The Wood Street homeless encampment once housed 200 people and covered 40 acres. The only way to get through involves stepping over bulky items, bbq grills, bikes, tents, and garbage. They declined to speak to reporters. February 22, 2023. The commission also must follow an extensive legal process before being permitted to levy the $6,000 daily fine on Oakland, noted journalist Jaime Omar Yassin . Wood Street encampment resident Theo Cedar Jones points to a map of the area hes living near. A lawsuit alleges that Stanford-trained chemists Alexander Burckle and Elizabeth Webster nearly drowned after a dive boat left them behind in choppy water near Maui. (Aric Crabb/Bay Area News Group), OAKLAND, CA - SEPTEMBER 26: An officer with the California Highway Patrol marks a vehicle 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. after a two-alarm fire broke out Monday at the site, decried the lack of access to clean water. 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. She started her journalism career reporting on crime and breaking news for The News-Press in Southwest Florida. Some people keep watch out for fires or other dangers. July 11, 2022 Updated 3:24 PM PT. City of Oakland Opens 100-bed Cabin Shelter Program at Wood Street, Estelle Clemons, Interim Director of Human Services and, Daniel Cooper, Homelessness Administrator, Court order would allow phased clean-up and closure operation to resume to abate potentially hazardous conditions that threaten public health and safety, Completed Encampment Management Operations, FACT SHEET: Wood Street Update - October 2022, FACT SHEET: Wood Street Encampment - July 2022, HOJA INFORMATIVA: Intervenciones para la gestin del campamento de Wood Street, FACT SHEET: East 12th Street Median Encampment - October 2022, Completed Encampment Management Team Operations Since 2021, Joint Statement regarding Homeless Services Performance Audit, Federal Judge Indicates Approval of City of Oaklands Thoughtful Outreach and Services Plan in Support of Caltrans Encampment Closure Operation on Wood Street. Now, both new shelter sites appear to be up and running, and the judge has once again changed course. People living in vehicles represent 35% of Oakland's overall homeless population. To reduce homelessness, we must slow its growth and keep more people in their homes. 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. We appreciate your patience; the homelessness@oaklandca.gov service has been restored. Fife said the site which could offer pallet shelters, a community kitchen, bathrooms and wraparound services could house many of Wood Streets residents. The Oakland, California Homeless Problem is Beyond Belief Nick Johnson 762K subscribers Subscribe 112K 13M views 1 year ago #california #moving Is this where America is headed? Hall of Justice. 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. But that's only a fraction of the more than 5,000 encampments on . Oaklands biggest homeless encampment could massively shrink with planned sweep of 200 people, Track water shortages and restrictions across Bay Area. But the money is insufficient to help all the camps residents. Ramona Choyce lost everything in a fire in March at the encampment, which has seen several blazes in the past year. The Encampment Management Team is responsible for implementing the Encampment Management Policy and directing coordination across city departments. But the injunction was dissolved in phases, beginning in August of 2022, giving residents more time to find other alternatives. The audit also found the city needs to collect better data on encampments, increase outreach to unhoused people, provide better notice to camp residents before a camp will be closed, improve its efforts to collect and preserve residents belongings when a camp is closed, and create a comprehensive policy on transporting displaced camp residents. Related Articles The news of the clearing comes after a two-alarm fire broke out Monday at the site, which dozens of blazes have torn through over the past year. 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. Their. Copyright 2023 Bay City News, Inc. All rights reserved. The city doesnt have the resources to close something as large as Wood Street, said LaTonda Simmons, the citys former interim homelessness administrator. 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. To report an encampment online, please scan the QR code below to access the Reporting Tool page: Or go to the Reporting Tool website: https://reportencampments.tucsonaz.gov/ To report an encampment by phone, please call the City of Tucson Resource Line: (520) 791-2540 Initiation of Protocol City officials have been . The encampment is one of the. All Access Digital offer for just 99 cents! The Oakland Fire . 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. Review and respond annually to the City's 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. Report the issue to our encampment management team at homelessness@oaklandca.gov. Photograph: Talia Herman/The Guardian Oakland has responded to the crisis level surge in homelessness with emergency measures like community cabins. 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.". We are in a catch-22., Sarah Ravani (she/her) is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Oakland. Sarah Ravani covers Oakland and the East Bay at The San Francisco Chronicle. 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. After nearly two-month delay, judge allows Oakland to remove large homeless camp Information, if available, concerning the impacts of programs funded bv the Vacant Property Tax (2018 Measure W1 and 2020 Measure Q homelessness funds subject to Commission oversight this Ordinance on the occurrence of homelessness and illegal dumping outcomes in the City; Recommendations to the Mayor and the City Council on the Biennial Fiscal Year Budget, in accordance with the City Councils Consolidated Fiscal Policy at the time, that ensures that the Commission Chair communicates homelessness priorities to the Mayor and Council: and. Police said a person allegedly assaulted a public works employee and when officers tried to detain him, he refused and they used force. And where do we go? Homeless advocates said residents were offered alternative shelter spaces. After nearly two-month delay, judge allows, 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), Bay Area weather: After thunderstorms and hail, snow could be on the way this weekend, After nearly two-month delay, judge allows Oakland to remove large homeless camp, 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. The Commission on Homelessness provides oversight of the Oakland vacant property tax received bv the City of Oakland for homeless services, and makes recommendations to the City Council for strategies to remedy homelessness. Get Morning Report and other email newsletters. Police tagged vehicles with illegal parking notices as residents scrambled to move motorcycles, cars and RVs. Oakland firefighters responded to 90% of the 988 encampment calls they received in less than eight minutes. The city of Oakland agreed to assist residents on identifying their options. 