Our Response Homelessness has doubled in the last 10 years. The money would fund a new community cabin site or tiny home village at Wood Street for about 50 people. Residents say the camp is a place where they can live how they want after losing stable homes because of evictions or job losses. There are 32 beds available in the new tiny home site off Wood Street, and another 28 new safe parking spaces in East Oakland, the city said in a court filing. Theo Cedar Jones (third from right) and other residents of the Wood Street encampment proposed self-governing during a meeting with Oakland staff in July. Marisa Kendall is a housing reporter for the Bay Area News Group who covers homelessness for The Mercury News and East Bay Times. He says Caltrans has forced him to move several times. Oakland residents told a polling firm in 2023 that homelessness, such as at the Wood Street encampment, is their top concern for the city to address in its coming budget. Copyright 2023 Bay City News, Inc. All rights reserved. Residents of the encampment said they know that Caltrans has long wanted to clear them out and plan to resist if the sweep happens. The city's lawyers had no comment on the ruling. Caltrans says it's closing Oakland's Wood Street homeless encampment because of safety concerns. (KRON4 News) OAKLAND ( KRON) - A two-alarm fire in an Oakland homeless . 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The department is taking this action to address the increasingly serious safety risks to life, property and infrastructure at the encampment, including from the fire this week that prompted the closure of the MacArthur Maze, Caltrans said in a statement. Caltrans has completed much smaller sweeps in the past. In July the city began clearing an area between West Grand and 26th Street in Oakland in preparation for a shelter at the site, which would house approximately 50 people. Three days later, a group of encampment residents sued Caltrans, the governor, Oakland and a number of public officials in federal court, alleging that their forced removal from the site would constitute an unconstitutional "state created danger" and place them at a high degree of risk because there were not adequate shelter options for them in Oakland. After nearly two-month delay, judge allows Oakland to remove large homeless camp 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. 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. If you or someone you know is hungry, homeless, or housing insecure - Call 2-1-1. Their. We appreciate your patience; the homelessness@oaklandca.gov service has been restored. Russell Wilson asked for Pete Carroll, Seahawks GM to be fired; QB denies report. (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. 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. Theo Cedar Jones, a resident at Wood Street for nearly two years who lives in a makeshift shelter, said he doesnt like the citys community cabin model and wouldnt use it. Multiple fires have erupted at the citys largest homeless encampment, which extends for several city blocks and has been home to hundreds of people. Skinny lives at 37MLK, the homeless encampment in Oakland, California, that was created by community organizers taking over a vacant lot. The residents would have a social contract, love thy neighbor and do no harm, Jones said. The Encampment Management Team tracks all known encampments and prioritizes interventions based on health, safety, and size issues. 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. In October of 2020, the Oakland City Council adopted an Encampment Management Policy to focus encampment actions on mitigating negative outcomes as they pertain to public safety, public health, and equity outcomes. The city of Oakland agreed to assist residents on identifying their options. Forcing Californians into mental health treatment would get easier with proposed legislation The homeless population has jumped by 63% since 2017 in Oakland, where the median house sales price is about $750,000. I used to frequently take my kids in the stroller on this walk but now in addition to being . The transportation agency said in a release they will begin shutting down the entire encampment in phases beginning July 20 and will work with city officials and the county to place people in alternate shelter. When the city has scheduled sweeps of the site, residents and homeless advocates have blocked workers from entering and removing belongings. Bay Bridge light display will go dark after a decade Sunday. Velena Jones reports. Several non-emergency systems including phone lines within the City of Oakland are currently impacted or offline. If its model is a success, Oakland could win more state funds to help more Wood Street residents. A federal judge on Monday ruled the city can resume efforts to remove dozens of people from a large homeless camp in West Oakland, ending a nearly two-month courtroom battle over the camps fate. The plaintiffs and all living at the Wood Street encampment must make immediate plans to move.". $400 rent for the low income housing they made. Plaintiffs' lawyers did not respond to an inquiry as to whether they would seek to appeal or otherwise challenge the determination. The streets of Oakland are already full of unhoused persons, many of whom were previously evicted from their encampments.". In May, city officials put the total number of residents in the encampment at 300 people. 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. Without a "constitutional right to housing," Orrick said he had no authority to allow the encampment to remain on the property. In the six weeks following the TRO, the city advanced the RV park and cabin community projects to a point where it represented to the judge that it would be able to "hold" enough spots to accommodate all the 1707 Wood Street residents who wanted to be sheltered. The encampment is now so huge that some residents drive buses and motorcycles to get from one end to the other. The Commission shall publish an annual report regarding how and to what extent the City Council and Mayor have implemented this Chapter. Heres where California reservoir levels stand after this weeks rains. 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. As in the earlier case, the plaintiffs argued, among other things, that the eviction would amount to an unconstitutional state-created danger. 