Wanda Clark is a victim of elder abuse and made homeless by the City supporters say
Wanda Clark, 71, hoped restoring her home would be a dream but has become a nightmare now that her home has been placed in receivership by the City of Sacramento in partnership with Bay Area Receivership Group earlier this year.
In 2005, Clark took out a loan and hired a contractor to renovate her home to provide housing for additional family members. The contractor took off with the money, defrauding her and leaving her with an unfinished home and no funds to fix the damage.
“They just put the for sale sign up one day and didn’t tell me a thing,” Clark said.
During that time, the City has continuously cited her home and years of deterioration left by the contractor’s unfinished work, Clark’s home has been boarded up by the City, and she and her family have been forced out.
Clarks home is scheduled to be auctioned next month.
Supporters urged the City of Sacramento to place a moratorium on putting all homes owned by the elderly in Oak Park and citywide in receivership during the pandemic and thereafter until it has resources and build collaboration with community organizations to prevent seniors from becoming homeless and or losing their homes due to the inability to make repairs at a press conference in front of her home today
Deputy District Attorney of San Joaquin County Monte Bennett said there has been nobody to help Clark and the city has left her homeless.
“They made her homeless,” Bennett said. “They made a 71 year old woman homeless.”
Bennett, Clark’s nephew, said the City has the resources and knows how to help but chooses not to.
“Everybody says go get an attorney but can’t because there’s not a lot of money in this case,” Bennett said. “She has asked the City what can she do and they just say you got to fix the house.”
Founder of Lift Up, Love Always and Advocate Rashid Sidqe, also spoke in support of Clark at the press conference and has been trying to work with the City to help Clark but nothing has been done.
“We are standing here in support of Wanda Clark who has lived here for over 25 years. We are now trying to help her save her property that goes on sale November 3,” Sidqe said.
“We are showing the City how we support our community.”
Sidqe reached out to the Mayor's office last week for support but received very little.
“He (Steinberg) took the City Attorney off the case but that’s it. I asked him if elder abuse and causing homelessness is something he wants to contribute to,” Sidqe said.
Clark is supported by the Sacramento Housing Alliance, Habitat for Humanity, Sacramento NAACP other organizations.
“We as community leaders stand in solidarity with Wanda Clark and her family to try to save her home from the City of Sacramento and bring light to elder abuse and displacement,” leaders said in a statement.
Clark has lived in this home since 1995 and has worked for the County of Sacramento for the last 35 years and is a faithful union member of the Local 39 Station Engineers Union. She continues to make her mortgage and utility payments and fulfill her commitment to her lender in hopes of one day being able to return home all while additional code enforcement fees from the City of Sacramento continue to be piled on.
Supporters are hoping to bring public awareness to a crisis in the community and are calling on the residents of the city of Sacramento to help Clark, a victim of elder abuse, racism, and continued victimization in her attempts to save her home.
Clark has cared and housed her children, her grandchildren, her great grandchildren, and great-great grandchildren, she also opened her home and provided for extended family members, the neighborhood kids, and acted as a place of refuge for many.
She continuously passed on retirement for many years to make ends meet for them all.
“We hope to bring light to the larger issue of displacement in Oak Park and elder abuse, and we call on the City of Sacramento to find resources for home repairs to help vulnerable seniors from losing their homes,” leaders said.
The Mayor’s office was unable to be reached for comment.
Donations for Clark can be sent to her GoFundMe fundraiser account.
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