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. The Oakland city auditor in April released a report that highlighted a litany of problems that plague the city's estimated 140 homeless communities, including: 1,599 interventions for "hygiene . 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. Housing | If its model is a success, Oakland could win more state funds to help more Wood Street residents. The departments goal is to respond to 90% of calls within seven minutes. Walters: Is ending Californias homelessness just a matter of money? There are another 40 spaces available in pre-existing tiny home, safe parking and other sites throughout the city and there likely will be dozens of beds free at St. Vincent de Paul, a dorm-style shelter in West Oakland, according to the city. Caltrans has completed much smaller sweeps in the past. In May, city officials told The Chronicle that they dont have enough shelter beds to offer to everyone at Wood Street. All Access Digital offer for just 99 cents! We are ready to scale up for reductions in homelessness, though new state and federal funds and more intergovernmental coordination are needed. Our Response Homelessness has doubled in the last 10 years. 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. 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. Los Angeles, California 90012. 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. Marisa Kendall is a housing reporter for the Bay Area News Group who covers homelessness for The Mercury News and East Bay Times. Walters: Is ending Californias homelessness just a matter of money? The plaintiffs have raised serious questions that the state will violate their constitutional rights, Orrick wrote in his July order, by placing them in increased danger when it removes them at short notice from the encampment without adequate plans to provide shelter.. It ended badly, Hit bean company Rancho Gordo embroiled in discrimination lawsuit. In May, Gov. 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. This is our home.. $400 rent for the low income housing they made. Several non-emergency systems including phone lines within the City of Oakland are currently impacted or offline. street outreach, homeless shelters, 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. The homelessness crisis also has taken a toll on Oakland's public parks, according to the audit. City leaders say the encampment which spans property owned by the city, railroads and various government agencies is a crisis, but officials havent cleared it, arguing they dont have enough shelter beds for everyone. The complaint stated, "The residents of 1707 Wood Street have nowhere to go. Homeless Action Center Oakland, CA3 weeks agoBe among the first 25 applicantsSee who Homeless Action Center has hired for this roleNo longer accepting applications. That case was assigned to Judge Orrick, who expressed concern about the short notice and lack of shelter options. The controversial policy was approved by the City Council last year, but it's largely gone unenforced. 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Stay in touch. While the city was working to open a safe parking area for RVs that would accommodate 29 vehicles and a "cabin community" with 31 beds, neither site was yet ready for occupancy. James Wiseman, leadership genius? I stretched the point up until now in order to try to get to some sort of a place that recognizes the humanity of the people who've been talking to me.. 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. (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. Caltrans plans to clear 200 homeless people from the sprawling site by the first week of August, officials said. A federal judge on Friday refused to let Caltrans "wash their hands" of people living in a homeless encampment on Wood Street in Oakland by clearing them from it. Specifically, the audit found the City lacked an effective strategy for dealing with the growth in encampments and did not provide sufficient policy direction or adequate funding at the onset of this crisis, the letter continued. She and her husband, Lenton, live in a 20-foot trailer at the Coliseum Stadium parking lot in Oakland. When the city has scheduled sweeps of the site, residents and homeless advocates have blocked workers from entering and removing belongings. He said, "This TRO is not a long-term prohibition on Oakland's actions but rather a stopgap to prevent violation of constitutional rights that are likely to result from the combination of the state-of-emergency weather situation and the failure to provide alternative shelter.". Ramona Choyce recounts the moment when an April fire killed one person at a homeless encampment on Wood Street in Oakland. The City has implemented a number of interventions at every step in the cycle. Those are things that are beyond what can be ordered in this case, he said. At the time, city officials said they didnt yet have a timeline on when the new cabin community at Wood Street would break ground. Neighbors tell Da Lin the looming closure is long overdue. Local News | But IT network challenges ended up delaying the opening of the tiny homes (the city proclaimed a state of emergency earlier this month after a ransomware attack brought down many online systems), prompting the judge to once again bar Oakland from clearing the camp. Housing proposal for unhoused leaves Santa Clara residents sharply divided Marisa Kendall is a housing reporter for the Bay Area News Group who covers homelessness for The Mercury News and East Bay Times. Local News | The city's lawyers had no comment on the ruling. We got three buses. She graduated from American University with a BA degree in literature with a minor in journalism. Earlier this week, a coalition of residents wrote a public letter to state, city and county officials urging them to work with them. 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. 1,000 people on a section of the former Oakland Army Base. Housing | 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. Gov. He and the others had lived in four old buses one of which was destroyed during the move and a van. But if it fails to get people into real shelter and housing, it could be a cautionary tale for officials throughout California struggling with mushrooming encampments. Sarah Ravani (she/her) is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. 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. Its absurd to think that we've gotten this far through this process and we have not had anybody take a survey of who is actually affected by this, McGowan said at the hearing. He says Caltrans has forced him to move several times.