Official Website for the City of Oakland | Mayor Sheng Thao. She previously covered startups and venture capital for the Bay Area News Group and prior to that court cases for The Recorder in San Francisco. Report the issue to our encampment management team at homelessness@oaklandca.gov. He allowed Caltrans to continue removing debris from the area, as long as it didnt involve residents belongings. Housing | The encampment is one of the largest in the city and has been plagued with problems such as illegal dumping and fires for years. Its unclear if the transportation agency meant the entire Wood Street encampment or only the part located on land it owns. Talya Husbands-Hankin, a homeless advocate who witnessed the incident, said the city was out in extreme force, resulting in more trauma for the unhoused residents.. The encampment is one of the largest in the city and has been plagued with problems such as illegal dumping and fires for years. She joined The Chronicle in 2016 after graduating from Columbia University's Graduate School of Journalism. What Do I Do If a Homeless Encampment Appears on My Property? He said his latest order could be rescinded if the city fails to provide enough shelter beds or fails to make outreach workers available to help displaced residents find alterative shelter. Thursday evening, representatives from the city of Oakland submitted a plan for a phased closure of the site, beginning at its northernmost edge, where a fire on July 11 sent plumes of black smoke onto the 880 overpass. A surprise sweep of a newly formed homeless encampment on state property has forced some unhoused West Oakland residents to move - yet again. Homeless Encampment NYC311 - Government of New York City Bay City News is a 24/7 news service covering the greater Bay Area. The city's lawyers had no comment on the ruling. While the city did open a RV safe parking site for 40 vehicles at Wood Street last summer, its struggled to house more residents. Housing | To address the growing problem, the city in 2017 established its interdepartmental Encampment Management Team to respond to various issues at homeless camps. Official Website for the City of Oakland | Mayor Sheng Thao. Earlier this month, another federal judge allowed that work to continue. Caltrans plans to clear out 200 homeless people from the sprawling homeless encampment at Oaklands Wood Street by the first week of August, officials said. The Oakland, California Homeless Problem is Beyond Belief The Citys suggestion that it has no responsibility for homeless individuals on state property unless there is a specific earmark is simply unacceptable, Patterson wrote. The city has demonstrated it now has enough shelter beds for everyone who will be displaced by the camps closure, U.S. District Judge William Orrick ruled. Newly formed Oakland homeless encampment on Caltrans property cleared kept in homes through Keep Oakland Housed in Fiscal Year 19-20, moved from homelessness to permanent housing in Fiscal Year 19-20, Oakland doubled transitional housing capacity from 2018-2020, City of Oakland Opens 100-bed Cabin Shelter Program at Wood Street, Estelle Clemons, Interim Director of Human Services and, Daniel Cooper, Homelessness Administrator, The Funding will enable the Kingdom Builders Transitional Housing project to make accessibility and other improvements to the building to address the needs of some of our most vulnerable neighbors, Learn About the City's Homelessness Strategy, Joint Statement regarding Homeless Services Performance Audit, City of Oakland Receives $5.6M Homekey Award for Transitional Housing Acquisition and Rehabilitation. Driven by a housing crisis and continuing economic inequality that hits Oaklands most vulnerable. Contact information for four of the major Southern California sheriff's departments is: Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department. Local News | Judge dissolves order that barred Oakland from clearing Wood Street Homeless Encampment at Lake Merritt Blvd Oakland, CA, 94607, USA: Hi, both sidewalks on either side of the channel going from Lake Merritt to the Bay are entirely blocked by homeless encampments. Diesel is expensive. OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA - JUNE 5: Maria Fuentes, who is a coordinator at the Community of Grace homeless encampment, shows their community garden across from the Home Depot on the 4000 block of . Credit: Darwin BondGraham. Both the city and the camps residents have different ideas for what the future should be for the land and the people who live there. Members of the cleanup crew rolled tires and lifted couches overhead as larger equipment moved car after car, some just burned-out shells, off the state-owned lot. Oakland is experiencing a network outage that is affecting key services such as Oak311, permitting and business tax. July 20, 2022 / 8:52 AM / CBS San Francisco OAKLAND -- A federal judge on Tuesday granted a temporary order blocking Caltrans from clearing a homeless encampment under the MacArthur Maze. An officer will be dispatched to your location. She has provided coverage on wildfires, mass shootings, the fatal shooting of police officers and massive floods in the North Bay. She and her husband, Lenton, live