Sacramento Hair Salon Owner Says Homeless Crisis Is Forcing Her Out Of Town

Bill said:
The mayor is also a real big part of the problem...........





SACRAMENTO (CBS13) — A Sacramento hair salon owner says the homeless crisis is forcing her to move her business after 15 years.

On Friday Elizabeth Novak posted a video online calling out Governor Gavin Newsom, asking him to fix the problem.

She says long-standing business owners like herself are dealing with people breaking into her shop and now she’s left to pick up the pieces. Inside her salon, Novak says she finds a safe space, but outside the homeless issue has gotten so bad, she says she cleans human excrement from the front porch at least once a week.

Now, she says it’s running her out of town.

“I’m waving a white flag, it’s an SOS, it really is,” Novak said.

READ ALSO: Bill Could Require Community Colleges To Provide Overnight Parking Facilities To Homeless Students

Friday she released a video which has since been seen millions of times. She says she was sending a message to Governor Newsom asking him to change the laws that are lenient on homeless people.

In the video, she says, “I have to fight off people to push their way into my shop, and are homeless and on drugs, because you don’t wanna arrest people for drug offenses.”

We spoke with her at her shop on 21st street. She says since the video was released she’s been harassed online, she even got a phone call from an angry neighbor during our interview.

Novak said when she comes into work she’s never sure what she’s going to see, including her shop broken into. She partly blames the laws preventing police from arresting homeless people.

“I have compassion, I love these people, but I’m not able to work at my business any longer,” she said.

READ: Lodi Holds Town Hall Meeting Looking For Solutions To Homeless Problem

Other business owners shared they’ve dealt with similar issues. But Dale Glazer with “Visiting Angels” just down the block says this isn’t Governor Newsom’s responsibility.

“Everybody should be at the table who is a stakeholder, from the local business to the city council, to the mayor, it is not Gavin’s responsibility,” Glazer said.

He too has a gate outside of his business so his employees don’t confront sleeping homeless people. But he wants to see the city invest in a new space for the homeless.

“There are all these things to make Sacramento better, but we can’t focus on the fundamentals of human decency,” he said.

READ: Sacramento Considers City-Sanctioned Homeless Parking Lots

For Novak, she doesn’t call this a political issue, but one business owners downtown are dealing with daily.

“I have been run out of my business,” she said.

Novak says she plans to be out of the space by October 1st. But the harassment since this video went viral has gotten so bad, she says she may need to leave the space before then.

We did reach out to Governor Gavin Newsom‘s office for comment on this issue but have not yet heard back.

The new normal..
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That's not entirely correct. There are no laws that prevent police from arresting homeless people if they commit a crime.
 
Celticguy said:
This stuff started when he was mayor of SF.
Now irs spreading to minor cities like Sacremento. Its becoming Baltimore West.
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To be fair there was already a big homeless problem when he became Mayor. It didn't start with him. He ran on a platform of Care Not Cash. In fact I donated money to his Mayoral campaign because of that. The only time I've ever donated to a politician. Now ultimately nothing changed under his watch and its only gotten worse since.

SF and Sacramento aren't Baltimore West. Way more money out here than in Baltimore. No value in Baltimore real estate like there is out here. And Sacramento has run down areas for sure but nothing like Baltimore.
 
Bill said:
The mayor is also a real big part of the problem...........
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To me, it does not seem any worse in downtown Sacramento than in downtown Oakland or downtown Los Angeles. Therefore, I am not clear why this particular mayor is supposedly doing worse than others.
There clearly seems to be more homeless everywhere than there was 30 years ago.

It seems to be mostly a public health issue to me, not a law enforcement issue. I lot of these people seem to have mental disabilities.
I leave it to people with expertise to propose solutions, I would be a phony armchair expert if I knew what the bloody heck to do about it.
 
cawacko said:
To be fair there was already a big homeless problem when he became Mayor. It didn't start with him. He ran on a platform of Care Not Cash. In fact I donated money to his Mayoral campaign because of that. The only time I've ever donated to a politician. Now ultimately nothing changed under his watch and its only gotten worse since.

SF and Sacramento aren't Baltimore West. Way more money out here than in Baltimore. No value in Baltimore real estate like there is out here. And Sacramento has run down areas for sure but nothing like Baltimore.
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The crapping everywhere was on his watch
 
Sirthinksalot said:
Unfortunately, being nice to homeless people only makes things worse. I want to be compassionate, but the more aid you give the homeless, the more homeless people show up. And far too many are hooked on heroin and poop on the sidewalk. I want my local government to strongly discourage homeless people who don't want to stay in the shelters from being around.
NIMBY!
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I think we can & should be nice to them..

I don't know of any places that don't have shelters full every night but you do have a point that there is a fairly large segment that don't want the rules required to stay in them & to receive care of any type..


But some won't go because they can't take their pets, which are very, very important to many of them, the only companions they have..


Another phenomena I have seen popping up around here is RV's.. Not sure where they get them but they go someplace & just park it/or dump it & then live in it...…

There were several even up in the Mt on the side of the road... They just through the trash outside the door~ piling up in front of it.. There are no hookups or toilets there & the river is on both sides of the road.. The other side was even worse w/ junk cars in the river polluting this drinking water.....

Took a year to get rid of them......
 
Steven VanderMolen said:
Here in Valparaiso, Indiana there are VERY few homeless. I don't think it's ever been a problem here. Phoenix, Arizona, where I lived for over 30 years, on the other hand, has many homeless. I was always nice to them and gave them money when I could. I was waiting for the city bus one time and I noticed a woman that was looking through a dumpster for food. I had a bit of money to spare, so I gave her 10 dollars she could use for dinner. She was appreciative and delighted and remarked that it felt like her birthday. The way she looked and dressed made it appear that she was homeless. This made my day and hers. I wish I could've done more to help her. I helped out many other people over the years I lived there. I always felt good about helping them, but also felt a sadness for them, and always wished I could do more for these people.
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:hand: You are a good man Steven...…..:thup:
 
Steven VanderMolen said:
I've always been and always WILL be nice to the homeless for one basic reason. I've thought each time I've seen or have been approached by a homeless person - that person could've been ME. I've always looked at it with that perspective. That I could've easily been the homeless person. I'm lucky that my life has been blessed and I've never had to face homelessness. I put the "shoe on the other foot", so to speak, in these situations. That's why I never would be mean to a homeless person, and would always treat them with dignity and help them out if I can.
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Yes, "but the grace of God go I"...………………...
 
Bill said:
Sacramento Hair Salon Owner Says Homeless Crisis Is Forcing Her Out Of Town

The mayor is also a real big part of the problem...........
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She can thank the Democratic Party of the Jackass. They run everything in CommieFornia these days. They are the REAL problem, not just the mayor.
 
Steven VanderMolen said:
Yep, it's run by lefties, that's why I believe the lefties on this site aren't touching this thread. I'm surprised that Bill, an obvious lefty, posted this story.
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This a problem for all of us, not just some political group or affiliation...…….

& if you go down & see who is trying to help you will find ppl of ever persuasion...
 
Prefacing this by saying there is no easy solution to homelessness and there's no snap your fingers solutions that will instantly turn this problem around. With that said who are the "experts" that we're supposed to turn to deal with this? Having lived where I have for as long as I have I may not be an "expert" but I've seen things only get worse while all these "experts" have been working on the problem. "Regular people" are just as qualified to talk about this issue as any so-called expert.
 
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