of the Sacramento Ending Chronic Homeless Initiative.

"While it's very true that we are seeing increasing numbers of middle-class families hitting the streets, it's still a very small percentage," Brown said. "At tent city, 90 percent of the people are chronically homeless."

- Sacramento Bee, March 14, 2009

"Sacramento is the best place to go to get from the gutter on up," said Charles Washington, a recent tent-city resident who is from Vacaville. Over lunch at Loaves & Fishes, he said: "There are a lot of resources here. That's why I came."

- Marcos Breton, Sacramento Bee, March 15, 2009

UPDATE MARCH 20, 2009: Homeless campers to be moved out of Tent City: http://www.sacbee.com/ourregion/story/1714909.html

UPDATE MARCH 25, 2009: Sacramento City Council OK's $1 million for homeless beds: http://www.sacbee.com/ourregion/story/1726620.html

UPDATE APRIL 3, 2009: Bedding sought for Tent City campers moving to Cal Expo (new housing): http://www.sacbee.com/ourregion/story/1751944.html

UPDATE APRIL 14, 2009: Dismantling of tent city begins: http://www.sacbee.com/ourregion/story/1778031.html

Clearly, the story has struck a nerve. It just seems a little specious, when looking at it from a local angle.

So, putting aside the rhetoric, I decided to provide some real resources here, so that anyone who is truly interested in the issue can take action and not just put their faces to the window pane and gasp:

1. Go straight to Sacramento's Loaves and Fishes, which operates a generous campaign to feed and shelter the homeless and donate time or money: http://www.sacloaves.org/

2. For a truly impactful donation, make one to the Mustard Seed School for homeless children here: http://www.sacloaves.org/programs/mustardseedschool/

3. Review and support Emergency Shelters in Sacramento at http://www.communitycouncil.org/level-4/InfoLine-Sacramento/lists/emer_shelters.pdf (or locate them in your own community and steer your energies there.)

4. Don't perpetuate the problem of alarmist overreaction to the problems of our economy. Start by reading here: http://hubpages.com/hub/The-Economics-of-Happiness

5. As long as you're interested, buy some real estate here - we can use the economic stimulation!

6. Be well ~