Sacramento Teens Celebrate, Football Teams Frustrated by Unsafe Park Bathrooms

A Mother’s Concern Over Unsafe Park Restrooms for Youth Sports Teams

A mother is raising concerns about the conditions of the restrooms at a local park where her child's youth football and cheer team practices. The Dragon Youth Organization, which includes 100 children aged 4 to 14, uses Lawrence Park in South Sacramento off Fruitridge Road as their practice location. The team pays approximately $30 per day for a permit to use the park, but they have faced significant issues with the facilities.

Sabrina Lovelady, the team mom, shared that the problems have escalated quickly. She described the restrooms as unsanitary and increasingly unsafe. One particularly distressing incident involved her daughter, Nevaeh Lovelady, who is also the team's 16-year-old cheer coach. Nevaeh was taking some girls to the women’s restroom when she encountered a man with the stall door open, exposing himself. This traumatic experience left Nevaeh shaken and concerned for the safety of the children.

Sabrina expressed her fears about the environment, noting that she constantly watches over the children when they go to wash their hands. “I look over my shoulder 50 times because there are people posted up at every corner, and I’m not sure if they’re going to snatch them up,” she said.

The situation has prompted Sabrina to call on the city to take more action to ensure the safety of the children. She has been documenting the incidents, including finding stalls trashed, overflowing toilets, and drug paraphernalia. Additionally, she reported encountering suspicious strangers who sometimes stop to watch the children.

Despite recent efforts by the city to improve the restrooms—such as repainting and adding two porta potties—the conditions have not improved. By the time the team arrived on Monday, the porta potties were already trashed. “They are almost overflown,” Sabrina said. “There are two homeless people locked in one bathroom lighting things on fire.”

The city has acknowledged the challenges it faces, citing a lack of staff and funding. It mentioned that it is working on a plan to limit restroom access at the park to only permitted events like the team’s practices. Trevor Seifferc, a homeless individual, commented on the situation, saying, “They are just mad at society and it’s their way to get back at society for whatever reason.”

A park maintenance manager sent an email to Sabrina stating that while the team and its members wish to prevent the incidents, it is not within their current capabilities. The email also noted that similar issues occur across many parks in the city. “Our society has a problem, and it can only be solved at a societal level,” the message read.

The City of Sacramento provided a statement to CBS13, explaining that it is reviewing options to limit restroom access at this location for permitted events. It also mentioned that Park Rangers will increase checks during these events as staffing allows. However, the city emphasized that it maintains over 200 parks, each with different needs, and that its ability to respond quickly is often constrained by available resources.

CBS13 reached out to the Sacramento Police Department, but it referred the inquiry to the city park rangers. As the community continues to grapple with these issues, the focus remains on ensuring the safety of children who rely on public spaces for their activities.