Grappling with homelessness, California weighs extending foster care for 5 years Its been a struggle just to stand up emergency shelters.. Local News | They said the city had not fulfilled promises made in connection with the prior lawsuit. (Aric Crabb/Bay Area News Group), OAKLAND, CA - SEPTEMBER 26: Community members watch as workers clear a section of the Wood Street homeless encampment near an area known as the Cob on Monday, Sept. 26, 2022, in Oakland, Calif. Caltrans is overseeing the cleanup of its property along Wood Street. 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. Dozens of Caltrans workers and California Highway . Get Morning Report and other email newsletters. Hayward couple file lawsuit over harrowing honeymoon ocean ordeal in Hawaii. Earlier this month, another federal judge allowed that work to continue. The fire at the Wood Street encampment is sending a plume of smoke over the San Francisco Bay and downtown Oakland. She graduated from American University with a BA degree in literature with a minor in journalism. OAKLAND, Calif. ( KRON) Caltrans announced in a press release Friday that it will shut down the homeless encampment on Wood Street. Get Morning Report and other email newsletters. Meanwhile, Council Member Carroll Fife, who represents the district that includes the Wood Street encampment, has directed the city administration to study creating an emergency shelter for 1,000 people on a section of the former Oakland Army Base. 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City staff were there to clear out residents from the northern part of the encampment, near the city-sanctioned RV safe parking site. Tuesday at 3:07 PM. They asked for resources to make the encampment safer, including access to dumpsters for trash removal, fire extinguishers, sand buckets, water hoses and assistance creating markers throughout the encampment so that emergency service providers could more easily navigate the area. 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. (Beth LaBerge/KQED) Among its recommendations, the audit found the city should ensure staff members are trained in crisis management and interacting with traumatized encampment residents. Sarah Ravani covers Oakland and the East Bay at The San Francisco Chronicle. Forcing Californians into mental health treatment would get easier with proposed legislation She said shed never seen such a big escalation, referring to the tasing. Sign up for our daily newsletter. 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 But Orrick told the agencies to work it out. He issued a temporary injunction on July 19, 2022. Oakland, together we can meet this crisis, expand our progress, and reduce homelessness in our community. Home used to be a tent at the 77th Street homeless encampment, where they had to fill two . Audit: Oaklands $12.6 million homelessness, 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, Audit: Oaklands $12.6 million homelessness response lacked strategy, direction, 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. Our Response Homelessness has doubled in the last 10 years. Heres where California reservoir levels stand after this weeks rains. 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. The only way to get through involves stepping over bulky items, bbq grills, bikes, tents, and garbage. On Monday morning, workers removed vehicles, furniture and other items from the encampment on Caltrans property underneath the MacArthur Maze. The order is the latest in a long-running dispute over a homeless camp, who expressed concern about the short notice and lack of shelter options, Activist Judy Heumann led a reimagining of what it means to be disabled, How this year's Selma Bridge Crossing could mark a community renaissance, Storms across the U.S. cause deaths and power outages, Russia's foreign minister gets laughed at over Ukraine remarks at a global conference. The man was bleeding and was very confused asking police what he had done wrong. Reporting an Issue If you or someone you know is hungry, homeless, or housing insecure - Call 2-1-1. 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. Workers have been clearing the sprawling camp in phases, a process that started in July. Settlement reached between . To report an issue related to an encampment, please email Homelessness@oaklandca.gov. To learn more about how we use your information, please read our privacy policy. Bay, Heres where California reservoir levels stand after recent rainfall, Your Privacy Choices (Opt Out of Sale/Targeted Ads). A show made by people behind bars in California prisons. The city of Oakland pursued closures of 98 encampments during the two years we examined. Several non-emergency systems including phone lines within the City of Oakland are currently impacted or offline. It ended badly, Hit bean company Rancho Gordo embroiled in discrimination lawsuit. Yes, that's a toucan flying around Walnut Creek. Caltrans has completed much smaller sweeps in the past. The city of Oakland agreed to assist residents on identifying their options. The City has implemented a number of interventions at every step in the cycle. That's higher than what a typical . The city needs to fund a formal encampment management program to implement the policy passed in October, and to address the findings of the audit, the auditors office wrote. 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.". Russell Wilson asked for Pete Carroll, Seahawks GM to be fired; QB denies report. She graduated from American University with a BA degree in literature with a minor in journalism. A number of residents relocated to a two-acre parcel at 1707 Wood St. owned by Oakland. 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. People living in vehicles represent 35% of Oakland's overall homeless population. 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.. Housing proposal for unhoused leaves Santa Clara residents sharply divided 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. Warriors treating Andrew Wiggins with understandable patience, but his Gov. Housing | A. Sep 2022 Q. Wood Street residents deserve to be treated with dignity and respect, Husbands-Hankin said. 