Mayor Sheng Thao wants to replace the high-profile homelessness administrator role, which the city has struggled to fill, with two lower-level positions.
Tag: Homelessness
Posted inHousing & Homelessness
As Oakland closes its largest homeless camp, some residents resist, others move on
Fifty people have agreed to move away from Wood Street during the protracted, weeks-long closure.
Posted inHousing & Homelessness
Man’s death highlights danger of extreme weather for Oakland’s unhoused residents
On even the most rainy nights, there are homeless shelter beds available. Why do they go empty?
Posted inHousing & Homelessness
Residents of tiny-home village by Lake Merritt told shelter will close in June
An affordable housing project is planned for the E. 12th Street parcel, which is currently the site of a city-run homeless shelter.
Posted inHealth & Environment
On the frontlines of Oakland’s methamphetamine crisis
Health care and harm reduction workers say people of color and unhoused residents are disproportionately impacted by the drug’s rise in recent years.
Posted inHousing & Homelessness
Violence during a West Oakland homeless camp’s closure highlights dire stakes and lack of trust
A chaotic scene in West Oakland that left a city councilmember’s partner accused of assault reveals dangerous gaps in coordination during high-stakes events.
Posted inHealth & Environment
‘It just looks like people dying’: Oakland’s meth crisis is growing at an alarming rate
Health experts and social workers say meth use, and harms associated with it, are rising fast and treatment options are limited.
Posted inHousing & Homelessness
Oakland loses second homelessness chief in two years
Daniel Cooper, the city’s second-ever homelessness administrator, was “released from employment” this week.
Posted inHousing & Homelessness
Alameda County will distribute 500 tents to homeless people impacted by the storm
Grassroots groups are also collecting items for people whose belongings have been soaked and damaged in this dangerous weather in Oakland.
Posted inHousing & Homelessness
Oakland faces calls for more homeless shelters as storm bears down
It is unclear whether Oakland is increasing its shelter capacity as unhoused residents and advocates scramble for protection from a “bomb cyclone.”
Posted inHow We Work
Oakland’s housing and homelessness programs faced scrutiny in 2022
Reporter Natalie Orenstein spoke about the past year of news on her beat, from rent caps to encampment sweeps.
Posted inHousing & Homelessness
Memorial honors the hundreds of unhoused people who died in Alameda County this year
A new effort to track every local homeless death has found that unhoused people are five times likelier than others to die.
Posted inHousing & Homelessness
A lavish Christmas party caps a tumultuous year on Wood Street
Unhoused residents and friends gathered for an elaborate celebration this weekend, knowing the city plans to close the encampment in January.
Posted inHousing & Homelessness
Oakland spends $120 million a year on homelessness. Could it do more?
New estimates say it would cost a staggering $4.5 billion to house all homeless residents, but some officials say the city could be more creative.
Posted inHousing & Homelessness
East Oakland residents ‘fed up’ with dumping and safety hazards in flatlands
Community groups are pressing the city to clean up a blighted intersection, but their demands raise questions about the fate of homeless camps there.
Posted inHousing & Homelessness
Plan for ‘safe work zones’ around homeless camps alarms advocates
Oakland officials say the tool is needed to protect workers from harassment, but some say it would criminalize unhoused people and supporters.
Posted inHousing & Homelessness
Oakland homelessness programs in danger after Newsom pauses funding
A surprise announcement from the governor puts a hold on a $1 billion statewide grant, including $24 million for Oakland shelters.
Posted inHousing & Homelessness
New film depicts life on Oakland’s streets—from homeless filmmakers’ perspectives
“We R Here” started as an experiment and ended as a revealing 55-minute portrait.
Posted inHousing & Homelessness
Displaced from Wood Street, homeless residents set up protest camp at Oakland City Hall
And at another tense meeting, the City Council voted to pursue new shelter sites for affected residents, but most are far-off prospects.
Posted inHousing & Homelessness
Oakland councilmembers and city administration clash over proposal to use army base for homeless shelter
Councilmember Carroll Fife called the need for space to house Wood Street residents “an emergency.” City staff say there are legal and environmental issues with her request.
