In May, city officials told The Chronicle that they dont have enough shelter beds to offer to everyone at Wood Street. Contact information for four of the major Southern California sheriff's departments is: Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department. Since the restraining order was issued, another 12 fires have broken out on the site, Orrick said at the hearing. A hand-painted sign can be seen at a homeless encampment on Wood Street in Oakland, Calif. on Monday, May 3, 2022. In these situations, the Encampment Response Map will include information about the code violation case instead of details about an encampment cleanup effort. But the city didnt give the team the resources it needed including a budget, according to the audit. Many people at Wood Street live in RVs, cars and other vehicles. OAKLAND - Fire swept through a homeless encampment near the MacArthur Maze highway interchange in West Oakland on Monday morning. Husbands-Hankin said she saw an officer tase the man and tackle him to the ground. (Beth LaBerge/KQED) A day later, tensions escalated when witnesses said Oakland police tased an encampment resident. Housing proposal for unhoused leaves Santa Clara residents sharply divided Related Articles 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 . Last year Caltrans cleared a much larger camp between 200 and 300 people on a neighboring lot owned by the transit agency. 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. In May, Gov. To reduce homelessness, we must slow its growth and keep more people in their homes. At the time, city officials said they didnt yet have a timeline on when the new cabin community at Wood Street would break ground. Credit: Darwin BondGraham. 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. In May, city officials put the total number of residents in the encampment at 300 people. Staff closed and cleaned about 500 encampments during the 2019 and 2020 fiscal years including camps that were closed once, repopulated, and then were closed again. He dissolved the TRO immediately, conditioned on the city's representations that there would be sufficient shelter options for the displaced residents. And where do we go? 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. The city of Oakland pursued closures of 98 encampments during the two years we examined. 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. Attorneys for Caltrans said the encampment posed a serious health and safety risk, citing some 200 fires at the Wood Street encampment over the past two years. After nearly two-month delay, judge allows Oakland to remove large homeless camp Plaintiffs' lawyers did not respond to an inquiry as to whether they would seek to appeal or otherwise challenge the determination. According to "point-in-time" counts cited in their pleadings, there were 5,055 individuals in Oakland experiencing homelessness, of which 3,347 were unsheltered. Oakland was overwhelmed by the crisis, leaving staff working to solve the problem without proper training or resources, according to the report. 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. 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. 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. 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. The residents would have a social contract, love thy neighbor and do no harm, Jones said. Email: sravani@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @SarRavani. 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. Republication, rebroadcast or redistribution without the express written consent of Bay City News, Inc. is prohibited. (Aric Crabb/Bay Area News Group), OAKLAND, CA - SEPTEMBER 26: Workers remove debris 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. $400 rent for the low income housing they made. But Orrick said requiring Caltrans to provide those resources was beyond the scope of the law. people had to eat at charity style centers, and a sunday 'picnic in the park' feed. 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? Grappling with homelessness, California weighs extending foster care for 5 years 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.. That order was dissolved about a month later, when the city said it was set to open a new tiny home site near the encampment, and a safe parking site in East Oakland for people living in RVs. Police said a person allegedly assaulted a public works employee and when officers tried to detain him, he refused and they used force. They're looking to make us homeless. 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. street outreach, homeless shelters, transitional housing, housing exits, and permanent supportive housing as needed. 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. 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. When could it return? 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. Your Privacy Choices (Opt Out of Sale/Targeted Ads). Aric Crabb has been a staff photographer at the Bay Area News Group since 1998. Several non-emergency systems including phone lines within the City of Oakland are currently impacted or offline. 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. Thank you for your patience while we work to restore services. 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. We do need permanent supportive housing and where is it? (Beth LaBerge/KQED) Caltrans workers clear a barricade made by Wood Street residents meant to keep Caltrans out of the encampment in Oakland on Sept. 8, 2022. 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. (Aric Crabb/Bay Area News Group), OAKLAND, CA - SEPTEMBER 26: Community members move a motorcycle to a trailer 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. Walters: Is ending Californias homelessness just a matter of money? Ramona Choyce lost everything in a fire in March at the encampment, which has seen several blazes in the past year. A U.N. report from 2018 called the conditions there cruel and inhumane. The expert behind the report compared it to the poorest places in the world, decried the lack of access to clean water and toilets, and said the rodent infestations, fire dangers and other hazards should be quickly addressed. View the list of locations and servicing schedule below. 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. Oaklands biggest homeless encampment could massively shrink with planned sweep of 200 people, Track water shortages and restrictions across Bay Area. Among its recommendations, the audit found the city should ensure staff members are trained in crisis management and interacting with traumatized encampment residents. Hayward couple file lawsuit over harrowing honeymoon ocean ordeal in Hawaii. There are about 4,000 homeless people many of them living in at least 140 . 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 departments goal is to respond to 90% of calls within seven minutes. Housing | Official Website for the City of Oakland | Mayor Sheng Thao. 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. Fed up with homeless encampments that have taken over streets, parks and open spaces, a group of Oakland residents is suing the city. Residents say the camp is a place where they can live how they want after losing stable homes because of evictions or job losses. 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. Related Articles The City Council has to approve the plans and construction is likely to take longer than other sites because a set of railroad tracks cuts through the property. 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. Report the issue to our encampment management team at homelessness@oaklandca.gov. 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 five-days' notice to clear the site. Grappling with homelessness, California weighs extending foster care for 5 years (KRON4 News) OAKLAND ( KRON) - A two-alarm fire in an Oakland homeless . The Oakland City Council unanimously passed a new homeless encampment policy Tuesday, more than 10 hours into a meeting where dozens of members of the public spoke passionately about the proposal and protesters rallied outside two councilmembers' homes. 