211 West Temple Street. But the money is insufficient to help all the camps residents. (Aric Crabb/Bay Area News Group), OAKLAND, CA - SEPTEMBER 26: Workers take a break during a partial clearing of the Wood Street homeless encampment on Monday, Sept. 26, 2022, in Oakland, Calif. Caltrans is overseeing the cleanup of its property along Wood Street. Weve created a system of effective strategies that address homelessness at every step in the cycle. 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. 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. We're not homeless. Wood Street encampment resident Theo Cedar Jones points to a map of the area hes living near at the Wood Street encampment on April 29, 2022 in Oakland, California.on Friday. 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. Local News | Official Website for the City of Oakland | Mayor Sheng Thao. The EMT is facilitated by the City Administrator's Office via the Homelessness Administrator and receives input and advice from the Commission on Homelessness. On Monday, six weeks later, he proved his suspicions correct and dissolved the TRO, authorizing the city to clear the site and begin to ready the property for an affordable housing development. We are ready to scale up for reductions in homelessness, though new state and federal funds and more intergovernmental coordination are needed. That speaks to the demand and the concentration of homelessness, she added. Gavin Newsoms administration just awarded Oakland a $4.7 million grant to come up with a model at Wood Street one that can be replicated in other cities. 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. Wood Street encampment resident Theo Cedar Jones plays guitar. 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. 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. Under state law, working with homeless individuals to identify housing or shelter alternatives is a local, not a state, responsibility.. Hall of Justice. Sarah Ravani (she/her) is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. He dissolved the TRO immediately, conditioned on the city's representations that there would be sufficient shelter options for the displaced residents. Oakland is experiencing a network outage that is affecting key services such as Oak311, permitting and business tax. Housing | Driven by a housing crisis and continuing economic inequality that hits Oakland's most vulnerable. Tucked away from the street, the encampment, commonly known as Wood Street, stretches along property owned by Caltrans, the city of Oakland, BNSF Railway and private owners. Hayward couple file lawsuit over harrowing honeymoon ocean ordeal in Hawaii. July 11, 2022 Updated 3:24 PM PT. In July, Caltrans alerted the residents they would have five days to pack their belongings and leave. At the start of 2020, the city was conducting several camp closures each monthseven in January, and nine each in February and Marchuntil COVID-19 cases began rising and the county went on lockdown. Partner with us by contributing resources or time to respond to the homelessness crisis. Caltrans reports it's on pace to close 1,200 encampments in this fiscal year up nearly 500% from the 269 cleared last year. (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. The Oakland Fire . 1,000 people on a section of the former Oakland Army Base. Narcan spray and other sanitary products can be seen on a book shelf. The city of Oakland agreed to assist residents on identifying their options. The order is the latest in a long-running dispute over a homeless camp, who expressed concern about the short notice and lack of shelter options, Activist Judy Heumann led a reimagining of what it means to be disabled, How this year's Selma Bridge Crossing could mark a community renaissance, Storms across the U.S. cause deaths and power outages, Russia's foreign minister gets laughed at over Ukraine remarks at a global conference. We cant go far, Clutch said. Email: sravani@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @SarRavani. View the map in a new window. Today at 621AM OFD responded to report of an RV fire at East 12th & 17th Ave. E4 arrived and found 2 RV's & 12 . A United Nations report from 2018, for example, stated that a U.N. investigator witnessed officials "attempting to discourage residents from remaining in informal settlements or encampments by denying access to water, sanitation and health services and other basic necessities, [which] constitutes cruel and inhuman treatment and is a . A separate request earlier this month to halt Oakland workers from clearing parts of the encampment on land it owns was denied. Its been a struggle just to stand up emergency shelters.. 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. In May, Gov. 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. Fed up with homeless encampments that have taken over streets, parks and open spaces, a group of Oakland residents is suing the city. The city did not immediately return a request for comment. Dozens of Caltrans workers and California Highway . Bay, Heres where California reservoir levels stand after recent rainfall, Your Privacy Choices (Opt Out of Sale/Targeted Ads). Its unclear whether residents will be open to moving to a city-sanctioned site. 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. An attorney for the city said it doesn't have enough safe parking sites for everyone to bring their vehicles there. He currently plays for his neighbors outside his shelter, where a piano, guitar and drums are set up. A. Sep 2022 Q. Sarah Ravani covers Oakland and the East Bay at The San Francisco Chronicle. Multiple fires have erupted at the city's largest homeless encampment, which. by Natalie Orenstein March 25, 2021. They said the city had not fulfilled promises made in connection with the prior lawsuit. Last year Caltrans cleared a much larger camp between 200 and 300 people on a neighboring lot owned by the transit agency. City staff were there to clear out residents from the northern part of the encampment, near the city-sanctioned RV safe parking site. He issued a temporary injunction on July 19, 2022. City lawyers had no comment on the ruling. (Beth LaBerge/KQED) 550 North Flower Street. She has provided coverage on wildfires, mass shootings, the fatal shooting of police officers and massive floods in the North Bay. 