Women Behind the Scenes in Sacramento: Cassandra Pye
It’s not only the FIFA Women’s World Cup that is putting women on the international football stage this summer, at the Homeless World Cup there are many women in Sacramento making the Homeless World Cup possible. In this series we meet some of these inspiring women.
Cassandra Pye is Chair of the Board of Street Soccer Sacramento and on multiple occasions has been listed as one of the most influential community figures in California.
“we’ve got to get away from talking about homelessness as a thing and get back to the humanity of it. We’re talking about people – men, women, and children.”
Cassandra Pye has had a seat at lots of influential tables in her 35+ years working in media and politics in California. Notably working as Deputy Chief of Staff for Arnold Schwarzenegger while he was the Californian governor.
But earlier this year, her and the team in Sacramento were sat around the table when they noticed something a bit different. The majority of people at the table were women.
Describing herself as the “mother of the group” she’s pleased to see the change from when she first started her career.
“What I find remarkable is that if it had been my generation of women, they would definitely have been fewer – what’s exciting is that this next generation is leading across the board - in a variety of spaces. Sara, Erika, Tiffany, Lisa, Lisa Cardoza at Sacramento State, they’re all leading in their own spaces, in their own right.”
“There were very few men at the table, and we did have that moment where we paused for it, but ironically, I don’t think anybody – I’ll speak for myself – it didn’t feel strange – in anyway shape or form. In fact, it felt like it was exactly how it should be.”
She then pauses and smiles; “Let’s be honest Rebecca – women get sh*t done!”
Cassandra is definitely one of those women. Describing herself as a “community servant”, she’s passionately committed to bettering Sacramento and the people in it. She’s determined to bring up other women with her too.
Speaking about the difference between working with a team made up of predominantly women, verses teams which are male dominated, Cassandra said: “Some of it is women, some of it is this particular group of women – it’s how pragmatic and no nonsense we are. There’s not a lot of ego around the table.”
They also take care of each other; “I remember a conversation, Tiffany was taking on more than she needed to and I put my hand on her arm and I said, ‘Stop for a minute, because we’re going to think about you and we’re going to do what’s best for you – and we’re also going to do what’s best for this organisation and I looked at Erika and I said, ‘Do you have enough bandwidth to take this on?’ She didn’t hesitate and said, ‘Sure, I can make it work.’ I then looked at Tiffany – ‘Are you ok?’, - ‘Fine’ – ‘Are you ok?’ – ‘Fine’. Everybody went off, had some candy and took a walk.”
“That would have been a different conversation with a group of men. There’s no question in my mind.”
“That’s not to cast any aspersions on men, it’s a style thing. We tend to be very pragmatic and do what we need to do. I feel that with this group all the time.”
Falling in love with street soccer
So how did this inspiring influential woman and community leader become involved with the Homeless World Cup?
After finishing her role with the Arnold Schwarzenegger administration, Cassandra was unsurprisingly in high demand – with numerous requests to join charitable boards and organisations across the city. During this time her friend (and Sacramento Republic FC Founder) Warren Smith introduced her to Lisa and Tiffany from Street Soccer USA, she said “I would help for a year.” Cassandra’s plan was to “come in, help them to establish some credibility, raise some early funding and skedaddle away!”
“Well, that was almost 10 years ago!”, laughing, she explains, “Lisa and Tiffany are so clever, and Warren was too – knowing my passion for soccer, for women, children and homelessness – Warren knew, and Lisa and Tiffany quickly figured out that they were tapping into the three things I probably cared about more than anything other than my husband and family.”
She also fell in love with the people she met – “Tiffany and Lisa became like daughters to my husband and I and so there’s no question I’m going to do just about anything to help them succeed because I believe in their commitment and their passion and they’re really, really good at what they do.”
“And they know exactly where my soft spots are. They send me pictures of the babies when they’re out playing. Or they send me videos, and they invite me down to the park and I’m sucked in all over again.”
Before the permanent street soccer pitch opened near Seavey Circle – a low-income housing development in Sacramento – Tiffany and Lisa or a couple of coaches would put out cones in a park nearby for a session around 4:30.
