{"id":24791,"date":"2023-01-15T19:43:50","date_gmt":"2023-01-16T03:43:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/?p=24791"},"modified":"2023-01-15T19:49:16","modified_gmt":"2023-01-16T03:49:16","slug":"oakland-says-it-needs-to-clear-huge-wood-street-homeless-camp-or-lose-money-for-affordable-housing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/2023\/01\/15\/oakland-says-it-needs-to-clear-huge-wood-street-homeless-camp-or-lose-money-for-affordable-housing\/","title":{"rendered":"Oakland says it needs to clear huge Wood Street homeless camp \u2014 or lose money for affordable housing"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Sarah Ravani<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jan. 14, 2023 (SFChronicle.com)<\/a><\/a><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Comments<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Oakland
Oakland is rushing to clear the huge Wood Street homeless camp to avoid losing affordable housing funds.Gabrielle Lurie \/ The Chronicle<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Before Jared DeFigh moved to the sprawling Wood Street homeless encampment<\/a> under Interstate 880 in West Oakland he lived on the side of the freeway in Berkeley.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But Caltrans kicked him and other unhoused people out of the area in 2021, so DeFigh moved to Wood Street, where he said he found a community of people willing to take him in. He set up a tent in a place the residents refer to as the Wood Street Commons, which has a gathering space, community kitchen, bookstore and other amenities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now, DeFigh might have to move again. A judge granted the residents a temporary restraining order to prevent the city from clearing them out during the storms, but on Jan. 18, the judge could allow Oakland to sweep the entire site to make room for an affordable housing project slated to begin construction there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

City officials say Wood Street \u2014 once the largest homeless enclave in Northern California \u2014 needs to be cleared before the end of the month or the nonprofit developers behind the 170-unit affordable housing project could miss out on state funding. Oakland says it has sufficient shelter space to accommodate all of the residents of the encampment, but the people living there say the solutions being offered by the city are inadequate. They want the city to take their suggestions seriously to create a space with more wraparound services, support and freedom.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Oakland, like many Bay Area cities, is dealing with a spiraling homeless crisis, but it\u2019s unusual for a city that\u2019s trying to build affordable housing to have to displace homeless residents to do it. City and state officials have long wanted to clear the site, which has been the scene of rodent infestations, unsanitary conditions, more than 100 fires and other health and safety hazards. And the state has mostly cleared it, already removing 200 people. Before they did, a U.N. report from 2018<\/a> called the conditions there \u201ccruel\u201d and \u201cinhumane\u201d and compared Wood Street to the poorest places in the world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At one point, the camp spanned nearly 25 city blocks with almost 300 residents living on land owned by the city, state, railroad companies and other government agencies. After months of evictions by Caltrans,<\/a> the population has now shrunk to around 60.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The state awarded Oakland<\/a> nearly $8 million to house 100 people in \u201ccommunity cabins,\u201d or small temporary homes, on a site nearby. Oakland said it has offered the Wood Street residents available spots at the cabin site and at a safe RV parking location elsewhere in the city.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But homeless advocates and the unhoused say those options aren\u2019t good enough.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Residents came up with 12 pages of requirements for the community cabin site, including a recreation room, a community kitchen, a visitor policy, therapists, mental health services and job readiness programs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Talya Husbands-Hankin, a homeless advocate, said Wood Street has a community kitchen and a clothing and supply depot for residents, among other amenities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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