in a 20-foot trailer at the Coliseum Stadium parking lot in Oakland. We appreciate your patience; the homelessness@oaklandca.gov service has been restored. People living in vehicles represent 35% of Oakland's overall homeless population. She joined The Chronicle in 2016 after graduating from Columbia University's Graduate School of Journalism. Today at 621AM OFD responded to report of an RV fire at East 12th & 17th Ave. E4 arrived and found 2 RV's & 12 . Some people keep watch out for fires or other dangers. If you or someone you know is hungry, homeless, or housing insecure - Call 2-1-1. But the lots homeless residents, who have developed a tight-knit community they call the Commons, argue theyll suffer when that community is broken up and theyre forced to scatter to other locations including to shelter programs that might not meet their physical and mental health needs. Housing | Neighbors tell Da Lin the looming closure is long overdue. Caltrans to close troubled homeless encampment in West Oakland The new report, completed by City Auditor Courtney Ruby, found that the EMT was "overwhelmed by the undertaking of closing and cleaning encampments throughout Oakland." Ruby found that Oakland spent $12.6 million on tasks related to encampments over the past two years, and roughly $1,500 an hour on camp closures and cleanings. The action will set in motion the eviction of several dozen people living on a vacant, city-owned lot off Wood Street in West Oakland . Caltrans announced it is closing the entire Wood Street . Here's where Oakland wants to build new homeless housing Antioch council to discuss new liquor stores ban, homeless housing Walters: Is ending Californias homelessness just a matter of money? The judge noted that while the U.S. constitution does not require the government to protect people from harm caused by third persons, there is an exception when the state "affirmatively places [a plaintiff] in danger by acting with deliberate indifference to a known or obvious danger.". Residents of the encampment said they know that Caltrans has long wanted to clear them out and plan to resist if the sweep happens. When the City decides to close an encampment, the Team makes every effort to relocate encampment dwellers to emergency shelters or community cabins. The land was mostly owned by Caltrans, and after a history of fires on the site and concerns about the proximity of a nearby oxygen production plant, on July 15, 2022 the agency gave residents 5-days' notice to clear the site. If you or someone you know is hungry, homeless, or housing insecure - Call 2-1-1. Heres where California reservoir levels stand after this weeks rains. OAKLAND, CA - MAY 5: A homeless encampment is photographed on a plot of land along East 12th Street and 1st Avenue on Wednesday, May 5, 2021, in Oakland, Calif. Oakland shut down a portion of its largest homeless encampment, starting the daunting work of clearing a massive, sprawling camp that has been plagued by fires as the city prepares to. The decision from Judge William Orrick comes after a month-long legal battle between residents and the transit agency, the city, and the county. Dozens of Caltrans workers and California Highway . Housing proposal for unhoused leaves Santa Clara residents sharply divided The controversial policy was approved by the City Council last year, but it's largely gone unenforced. Ruined vegetation, broken irrigation lines and damaged fencing at Lake Merritt, as well as degraded water quality in the tidal marsh, will cost the city an estimated $550,000, according to the report. Resident Ron McGowan, who lives at the site in question, said there are about 80 people there. The final 2019-2021 budget allocates $32 million to address homelessness by: expanding health, sanitation, safety services for unsheltered residents funding self-governed encampments and temporary housing options such as tiny homes, shipping containers, and mobile homes. December 24, 2022, 9:57 AM SAN FRANCISCO -- A federal judge has temporarily banned San Francisco from clearing homeless encampments, saying the city violated its own policies by failing to offer other shelter. Oakland which has more than 5,000 homeless people currently has 598 year-round, city-funded shelter beds, 313 community cabin and temporary structure shelter spaces, 147 RV safe parking spaces and 353 city-funded transitional-shelter beds. The Wood Street homeless encampment once housed 200 people and covered 40 acres. 