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. Review and respond annually to the Citys Homeless Encampment Policy and the Permanent Access to Housing Path Plan which shall be presented to the Commission, as well as hear reports on the housing, programs, and services for persons experiencing homelessness in the City including, but not limited to. Housing | 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 . To reduce homelessness, we must slow its growth and keep more people in their homes. We do need permanent supportive housing and where is it? Housing | She graduated from American University with a BA degree in literature with a minor in journalism. We are hard at work implementing that policy amidst a historic budget shortfall, staffing shortages, and an ongoing pandemic that has limited the shelter options available to the residents of our encampments, the statement continued. The pandemic caused the city to halt most encampment closures, but now city staff say closures are on the table as long as shelter space is available. Housing proposal for unhoused leaves Santa Clara residents sharply divided Gavin Newsoms office publicly excoriated Oakland officials for failing to cooperate and threatened to withhold state funds. Walters: Is ending Californias homelessness just a matter of money? Official Website for the City of Oakland | Mayor Sheng Thao. 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.". Resident Ron McGowan, who lives at the site in question, said there are about 80 people there. Homelessness has doubled in the last 10 years. 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. Local News | The Encampment Management Team is responsible for implementing the Encampment Management Policy and directing coordination across city departments. Ramona Choyce lost everything in a fire in March at the encampment, which has seen several blazes in the past year. OAKLAND - Fire swept through a homeless encampment near the MacArthur Maze highway interchange in West Oakland on Monday morning. The plaintiffs asked that the eviction be enjoined because of a lack of shelter beds, heavy winter rains, and the continued prevalence of Covid and other viruses. Email: sravani@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @SarRavani. After nearly two-month delay, judge allows Oakland to remove large homeless camp Jones and several residents presented their idea of a self-governed site to city staff and Fife at a meeting last summer. Many people at Wood Street live in RVs, cars and other vehicles. Ramona Choyce recounts the moment when an April fire killed one person at a homeless encampment on Wood Street in Oakland. Walters: Is ending Californias homelessness just a matter of money? "These are vehicles of human beings," he said at the hearing, "and they are not to be lost.". 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. Encampment Management is necessary to address the emergency needs of our unhoused residents, and serves as one part of the Citys overall response to prevent, stabilize and house our community. The Encampment Management Team (EMT) is an interdepartmental working group consisting of representatives from Oaklands Public Works Department (OPW), Human Services Department (HSD), Oakland Police Department (OPD), Oakland Fire Department (OFD), the City Administrators Office (CAO), and other consulted departments as necessary (e.g., the Mayors Office, the City Attorneys Office, Parks and Recreation). Housing proposal for unhoused leaves Santa Clara residents sharply divided Their model is wrong, he said. Brigitte Nicoletti, an attorney assisting residents in their pro se lawsuit, reiterated that request at the hearing on Friday. They have lacked funding, housing options and staff, he said. Oakland is experiencing a network outage that is affecting key services such as Oak311, permitting and business tax. The city doesnt have the resources to close something as large as Wood Street, said LaTonda Simmons, the citys former interim homelessness administrator. The conditions at the encampment which has mountains of trash and burned-out vehicles were called cruel and inhumane in a U.N. report from 2018. What could reparations mean for Black residents of Alameda County? I do not look forward to being kicked out. Several non-emergency systems including phone lines within the City of Oakland are currently impacted or offline. Los Angeles, California 90012. The encampment is. In an attempt to fend off the impending closure of the Commons, residents sued the city in early January. Grappling with homelessness, California weighs extending foster care for 5 years Related Articles "What I have tried to do is create a possibility of relocation in a way that is the least harmful to the people who live on Wood Street," he said at the hearing. 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. Check out the latest season about Muslim converts and past seasons of stories of struggle and never giving up hope. The audit also analyzed the citys ability to respond when its unhoused communities need help. (Aric Crabb/Bay Area News Group), OAKLAND, CA - SEPTEMBER 26: Community members watch as workers clear a section of the Wood Street homeless encampment near an area known as Cob on Wood on Monday, Sept. 26, 2022, in Oakland, Calif. Caltrans is overseeing the cleanup of its property along Wood Street. Get Morning Report and other email newsletters. To address the growing problem, the city in 2017 established its interdepartmental Encampment Management Team to respond to various issues at homeless camps. Grappling with homelessness, California weighs extending foster care for 5 years Grappling with homelessness, California weighs extending foster care for 5 years By City News Service on . But those plans were slow in coming. 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. Gavin Newsoms administration awarded Oakland a $4.7 million grant to fund a new community cabin site or tiny home village at Wood Street for about 50 people and to figure out how to help others at the site. Caltrans crews wait to clear the Wood Street encampment in Oakland on Sept. 8, 2022, while residents and advocates block the road. Caltrans announced it is closing the entire Wood Street .