More than one month after Mayor Kevin Johnson asked city staffers to select three possible Safe Ground sites for consideration, it does not appear the city is any closer to discussing specifics.

Johnson told reporters at his weekly press conference that he will discuss Safe Ground issues with the City Council, city staff and Sacramento County at the end of this month or in early October. He asked city staffers on Aug. 10 to pinpoint three possible sites.

“No matter what we’re able to do with Safe Ground, that will not be in place in time for November,” Johnson said.

In the upcoming discussions on Safe Ground, Johnson said the city and county will explore a possible timeline for establishing the site.

The mayor said he was “inclined to support” the idea of a Safe Ground site.

For more than one year, Safe Ground advocates have repeatedly asked the City Council to take action. They want a site that would not fall under the city’s camping ban.

While it does not appear that any immediate action will be taken on Safe Ground, both the city and county governments are now considering the idea of setting up a new nonprofit organization to combat homelessness.

City and county officials say a nonprofit will need to be set up in large part because the county’s Department of Human Assistance will not have enough funding to manage its homelessness program after February 2011.

Photo by Brandon Darnell.

Kathleen Haley is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press.