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Photos: State clears Wood Street homeless camp,, Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window), Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window), Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window), Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window), Bay Area weather: After thunderstorms and hail, snow could be on the way this weekend, Photos: State clears Wood Street homeless camp, Oaklands largest, Housing proposal for unhoused leaves Santa Clara residents sharply divided, Forcing Californians into mental health treatment would get easier with proposed legislation, Grappling with homelessness, California weighs extending foster care for 5 years, After nearly two-month delay, judge allows Oakland to remove large homeless camp. People are seen in a homeless encampment on Thursday, March 19, 2020, in Oakland, Calif. (AP Photo/Ben Margot) SAN FRANCISCO (CN) A temporary restraining order put in place last month to protect the unhoused residents of an encampment the city of Oakland had hoped to clear to make way for new affordable housing has been dissolved. $400 rent for the low income housing they made. You can report an encampment at the following locations: Bridges Highways Parks or playgrounds Outside of residential and commercial buildings Roadway tunnels Streets and sidewalks Subway stations Report an encampment. Caltrans crews remove a vehicle from the Wood Street encampment in West Oakland on July 19, 2022. hese are vehicles of human beings," he said at the hearing, "and they are not to be lost. The shelters are full. "These are vehicles of human beings," he said at the hearing, "and they are not to be lost.". Residents sued in July, saying it was more dangerous to force people to move on such short notice with no alternatives for shelter or housing. On Monday, police said the man is facing charges for throwing an object at a vehicle. Oakland closes a Fruitvale homeless camp, putting its new encampment Designate high-sensitivity areas, where unmanaged encampments are presumed to cause unreasonably high levels of health and safety impacts due to the nature of the location; Designate low-sensitivity areas, where enforcement will not be prioritized. (Aric Crabb/Bay Area News Group), OAKLAND, CA - SEPTEMBER 26: An officer with the California Highway Patrol watches as a vehicle is towed from the Wood Street homeless encampment on Monday, Sept. 26, 2022, in Oakland, Calif. Caltrans is overseeing the cleanup of its property along Wood Street. As of last week, the city has offered shelter beds to about 70 people at the Wood Street encampment, according to the court filing. The judge quickly sided with the homeless residents, and issued a temporary order barring the city from clearing the camp at least until the city could prove it had enough shelter beds for everyone displaced. Copyright 2023 Bay City News, Inc. All rights reserved. Instead of clearing homeless camps, Oakland is spiffing them up - SFGATE Determine findings that will prompt EMT intervention; Provide guidance on addressing unreasonable health and safety risks, promoting voluntary compliance, and strategies to address non-compliance. 211 West Temple Street. Previously, she covered breaking news and crime for The Chronicle. The order is the latest in a long-running dispute over a homeless camp that once covered 40 acres under the Nimitz Freeway in Oakland where between 200 and 300 people lived in vehicles, RVs, tents and other makeshift structures. Earlier this week, a coalition of residents wrote a public letter to state, city and county officials urging them to work with them. Audit: Oaklands $12.6 million homelessness, Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window), Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window), Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window), Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window), Bay Area weather: After thunderstorms and hail, snow could be on the way this weekend, Audit: Oaklands $12.6 million homelessness response lacked strategy, direction, Housing proposal for unhoused leaves Santa Clara residents sharply divided, Forcing Californians into mental health treatment would get easier with proposed legislation, Grappling with homelessness, California weighs extending foster care for 5 years, After nearly two-month delay, judge allows Oakland to remove large homeless camp. Several non-emergency systems including phone lines within the City of Oakland are currently impacted or offline. Photograph: Talia Herman/The Guardian Wood Street residents deserve to be treated with dignity and respect, Husbands-Hankin said. Their model is wrong, he said. You will be asked to sign off on an arrest warrant. Its been a struggle just to stand up emergency shelters.. Over the years, advocates have thwarted city attempts to close the encampment, demanding that the city offer residents adequate shelter or to leave them be. The result is a shuffling with no long-term strategy on how to get people into more permanent, supportive housing. Stay in touch. A show made by people behind bars in California prisons. Meanwhile, Council Member Carroll Fife, who represents the district that includes the Wood Street encampment, has directed the city administration to study creating an emergency shelter for 1,000 people on a section of the former Oakland Army Base. OAKLAND - Caltrans announced Friday that they are shutting down a homeless encampment near the MacArthur Maze in West Oakland due to ongoing safety concerns and a large fire that tore. To report an issue related to an encampment, please email Homelessness@oaklandca.gov. A. Sep 2022 Q. What should I do about homeless encampments in my neighborhood? LAPD union supports unarmed responders to certain 911 calls including They did not respond to questions as to what the object was. Settlement reached between . To report an issue related to an encampment, please email