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. Brigitte Nicoletti, an attorney assisting residents in their pro se lawsuit, reiterated that request at the hearing on Friday. Here's where Oakland wants to build new homeless housing Officials have argued that they dont have enough shelter beds to accommodate the number of people living at the encampment, which spans 25 city blocks. Oakland has a new homeless camp policy, despite protests - The Oaklandside The only way to get through involves stepping over bulky items, bbq grills, bikes, tents, and garbage. 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. Forcing Californians into mental health treatment would get easier with proposed legislation LAPD union supports unarmed responders to certain 911 calls including homeless encampment clean-ups 0. City Administrator Ed Reiskin said city employees have worked hard to compassionately manage the surge in encampments, while acknowledging they havent always had clear policy direction or sufficient resources. In July, Caltrans alerted the residents they would have five days to pack their belongings and leave. They come in out of nowhere, said Ben Murawski, another Wood Street resident, lamenting how agency employees destroy our homes.. If its model is a success, Oakland could win more state funds to help more Wood Street residents. The result is a shuffling with no long-term strategy on how to get people into more permanent, supportive housing. He allowed Caltrans to continue removing debris from the area, as long as it didnt involve residents belongings. The report lays out 26 recommendations, all of which the city has committed to following, according to the auditors office. 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. Raised eyebrows. Californias stormy weather is having an unusual effect on S.F. 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. that was may . Antioch council to discuss new liquor stores ban, homeless housing Multiple fires have erupted at the citys largest homeless encampment, which extends for several city blocks and has been home to hundreds of people. 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. Cars, RVs and debris burned Monday, sending a giant cloud of smoke into the sky, and freezing highway traffic in the vicinity. In an earlier statement, Caltrans said it planned to clear the camp to address the increasingly serious safety risks to life, property and infrastructure at the encampment. The agency said it was coordinating with the city and the county to offer residents shelter. 2 arrested as CHP, Caltrans begin clearing Wood Street encampment in Mayor Libby Schaaf, city administrator Ed Reiskin, police Chief LeRonne Armstrong and Daniel Cooper, the citys newly appointed homelessness administrator, were at Wood Street on Wednesday. Oakland, together we can meet this crisis, expand our progress, and reduce homelessness in our community. That would allow the city and county to figure out their outreach programs so that there could be actual adequate outreach, she said, instead of a rushed approach that will lead to immense danger and harm to the residents.. 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Where can we fit that? Oakland homeless advocates turn underpass encampment - New York Post Oakland's scathing encampment audit: Officials, unhoused people, and That's higher than what a typical . Pushing people with no real and adequate shelter to accommodate them is inhumane and does not solve the larger problem.. Because of the connection to the earlier litigation, the case was assigned to Judge Orrick who entered a TRO on January 6, 2023. The streets of Oakland are already full of unhoused persons, many of whom were previously evicted from their encampments.". 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. That injunction was dissolved in phases, beginning in August of 2022, giving residents more time to find other alternatives. 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. All Access Digital offer for just 99 cents! Residents say the camp is a place where they can live how they want after losing stable homes because of evictions or job losses. 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. 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 Administration is grateful that the City Council unanimously approved a comprehensive, citywide Encampment Management Policy last October, and are now beginning to identify the necessary resources to support this important work with an understanding that even more is necessary, Reiskin wrote in an emailed statement. City leaders have been struggling with how to deal with the massive encampment, which has exploded in size over the past seven years. Nobody who lived in the homeless camp on Wood Street in Oakland was surprised when police cars and helmeted motorcycle officers started driving up and down the block early on a Tuesday. Previously, she covered breaking news and crime for The Chronicle. Police tagged vehicles with illegal parking notices as residents scrambled to move motorcycles, cars and RVs. (Beth LaBerge/KQED) 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. City of Oakland | Oakland's Response to Homelessness Oakland Approves Rules to Restrict Homeless Encampments Large Homeless Encampment in Oakland California. 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 joined The Chronicle in 2016 after graduating from Columbia University's Graduate School of Journalism. After nearly two-month delay, judge lets Oakland remove homeless camp Rise in Homeless Encampment Fires Worries CA Firefighters 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. 