6 of 23 7 of 23. The Oakland Fire . 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. Fife said the site which could offer pallet shelters, a community kitchen, bathrooms and wraparound services could house many of Wood Streets residents. It ended badly, Hit bean company Rancho Gordo embroiled in discrimination lawsuit. 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.". Oakland has responded to the crisis level surge in homelessness with emergency measures like community cabins. Newsom paid a surprise visit to the encampment in April to show the inhumane living conditions too many Californians face.. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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.. In July, Caltrans alerted the residents they would have five days to pack their belongings and leave. In the meantime, residents say they live in constant fear that they will be forced to leave with little notice. He found that the plaintiffs raised at least a significant question about whether the doctrine applied to them and concluded that under all the circumstances, including the weather and the ongoing "tripledemic," it was appropriate to issue the TRO, though he telegraphed that the pause on eviction would not be unlimited. 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 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. Gavin Newsoms administration awarded Oakland a $4.7. According to a report by the city administrative officer, the new East Hollywood campground costs approximately $2,663 per participant per month. 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.". 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. OAKLAND -- The biggest homeless encampment in Oakland will soon be shut down. LA CITY COUNCIL GREENLIGHTS BAN ON HOMELESS ENCAMPMENTS 500 FEET FROM SCHOOLS, DAYCARE CENTERS Though Newsom's handling of the Oakland matter was worded authoritatively, the governor has also. Theyre too densely packed together.. The city wants to build the state-funded community cabin site in partnership with residents and a provider who would offer wraparound services at the site. A large fire broke out at the encampment on Monday,. 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. 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. 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. She has provided coverage on wildfires, mass shootings, the fatal shooting of police officers and massive floods in the North Bay. Housing | 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.. View the map in a new window. Brigitte Nicoletti, an attorney assisting residents in their pro se lawsuit, reiterated that request at the hearing on Friday. The Wood Street homeless encampment once housed 200 people and covered 40 acres. Housing | On Monday, police said the man is facing charges for throwing an object at a vehicle. Lydia Blumberg, whos lived at Wood Street for at least five years, called the decision beyond disappointing., Everyone wants to wash their hands of us, she said after the hearing. 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. 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. 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. 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. Previously, she covered breaking news and crime for The Chronicle. Oakland is experiencing a network outage that is affecting key services such as Oak311, permitting and business tax. 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. Call Taker: Is the homeless encampment within 500 feet of a waterway (creek, lake or bay)? How long has the homeless encampment been there? He currently plays for his neighbors outside his shelter, where a piano, guitar and drums are set up. March 23, 2021 6:54 PM PT. A large column of black smoke rises Tuesday, April 5, 2022, from a fire at a homeless encampment next to West Grand Avenue and Wood Street in Oakland's Prescott neighborhood. Complete clearing of total area without option to return, Partial clearing of an encamped area without option to return, Cleaning of an area with the option to return, May apply to a portion of or the total area, Regularly established garbage clearing and temporary sanitation. 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. They said the city had not fulfilled promises made in connection with the prior lawsuit. Thats on top of nearly 90 fires at the site for the 12 months through March. Caltrans crews wait to clear the Wood Street encampment in Oakland on Sept. 8, 2022, while residents and advocates block the road. 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. Its uncertain if Caltrans has the authority to clear land it doesnt own. It is . "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. They have lacked funding, housing options and staff, he said. On Tuesday, homeless people in Echo Park were faced with a decision as an imminent city closure drew near. Local News | The Commission shall publish an annual report regarding how and to what extent the City Council and Mayor have implemented this Chapter. 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. 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. 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 . In a lawsuit filed this week, grassroots group Neighbors. The Encampment Management Team is responsible for implementing the Encampment Management Policy and directing coordination across city departments. The expert behind the report compared it to the poorest places in the world, decried the lack of access to clean water and toilets, and said the rodent infestations, fire dangers and other hazards should be quickly addressed. Local News | Marisa Kendall is a housing reporter for the Bay Area News Group who covers homelessness for The Mercury News and East Bay Times. 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. And it was clear at the hearing that the city, county and Caltrans still had not worked out a plan for a number of different issues related to the encampment's closure, including who would do the outreach to residents and where residents' belongings would be kept. The man, who was not identified, was taken into custody. At issue is a large encampment on a city-owned piece of vacant land off Wood Street in West Oakland. The report lays out 26 recommendations, all of which the city has committed to following, according to the auditors office. A. Sep 2022 Q. We're not homeless. After Caltrans clears part of the encampment, residents move to another part sometimes city property. We appreciate your patience; the homelessness@oaklandca.gov service has been restored. 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. Now, they live on city property along Wood Streets right-of-way. 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. The only way to get through involves stepping over bulky items, bbq grills, bikes, tents, and garbage. That case was assigned to Judge Orrick, who expressed concern about the short notice and lack of shelter options. In the meantime, residents at Wood Street say few officials have come to consult with them on relocation plans. Weve created a system of effective strategies that address homelessness at every step in the cycle. Cold Bay Area rains fail to shut down vibrant Holi celebration in Fremont. 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. Photograph: Talia Herman/The Guardian Oakland. Sarah Ravani (she/her) is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. by Natalie Orenstein March 25, 2021. 1,000 people on a section of the former Oakland Army Base. Officials said they do not know when construction on a community cabin site would begin. Walters: Is ending Californias homelessness just a matter of money? He issued a temporary injunction on July 19, 2022. Russell Wilson asked for Pete Carroll, Seahawks GM to be fired; QB denies report. If you or someone you know is hungry, homeless, or housing insecure - Call 2-1-1.
