Published TUESDAY June 9, 2026: 'Left Outside: How Sacramento Failed Vulnerable Families' from ZUMA represented Pulitzer winner Renee C. Byer staff at The Sacramento Bee: Unhoused families in Sacramento were left sleeping in cars and parking lots after a sudden transition in the city's temporary housing program. When the city shifted from its motel program to a new voucher-based system to save $3.2 million, many families were unexpectedly denied rooms and found themselves with no alternatives. For months officials have been figuring out how to close a $66 million deficit. The city overhauled its Motel Program to save $3.2 million triggering severe consequences for the city's most vulnerable. These impacts occurred simultaneously with a surge in Sacramento County's overall homeless population, which expanded to roughly 7,500 people. Welcome to 'Left Outside: How Sacramento Failed Vulnerable Families'
© zReportage.com Issue #1044 Story of the Week: Published TUESDAY June 9, 2026: 'Left Outside: How Sacramento Failed Vulnerable Families' from ZUMA represented Pulitzer winner Renee C. Byer staff at The Sacramento Bee: Unhoused families in Sacramento were left sleeping in cars and parking lots after a sudden transition in the city's temporary housing program. When the city shifted from its motel program to a new voucher-based system to save $3.2 million, many families were unexpectedly denied rooms and found themselves with no alternatives. For months officials have been figuring out how to close a $66 million deficit. The city overhauled its Motel Program to save $3.2 million triggering severe consequences for the city's most vulnerable. These impacts occurred simultaneously with a surge in Sacramento County's overall homeless population, which expanded to roughly 7,500 people. Welcome to 'Left Outside: How Sacramento Failed Vulnerable Families'

June 2, 2026, Sacramento, California, USA; MARCELLA PARKS, 45, is emotionally distraught in the bedroom she shares with her three children, all of whom have disabilities, in the city-funded cottage where they have lived since January at Arden Acres in Sacramento. The city is changing the program, and when Parks went to move her family into a hotel arranged by the city, she was told no rooms were available. She has since returned to the cottage while awaiting information about where her family will be housed.
© Renée C. Byer/ZUMA Press Wire

June 3, 2026, Sacramento, California, USA; ANTONITA BROWN, right, is hugged by her daughter, ALIVEEYA, 13, near the car the family expects to sleep in after they were not allowed back into the Motel 6 shelter where they had been staying with Brown's husband, Isaac Wright, and son, Zaylani, 6 in Sacramento. Families were told to vacate the shelter Monday morning and were informed they could return at 3pm, but they were later denied reentry after the city-funded program changed.
© Renée C. Byer/ZUMA Press Wire

June 2, 2026, Sacramento, California, USA; SHAYLYNN DOXIE, 29, said she and her two sons were headed to a Motel 6 after learning they had to leave the city-funded cottage where they had been living. The cottage had a kitchen, and Doxie said she was concerned about the cost of food and feeding her children. ''It's a mental struggle. My kids have special needs, so the instability is very hard on them,'' Doxie said.
© Renée C. Byer/ZUMA Press Wire

June 2, 2026, Sacramento, California, USA; TANA SAITO, 47, embraces her daughter, LEILANI REYES, 9, as they worry about where they will live in Sacramento. The mother of five had lived in a city-funded motel. When she went to move into a new hotel arranged by the city as part of a program change, she was told no rooms were available.
© Renée C. Byer/ZUMA Press Wire

June 2, 2026, Sacramento, California, USA; AMBER CRISWELL, 46, kisses the hand of her youngest grandson KNOWLEDGE MCARN, 2, outside a city funded small cottage she has been living with her three grandchildren since 2023 in Sacramento. The city has changed the program, and the family is unsure where they will go.
© Renée C. Byer/ZUMA Press Wire

June 5, 2026, Sacramento, California, USA; ANGEL GUEVARA, 9, begins drawing her dog, Bean, into a family picture before a press conference where four families are fighting to remain in their cottages at Arden Acres in Sacramento. With the city no longer funding the program, Angel, her mother and three siblings have nowhere to go.
© Renée C. Byer/ZUMA Press Wire

