The homeless man known as Brother Eli was given the same choice all of the homeless were given: pack up and leave, or go to jail. He chose jail.
ELI: "It's illegal to sleep on the streets. It's illegal to sleep behind a dumpster. The places they say go is overwhelmed already."
More and more of Sacramento's homeless had moved into an area off the American River Parkway near North 10th Street in the past six months. Sergeant Andrew Pettit says police received 20 complaints, and many calls for help from the homeless themselves.
PETTIT: "Just the pure concentration of people that are out here causes a problem for us…you know, the calls for service, the sanitary issues, and then just us being able to access this area and trying to maintain this area and keep it nice."
Volunteers of America and Sacramento Area Emergency Housing hope to have 35 spaces open up at the winter shelter. Until those spaces become available, the homeless say they will set up camp farther down the river.