The Aggie
Advocates for unhoused individuals claim Sacramento is failing to support its homeless population during the pandemic
On Dec. 15, Mayor Darrell Steinberg of Sacramento announced new criteria regarding public warming centers for the city’s homeless population this winter. Under the new plan, the city will open warming centers after the temperature reaches 33 degrees Fahrenheit or below for 24 hours. The previous Sacramento County and City threshold was 32 degrees Fahrenheit or below, maintained for three days.
“Every life matters,” Mayor Steinberg said in the press release. “We will do all we can even with all of the Covid restrictions to provide our homeless neighbors with a warm, safe place to come inside.”
Homeless Sacramento County Residents Who Died In 2020 Remembered At Vigil Listen
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Faye Wilson Kennedy holds a sign remembering Vanessa Diane Franklin, who died earlier this year, Monday, December 21, 2020.
Andrew Nixon / CapRadio
Gregory Tarola, 63.
These are the names of some of the 90-plus people who died on the streets and in homeless shelters in Sacramento County in 2020.
Advocacy groups read each person’s name Monday night during a candlelight vigil at Sacramento City Hall marking the seventh annual Interfaith Homeless Memorial.
The event was part of National Homeless Memorial Day, which is recognized in cities across California where hundreds of unhoused people succumb each year to substance abuse, heart disease, violent injuries and sometimes hypothermia. The memorials are held annually on the winter solstice, the longest night of the year.
The Aggie
Educators examine how the pandemic has exacerbated educational inequalities, especially for students of color
On Dec. 18, the Davis Joint Unified School District (DJUSD) announced in an email that it will spend January discussing a plan for reopening under a hybrid model. Small groups of students are already learning on campus, but the majority of DJUSD students are still learning virtually. DJUSD Director of Secondary Education and Leadership Troy Allen explained via email that distance learning has been difficult for students, especially by impacting how they communicate with their peers and mentors.
“The challenge that students speak about most are the barriers that exist to relationships and casual interactions,” Allen said via email. “Relationships, between peers and with teachers and staff, are what characterize school for most students and many are feeling that loss; this makes engaging in content harder for students.”