Homelessness@oaklandca.gov. The audit found the City was not adequately prepared to shoulder such a massive project and the (encampment management team) was overwhelmed by the undertaking of closing and cleaning encampments throughout Oakland, City Auditor Courtney Ruby wrote in an open letter to Mayor Libby Schaaf, the City Council and other city officials. Velena Jones reports. Grappling with homelessness, California weighs extending foster care for 5 years (Aric Crabb/Bay Area News Group). The City's Public Works crews visit dozens of known encampments throughout the city on a weekly basis to conduct trash removal and garbage cart, porta potty and hand wash station servicing. Thank you for your patience while we work to restore services. Related Articles Oakland was overwhelmed by the crisis, leaving staff working to solve the problem without proper training or resources, according to the report. In an attempt to fend off the impending closure of the Commons, residents sued the city in early January. There are about 4,000 homeless people many of them living in at least 140 . A. Oakland police towed several vehicles parked by a homeless camp near the Fruitvale Home Depot on Thursday, as part of a cleanup and closure operation. . Husbands-Hankin said she saw an officer tase the man and tackle him to the ground. By City News Service on . Residents say the camp is a place where they can live how they want after losing stable homes because of evictions or job losses. Thats on top of nearly 90 fires at the site for the 12 months through March. Oakland has responded to the crisis level surge in homelessness with emergency measures like community cabins. Police said a person allegedly assaulted a public works employee and when officers tried to detain him, he refused and they used force. (Aric Crabb/Bay Area News Group), OAKLAND, CA - SEPTEMBER 26: Workers remove a couch from the Wood Street homeless encampment on Monday, Sept. 26, 2022, in Oakland, Calif. Caltrans is overseeing the cleanup of its property along Wood Street. It dissolves a restraining order that previously halted Caltrans plans to clear the camp and allows the city to begin a phased closure of the encampment. But Orrick said requiring Caltrans to provide those resources was beyond the scope of the law. Without a "constitutional right to housing," Orrick said he had no authority to allow the encampment to remain on the property. The majority of the $12.6 million spent over the past two years went to staff and equipment associated with closing and cleaning encampments, as well as providing garbage services, portable toilets and water at camps. Official Website for the City of Oakland | Mayor Sheng Thao. Homeless Encampment at 9418 Edes Ave Oakland, CA, 94603, USA: Im a community member and my street is getting full of RV and abandoned cars for many months now. (Aric Crabb/Bay Area News Group), OAKLAND, CA - SEPTEMBER 26: A member of the Oakland Police Department posts warning notices for illegally parked vehicles at the Wood Street homeless encampment on Monday, Sept. 26, 2022, in Oakland, Calif. Caltrans is overseeing the cleanup of its property along Wood Street. The city says it needs to clear the camp to make way for a 170-unit affordable housing project planned for the site. Oakland fire at homeless encampment extinguished - KRON4 The order is the latest in a long-running dispute over a homeless camp that once covered 40 acres under the Nimitz Freeway in Oakland, where between 200 and 300 people lived in vehicles, RVs, tents and other makeshift structures. She started her journalism career reporting on crime and breaking news for The News-Press in Southwest Florida. Local News | We appreciate your patience; the homelessness@oaklandca.gov service has been restored. OaklandWorkers continued Monday to clear the massive homeless encampment along Wood Street in West Oakland. When U.S. District Court Judge William Orrick issued a temporary restraining order on Jan. 6, 2023 forbidding the city of Oakland from closing a homeless encampment at 1707 Wood St., he told. On Tuesday, homeless people in Echo Park were faced with a decision as an imminent city closure drew near. (Beth LaBerge/KQED) Caltrans can begin evicting the estimated 200 people who live under an 880 overpass in West Oakland after Labor Day, a federal district judge ruled Friday. If you would like to report new concern, please use the TacomaFIRST 311 online system or call 3-1-1 within city limits or (253) 591-5000 outside the city. LAPD union supports unarmed responders to certain 911 calls including homeless encampment clean-ups 0. The encampment is now so huge that some residents drive buses and motorcycles to get from one end to the other. Walters: Is ending Californias homelessness just a matter of money? Hope and Disappointment for the Homeless in Oakland But those plans were slow in coming. Housing | Home Depot pressures Oakland to remove homeless encampment Echo Park Lake homeless encampment mulls decision to leave - Los Repairing damage to lighting at Union Point Park is expected to cost another $500,000, not including additional repairs that must be done to bathrooms, landscaping, benches and other amenities. We got three buses. February 22, 2023. It is both a