June 2, 2026, Sacramento, California, USA; PATRICIA MILLER, 40, holds her 4-month-old son, HAYDEN, as her other son, HUNTER, 4, vies for her attention in a city-funded cottage at Arden Acres in Sacramento. Miller said she has no place to go after the city changed the program, leaving families without shelter. She does not own a vehicle and had been living with her mother until her death a year ago, after which a relative sold the house. Without a rental history, Miller said she was depending on the city to help her find housing.
© Renée C. Byer/ZUMA Press Wire

June 2, 2026, Sacramento, California, USA; MARCELLA PARKS, 45, and her three children, who all have disabilities, from left, ANGEL GUEVARA, 9, DAVID GUEVARA, 7, and CERALANIE ''CJ'' MARTINEZ, 15, stand in the kitchen of a city-funded cottage where they have lived since January at Arden Acres in Sacramento. The city is changing the program, and when Parks went to move her family into a hotel arranged by the city, she was told no rooms were available. She has since returned to the cottage while awaiting information about where her family will be housed.
© Renée C. Byer/ZUMA Press Wire

June 2, 2026, Sacramento, California, USA; LEILANI REYES, 9, cradles her cat, Chicola, outside a city-funded cottage where she has been living since February with her mother, Tana Saito, and four siblings in Sacramento. The city has changed the program, and the family is unsure where they will go.
© Renée C. Byer/ZUMA Press Wire

June 4, 2026, Sacramento, California, USA; KEITH-DALTON SMITH, 11, wipes his eyes as he tries to fall asleep in the back of his family's packed van with his mother, AMY HECKART, 46, who is disabled following back surgery, after midnight in Sacramento. ''I have had three failed spine surgeries, and I have swelling in my legs and nerve damage from the procedures. I have no feeling in my legs or feet,'' said Heckart, whose walker is at left. Heckart said her husband, Jeff Smith, 69, suffers from Alzheimer's disease and dementia.
© Renée C. Byer/ZUMA Press Wire

June 4, 2026, Sacramento, California, USA; Unable to get comfortable sleeping in the back of their van, AMY HECKART, 46, and her son, KEITH-DALTON SMITH, 11, look out at other residents sleeping in their vehicles in a Taco Bell parking lot in Sacramento. Heckart had been locked out of the Motel 6 after changes to a city-funded program. In the vehicle at right is a 78-year-old veteran with COPD who said he was locked out of Arden Acres and needed electricity to power his nebulizer.
© Renée C. Byer/ZUMA Press Wire

June 3, 2026, Sacramento, California, USA; KEITH-DALTON SMITH, 11, checks his bicycle as his sister, KASSIDY-RENEE, 10, and her friends search for belongings in the back of their van, at right, in Sacramento. Families were preparing to sleep in their vehicles after they were not allowed back into a city-funded shelter when the program changed.
© Renée C. Byer/ZUMA Press Wire

June 4, 2026, Sacramento, California, USA; Shortly after midnight, KEITH-DALTON SMITH, 11, tosses a blanket featuring the Disney character Minnie Mouse to his mother, AMY HECKART, 46, who is disabled following back surgery, as they prepare to sleep in the back of their van in Sacramento. The family had lived at the Motel 6 for the past 2 1/2 years through a city-funded shelter program but was locked out and not allowed to return after the program changed.
© Renée C. Byer/ZUMA Press Wire

June 3, 2026, Sacramento, California, USA; KEITH-DALTON SMITH, 11, carries his family's belongings past his mother, AMY HECKART, 46, who is disabled and has swollen legs following back surgery in Sacramento. The family was removing items they had stored on top of their van so it could be towed to another lot within sight of the Motel 6 where they had lived for the past 2 1/2 years. Families were preparing to sleep in their vehicles after they were not allowed back into a city-funded shelter when the program changed.
© Renée C. Byer/ZUMA Press Wire

June 3, 2026, Sacramento, California, USA; AMY HECKART, 46, who is disabled following back surgery, covers her face in distress while sitting beside her walker as her son, KEITH-DALTON SMITH, 11, follows behind the family's van while it is towed to another lot, in Sacramento. The family was preparing to spend a second night in the van after they were not readmitted to a city-funded shelter. ''We always thought this wasn't our forever home, but we never thought we'd end up like this,'' Heckart said.
© Renée C. Byer/ZUMA Press Wire