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. You will be asked to sign off on an arrest warrant. The encampment is on property owned by the city, railroads and various government agencies, including Caltrans, which owns the property directly under the freeway. The city did not immediately return a request for comment. (Beth LaBerge/KQED) Caltrans can begin evicting the estimated 200 people who live under an 880 overpass in West Oakland after Labor Day, a federal district judge ruled Friday. 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 encampment is. 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. That case was assigned to Judge Orrick, who expressed concern about the short notice and lack of shelter options. Aric Crabb has been a staff photographer at the Bay Area News Group since 1998. Under these circumstances, the judge found that the standards for the TRO were no longer met. Gavin Newsoms administration awarded Oakland a $4.7. The plaintiffs and all living at the Wood Street encampment must make immediate plans to move.". Republication, rebroadcast or redistribution without the express written consent of Bay City News, Inc. is prohibited. 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 . The choice: Leave, or hunker down. The city estimates there are at least 140 encampments scattered throughout Oakland. Review and respond annually to the Citys 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. Stay in touch. Thank you for your patience while we work to restore services. The homelessness crisis also has taken a toll on Oakland's public parks, according to the audit. The Encampment Management Team tracks all known encampments and prioritizes interventions based on health, safety, and size issues. The audit also analyzed the citys ability to respond when its unhoused communities need help. City officials have been . What could reparations mean for Black residents of Alameda County? (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. (Aric Crabb/Bay Area News Group), OAKLAND, CA - SEPTEMBER 26: Community members watch as workers clear a section of the Wood Street homeless encampment near an area known as Cob on Wood on Monday, Sept. 26, 2022, in Oakland, Calif. Caltrans is overseeing the cleanup of its property along Wood Street. Call Taker: Is the homeless encampment within 500 feet of a waterway (creek, lake or bay)? But the time for finger-pointing and disclaimers of responsibility is over. street outreach, homeless shelters, Related Articles Thank you for your patience while we work to restore services. Oakland firefighters responded to 90% of the 988 encampment calls they received in less than eight minutes. LAPD union supports unarmed responders to certain 911 calls including homeless encampment clean-ups 0. 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. To reduce homelessness, we must slow its growth and keep more people in their homes. The homelessness crisis also has taken a toll on Oaklands public parks, according to the audit. 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 . Updated to include drought zones while tracking water shortage status of your area, plus reservoir levels and a list of restrictions for the Bay Areas largest water districts. 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. 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. 6 of 23 7 of 23. The majority of the $12.6 million spent over the past two years went to staff and equipment associated with closing and cleaning encampments, as well as providing garbage services, portable toilets and water at camps. California snowpack hits highest level this century for March, could I-80 closed across Donner Summit as snowstorm pummels Sierra, San Francisco citizens once traveled by gondola. Officials said they do not know when construction on a community cabin site would begin. Credit: Darwin BondGraham. Raised eyebrows. Staff Attorneys will primarily . Housing | (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. On Tuesday, homeless people in Echo Park were faced with a decision as an imminent city closure drew near. 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 5-days' notice to clear the site. Stuffed animals are seen on a couch at the Wood Street encampment on Friday, April 29, 2022 in Oakland, California. The encampment is now so huge that some residents drive buses and motorcycles to get from one end to the other. Oakland was overwhelmed by the crisis, leaving staff working to solve the problem without proper training or resources, according to the report. 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. 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. Hall of Justice. He says Caltrans has forced him to move several times. The Oakland Fire . 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. The Encampment Management Team (EMT) is an interdepartmental working group consisting of representatives from Oaklands Public Works Department (OPW), Human Services Department (HSD), Oakland Police Department (OPD), Oakland Fire Department (OFD), the City Administrators Office (CAO), and other consulted departments as necessary (e.g., the Mayors Office, the City Attorneys Office, Parks and Recreation). It is . Diesel is expensive. Additionally, the Commission shall be requested to publish reports regarding the following: Canceled - Commission on Homelessness Meeting, Commission on Homelessness - Bylaws and Rules of Procedure. Marisa Kendall is a housing reporter for the Bay Area News Group who covers homelessness for The Mercury News and East Bay Times. Their model is wrong, he said. Caltrans plans to clear 200 homeless people from the sprawling site by the first week of August, officials said. Thats on top of nearly 90 fires at the site for the 12 months through March. Forcing Californians into mental health treatment would get easier with proposed legislation Several non-emergency systems including phone lines within the City of Oakland are currently impacted or offline. After nearly two-month delay, judge allows Oakland to remove large homeless camp But Oakland only has 598-city-funded, year-round shelter beds and an estimated homeless population of 4,000 as