humanitarian duty and a civic expectation that our homeless become housed, and our City streets and parks are returned to their intended public uses.. He currently plays for his neighbors outside his shelter, where a piano, guitar and drums are set up. Oaklands $12.6 million effort to deal with its recent explosion of homeless encampments was haphazard, lacking strategy, policy direction and adequate funding, according to a scathing new city audit. The Rise of Homeless Encampments in Oakland As reported to Public Works The Rise of Homeless Encampments in Oakland As reported to Public Works The Anti-Eviction Mapping Project is a data visualization, counter-cartography, and digitial storytelling collective documenting dispossession and resistance upon gentrifying landscapes. California snowpack hits highest level this century for March, could I-80 closed across Donner Summit as snowstorm pummels Sierra, San Francisco citizens once traveled by gondola. Thank you for your patience while we work to restore services. Gov. Newsom blasts Oakland leaders for not handling rampant homeless Sarah Ravani covers Oakland and the East Bay at The San Francisco Chronicle. The Oakland City Council has . Santa Ana, California 92703. Gavin Newsoms administration awarded Oakland a $4.7. The city may now post notices of the closure and shall give individuals at the encampment at least seven days notice before the closure begins, Orrick wrote. (213) 229-1700. A spokesperson for the Oakland Police Department said the department is investigating a use-of-force incident on Thursday just after 2:45 p.m. in the area of West Grand Avenue and Wood Street. When you are dealing with homeless individuals or a homeless encampment, these types of crimes include: Trespassing Public intoxication Public urination You report that you've witnessed a crime to the police or sheriff. And where do we go? The homelessness crisis also has taken a toll on Oakland's public parks, according to the audit. Over the next several weeks, the Caltrans site was cleaned and cleared and the residents moved to other locations and situations. She started her journalism career reporting on crime and breaking news for The News-Press in Southwest Florida. The streets of Oakland are already full of unhoused persons, many of whom were previously evicted from their encampments.". ", previously halted Caltrans plans to clear the camp. She has provided coverage on wildfires, mass shootings, the fatal shooting of police officers and massive floods in the North Bay. Under state law, working with homeless individuals to identify housing or shelter alternatives is a local, not a state, responsibility.. OAKLAND, CA When U.S. District Court Judge William Orrick issued a temporary restraining order on Jan. 6, 2023 forbidding the city of Oakland from closing a homeless encampment at 1707 Wood St., he told the parties he suspected the TRO would be "brief.". Walters: Is ending Californias homelessness just a matter of money? The encampment spans nearly 25 city blocks with about 300 people living under freeways in tents, RVs and makeshift shelters amid burned-out vehicles, mounds of trash and dirt. He and the others had lived in four old buses one of which was destroyed during the move and a van. Last year, 19 murders 18% of the citys total for the year occurred in encampments, according to the report. He concluded his decision with "I recognize that no party is happy with this order. Stuffed animals are seen on a couch at the Wood Street encampment on Friday, April 29, 2022 in Oakland, California. A day later, tensions escalated when witnesses said Oakland police tased an encampment resident. The man was bleeding and was very confused asking police what he had done wrong. The money would fund a new community cabin site or tiny home village at Wood Street for about 50 people. Both the city and the camps residents have different ideas for what the future should be for the land and the people who live there. The Commission shall review relevant financial and operational reports related to the expenditure of the homeless services fund. They have lacked funding, housing options and staff, he said. Caltrans has completed much smaller sweeps in the past. She graduated from American University with a BA degree in literature with a minor in journalism. The Encampment Management Policy seeks to address the adverse health and safety impacts of unsheltered homelessness, with compassion and care to not criminalize poverty. The Commission shall publish an annual report regarding how and to what extent the City Council and Mayor have implemented this Chapter. Wood Street encampment in Oakland to be shut down by Caltrans - KRON4 Oakland is experiencing a network outage that is affecting key services such as Oak311, permitting and business tax. Homeless Encampment - Issue #13733349 - Civic Center, Oakland, CA Walters: Is ending Californias homelessness just a matter of money? Email: sravani@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @SarRavani. The city needs to fund a formal encampment management program to implement the policy passed in October, and to address the findings of the audit, the auditors office wrote. 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