550 North Flower Street. She joined The Chronicle in 2016 after graduating from Columbia University's Graduate School of Journalism. Grappling with homelessness, California weighs extending foster care for 5 years The shelters are full. That site reportedly contained a communal area used to organize donations and cook group meals several nights a week as well as "pop-up clinics, regular open mics, and other community town hall events.". She and her husband, Lenton, live in a 20-foot trailer at the Coliseum Stadium parking lot in Oakland. She said some weeks she only had 25 open shelter beds out of nearly 600 in the system. Clutch, a 40-year-old resident, holds his neighbors dog, Panda, near his van at Oaklands Wood Street homeless encampment. You will be asked to sign off on an arrest warrant. Oakland to finally clear Wood Street homeless encampment The decision from Judge William Orrick comes after a month-long legal battle between residents and the transit agency, the city, and the county. The encampment is one of the largest in the city and has been plagued with problems such as illegal dumping and fires for years. But Orrick told the agencies to work it out. 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. Bay, Heres where California reservoir levels stand after recent rainfall, Your Privacy Choices (Opt Out of Sale/Targeted Ads). Local News | There were more than 40 people living there on Dec. 22, when Oakland gave notice that it intended to evict all persons on Jan. 9 to clear the site for the development of low-income housing. The fire at the Wood Street encampment is sending a plume of smoke over the San Francisco Bay and downtown Oakland. Housing proposal for unhoused leaves Santa Clara residents sharply divided 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. after a two-alarm fire broke out Monday at the site, decried the lack of access to clean water. The Oakland women who took over a vacant lot to house the homeless The city spent $12.6 million over the past two fiscal years, mostly unbudgeted, to manage the camps that have spread across city streets, sidewalks, parks and open spaces, according to a report released Wednesday by the city auditor. 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? A burned-out van amid charred rubble of where Ramon Choyce once lived at a homeless encampment on Wood Street in Oakland. Oakland's biggest homeless encampment could massively shrink with Earlier this week, a coalition of residents wrote a public letter to state, city and county officials urging them to work with them. By City News Service on . Sarah Ravani (she/her) is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Husbands-Hankin said she saw an officer tase the man and tackle him to the ground. The encampment is. Your Privacy Choices (Opt Out of Sale/Targeted Ads). 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. Ruined vegetation, broken irrigation lines and damaged fencing at Lake Merritt, as well as. 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. Caltrans reports it's on pace to close 1,200 encampments in this fiscal year up nearly 500% from the 269 cleared last year. Ramona Choyce recounts the moment when an April fire killed one person at a homeless encampment on Wood Street in Oakland. What Happens Next Officers from your local police precinct will respond within 4 hours. 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. Heres where California reservoir levels stand after this weeks rains. Our housed and unhoused residents are counting on us to make this right, Ruby wrote. Caltrans announced it is closing the entire Wood Street . East Oakland homeless camp still standing, despite state orders The residents would have a social contract, love thy neighbor and do no harm, Jones said. News Feb 07, 2023 Oakland will get millions for the 'inhumane' crisis at one huge Caltrans couldnt immediately be reached for further comment. 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. Forcing Californians into mental health treatment would get easier with proposed legislation 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.. Homeless Encampment Closure Allowed By Judge | Alameda, CA Patch The audit also analyzed the citys ability to respond when its unhoused communities need help. Hall of Justice. They have lacked funding, housing options and staff, he said. (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. Jones and several residents presented their idea of a self-governed site to city staff and Fife at a meeting last summer. Aric Crabb has been a staff photographer at the Bay Area News Group since 1998. 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. 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. Oakland police took an average of four to six hours to respond to emergency calls in encampments during the last two fiscal years, according to the audit. the city has scheduled sweeps of the site, cleared the parts of the encampment on its property. #2. portland oregon created those "affordable housing" by tearing down most of the old hotels or remodeling them. OAKLAND -- The biggest homeless encampment in Oakland will soon be shut down. Our Response Homelessness has doubled in the last 10 years. Among its recommendations, the audit found the city should ensure staff members are trained in crisis management and interacting with traumatized encampment residents. Oakland clears part of its most notorious homeless camp - The Mercury News