“You’d see little heads peak out of their doors and slowly come to the field. At first, they were pretty reticent, but as time went on – it was ‘the thing’”.
“So, it’s Tiffany and Lisa and the kids. And then the third piece, the other piece I’m really passionate about is the women – I have met some phenomenal women in this process. They have become friends – they are people who I am thrilled to have in my life.”
Homelessness in Sacramento
Looking to the wider issue of homelessness in Sacramento, Cassandra acknowledges that the city is at “crisis point” caused by “a housing shortage that’s fifteen years or longer in the making”, which has been made worse by laws and regulations which limit developers’ abilities to build affordable housing.
She’s clear, she’s not making a political statement – the limitations on housing development are real and causing the existing housing shortage to get worse. The second dilemma is around fentanyl – the synthetic opioid has ravaged parts of the state – leaving people who are completely dependent on it. That, Cassandra explains, is a challenge unto itself.
The thing she finds hardest to watch is the increasing number of women and children who are affected by homelessness, alongside people of colour, as well as veterans and people over 60.
“Most of the homeless in our community are just trying to make it day to day. Living in cars, living in encampments, with few options otherwise. But members of our community – the business community included – is frustrated with not seeing any tangible change even when so many dollars have been directed at the issue.
“It’s extremely complicated, but I also think just because it’s complicated and difficult doesn’t mean we can pretend it’s going to go away. I applaud those civic and business leaders who are starting to come on board to help us.”
The impact of street soccer
Hosting the Street Soccer USA national cup in Sacramento gave her a flavour of what is to come with the Homeless World Cup.
“It was very moving for me, athletes and a few coaches saying to me personally how much it meant to them to be welcomed and to have people embrace them. It just goes to the humanity of it.”
This is the message she’s been taking to the business community and leaders, encouraging them to see it from a new perspective – “we’ve got to get away from talking about homelessness as a thing and get back to the humanity of it. We’re talking about people – men, women, and children.”
She also firmly believes that sport can be part of the solution. Growing up as a lover of sport, Cassandra watched American football and baseball with her dad.
Her husband was a soccer coach, and her four sons are all soccer mad, as she watched them play, she fell in love with the game herself.
Now she’s hooked and talks about her love for the “beauty of the game and the beauty of those who play” – giving a special mention to international stars Cristiano Ronaldo, Sergio Ramos and Kylian Mbappe.
Joking aside, she’s serious about the impact that soccer can have on communities having seen the work of Street Soccer USA first-hand.
“Someone asked me once – if someone gave us a blank cheque, what would we do with it? I would love to see street soccer pitches in neighbourhoods where kids don’t have access in 4-5 places around the region - safe, secure, lighted – all the things that our current pitch is, with coaching and that opportunity to attach people to services if they need them.”
“I think if we can replicate it, it will both save and potentially prevent those numbers continuing to rise and I do think sport impacts physical health, mental health and leads people to employment.”
A lasting legacy
Thinking about the Homeless World Cup and it coming to Sacramento this July, Cassandra is optimistic about its legacy and impact.
“I hope three things happen, one – hosting the Homeless World Cup in Sacramento is a genuine source of pride for our community. That we are really proud of the fact that we hosted these athletes, treated them with dignity, cheered them on and sent them on thinking great things about our city and our region. My second hope is that we spend time talking about the humanity and the solutions. And then third, that we pay it forward to the next host city.”
With inspiring women behind the scenes in Sacramento and local paper the Sacramento Bee publishing a series looking in depth at the state of homelessness, and telling individual stories, it feels that a new conversation around homelessness in Sacramento is already starting.
“We need to use this as an opportunity to draw the curtain back and work out what’s really working, what’s really there and be honest about what’s not there. That’s going to be hard but it’s going to get us to a better place.”
Responding to the series in the Sacramento Bee, Cassandra Pye sent a message to the editor saying, simply, ‘Bravo on getting started’.
But they’re not doing it alone, with people like Cassandra taking the conversation forward and involving businesses and leaders, the legacy of the Homeless World Cup will change the lives of more than the athletes, it will reach the whole city – replacing shame with pride.
Find out more about Street Soccer USA and their work in Sacramento and across the United States.
Words: Rebecca Corbett