Oakland is gearing up to distribute an additional $32 million to residents behind on rent payments. But hundreds of people have been waiting on city and state assistance for months.
Author Archives: Natalie Orenstein
Natalie Orenstein covers housing and homelessness for The Oaklandside. She was previously on staff at Berkeleyside, where her extensive reporting on the legacy of school desegregation received recognition from the Society of Professional Journalists NorCal and the Education Writers Association. Natalie’s reporting has also appeared in The J Weekly, The San Francisco Chronicle and elsewhere, and she’s written about public policy for a number of research institutes and think tanks. Natalie lives in Oakland, grew up in Berkeley, and has only left her beloved East Bay once, to attend Pomona College.
Posted inHousing & Homelessness
Watch a 100-year-old Oakland building get moved
See videos and photos of the 100-year-old clubhouse getting wheeled across an Oakland hills development site.
Posted inHousing & Homelessness
Oakland expects more state money for homeless housing
Both Oakland and Alameda County plan to apply for the expected next round of funds through Homekey, which lets local governments buy hotels and apartment buildings.
Posted inHousing & Homelessness
Giddiness, relief as Fruitvale affordable housing complex breaks ground after ‘30-year journey’
The 181-unit “Casa Sueños” is the final residential building at the East Oakland “transit village” by BART.
Posted inCity Hall & Policing
Caltrans report leads CHP to draw guns on unarmed advocate
State police held Vincent Ray Williams III at gunpoint after a California Department of Transportation worker at a West Oakland encampment claimed he was armed.
Posted inHousing & Homelessness
2020 census: Oakland’s population growth outpaces housing production
Oakland gained 50,000 people over the last decade, but only 9,000 housing units, most market-rate.
Posted inHousing & Homelessness
First-time homebuyers can now apply for down-payment assistance in Alameda County
The AC Boost program is offering down-payment loans of up to $210,000 per household.
Posted inHousing & Homelessness
Delta variant poses new threat to homeless communities in Oakland
Alameda County offers many places to get free COVID-19 vaccinations if you’re unhoused.
Posted inHousing & Homelessness
The city wants to close 2 prominent Oakland homeless camps. Not so fast, some residents say
The Athol Plaza tennis courts and Mosswood Park are on the city’s list this week.
Posted inHousing & Homelessness
Artists, landlords await verdict of rent control case at Fruitvale warehouse
Live-work spaces have dwindled in Oakland. Tenants say they need more protection, but the owners say the law is on their side.
Posted inArts & Community
A Black Lives Matter tribute was defaced in Rockridge. Now some want a permanent mural
A group of North Oakland residents says the area’s exclusionary history makes a popular staircase path the perfect place for a memorial. Others have rallied in opposition to keep the “Sunflower Path” as is.
Posted inHousing & Homelessness
More than 1,000 homeless people in Oakland and Berkeley are getting money from Caltrans
A lawsuit settlement required payback for property destroyed during encampment sweeps. Hear from unhoused people who’ve gotten funds this week, and learn how to collect yours.
Posted inArts & Community
Building a bike for the Golden State Warriors’ Juan Toscano-Anderson
A North Oakland bike shop owner got a dream assignment: design a custom ride for an NBA star.
Posted inHousing & Homelessness
New West Oakland program could be one of city’s first ‘co-governed’ homeless camps
After a long search for locations to set up emergency campsites, Oakland has approved two.
Posted inHealth & Environment
Is a new regional agency the answer to the East Bay’s wildfire woes?
Advocates in the fire-prone hills want Oakland, Berkeley, and other agencies to team up to create a prevention plan for the region. Cost could be an obstacle.
Posted inHousing & Homelessness
Homeless Oaklanders can start the day with a free hot shower in Temescal
LavaMaeX offers something scarce for people without permanent housing: a place to get clean and warm up.
Posted inHousing & Homelessness
An Oakland homeless activist finds housing—in Fremont
Pastor Preston Walker was a mainstay at protests and encampments. Now he’s exchanged that life for a washing machine and a queen bed in suburbia.
Posted inHousing & Homelessness
How segregated is your Oakland neighborhood?
A new study and interactive map from UC Berkeley researchers reveal that Oakland is the 14th most segregated major city in the U.S.
Posted inHousing & Homelessness
Watch: The pandemic and housing policy in Oakland
Can the COVID-19 crisis teach us how to address Oakland’s housing crisis?
Posted inHousing & Homelessness
‘Depressingly’ behind on building affordable housing, Oakland looks for more money
New data shows the city is still deeply short on meeting its housing needs, so the Oakland City Council may explore a bond measure and wants to hold a day-long brainstorming session.