of 2019 with nearly 80% of those unsheltered. Housing | Housing proposal for unhoused leaves Santa Clara residents sharply divided A burned-out van amid charred rubble of where Ramon Choyce once lived at a homeless encampment on Wood Street in Oakland. After Caltrans clears part of the encampment, residents move to another part sometimes city property. The city of Oakland agreed to assist residents on identifying their options. They alleged that there were then 42 residents living at the site and only 27 shelter beds in the entire city. A resident of the 1707 Wood site and a local advocate then brought suit against Oakland in federal court asking that the city be enjoined. To address the growing problem, the city in 2017 established its interdepartmental Encampment Management Team to respond to various issues at homeless camps. The city doesnt have the resources to close something as large as Wood Street, said LaTonda Simmons, the citys former interim homelessness administrator. Ramona Choyce recounts the moment when an April fire killed one person at a homeless encampment on Wood Street in Oakland. 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.. I used to frequently take my kids in the stroller on this walk but now in addition to being . 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 city did not say exactly when it planned to begin closing the encampment, but said it would make reasonable efforts to avoid displacing people during excessive rain or very cold weather. What Happens Next Officers from your local police precinct will respond within 4 hours. He concluded his decision with "I recognize that no party is happy with this order. Where can we fit that? Pushing people with no real and adequate shelter to accommodate them is inhumane and does not solve the larger problem.. (KRON4 News) OAKLAND ( KRON) - A two-alarm fire in an Oakland homeless . Walters: Is ending Californias homelessness just a matter of money? It is both a humanitarian duty and a civic expectation that our homeless become housed, and our City streets and parks are returned to their intended public uses.. Housing | 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. Contact information for four of the major Southern California sheriff's departments is: Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department. 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. 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.. 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. 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. . Grappling with homelessness, California weighs extending foster care for 5 years Caltrans has cleared the parts of the encampment on its property three times in the past year and says it will continue to do so if safety concerns, such as fires, continue. Previously, she covered breaking news and crime for The Chronicle. OAKLAND -- The biggest homeless encampment in Oakland will soon be shut down. Caltrans couldnt immediately be reached for further comment. Residents say the camp is a place where they can live how they want after losing stable homes because of evictions or job losses. Oakland has responded to the crisis level surge in homelessness with emergency measures like community cabins. The Oakland City Council voted Monday to open a co-governed homeless encampment to provide shelter for 40 people in West Oakland making it potentially the second site that residents and. Its uncertain if Caltrans has the authority to clear land it doesnt own. How long has the homeless encampment been there? We're not homeless. The result is a shuffling with no long-term strategy on how to get people into more permanent, supportive housing. Gavin Newsoms administration awarded Oakland a $4.7 million grant to fund a new community cabin site or tiny home village at Wood Street for about 50 people and to figure out how to help others at the site. 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Sarah Ravani (she/her) is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Neighbors tell Da Lin the looming closure is long overdue. (Aric Crabb/Bay Area News Group), OAKLAND, CA - SEPTEMBER 26: Workers remove a couch 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. July 11, 2022 / 6:27 PM / CBS San Francisco. Tucked away from the street, the encampment, commonly known as Wood Street, stretches along property owned by Caltrans, the city of Oakland, BNSF Railway and private owners. "I realize that there are alternatives that public policy could be generating that would work better for homelessness than what has happened in the past. 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. Forcing Californians into mental health treatment would get easier with proposed legislation 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. 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. Bay City News is a 24/7 news service covering the greater Bay Area. Now, they live on city property along Wood Streets right-of-way. 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. Oakland is experiencing a network outage that is affecting key services such as Oak311, permitting and business tax. There are about 4,000 homeless people many of them living in at least 140 . Without a "constitutional right to housing," Orrick said he had no authority to allow the encampment to remain on the property. A hand-painted sign can be seen at a homeless encampment on Wood Street in Oakland, Calif. on Monday, May 3, 2022. 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. February 22, 2023. 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. All Access Digital offer for just 99 cents! In July, a large fire damaged a portion of Interstate 880. 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. He issued a temporary injunction on July 19, 2022. City leaders have been struggling with how to deal with the massive encampment, which has exploded in size over the past seven years. (Aric Crabb/Bay Area News Group), OAKLAND, CA - SEPTEMBER 26: A member of the Oakland Police Department posts warning notices for illegally parked vehicles 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.

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