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. 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. A show made by people behind bars in California prisons. I stretched the point up until now in order to try to get to some sort of a place that recognizes the humanity of the people who've been talking to me.. 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. In the meantime, residents at Wood Street say few officials have come to consult with them on relocation plans. Caltrans announced it is closing the entire Wood Street . She joined The Chronicle in 2016 after graduating from Columbia University's Graduate School of Journalism. 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. Housing proposal for unhoused leaves Santa Clara residents sharply divided Thats on top of nearly 90 fires at the site for the 12 months through March. Lara Tannenbaum, the citys human services manager, who was at the meeting, told The Chronicle last month that officials will meet with residents and any intervention would be done in partnership with them. 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. they paid around $400 a month in public assistance and charged. people had to eat at charity style centers, and a sunday 'picnic in the park' feed. Related Articles (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. 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.. A. Sep 2022 Q. The report lays out 26 recommendations, all of which the city has committed to following, according to the auditors office. 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. Police said a person allegedly assaulted a public works employee and when officers tried to detain him, he refused and they used force. He allowed Caltrans to continue removing debris from the area, as long as it didnt involve residents belongings. After Caltrans clears part of the encampment, residents move to another part sometimes city property. The City Council has to approve the plans and construction is likely to take longer than other sites because a set of railroad tracks cuts through the property. In May, Gov. Oakland, together we can meet this crisis, expand our progress, and reduce homelessness in our community. When could it return? They alleged that there were then 42 residents living at the site and only 27 shelter beds in the entire city. Caltrans couldnt immediately be reached for further comment. Official Website for the City of Oakland | Mayor Sheng Thao. 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 did not immediately return a request for comment. Sign up for our daily newsletter. Hayward couple file lawsuit over harrowing honeymoon ocean ordeal in Hawaii. Bay Bridge light display will go dark after a decade Sunday. Members of the cleanup crew rolled tires and lifted couches overhead as larger equipment moved car after car, some just burned-out shells, off the state-owned lot. On Monday morning, workers removed vehicles, furniture and other items from the encampment on Caltrans property underneath the MacArthur Maze. 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 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. 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. Several non-emergency systems including phone lines within the City of Oakland are currently impacted or offline. (Aric Crabb/Bay Area News Group). Oakland which has more than 5,000 homeless people currently has 598 year-round, city-funded shelter beds, 313 community cabin and temporary structure shelter spaces, 147 RV safe parking. And Caltrans officials said the vehicles would be too difficult to move. 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. The choice: Leave, or hunker down. July 20, 2022 / 8:52 AM / CBS San Francisco OAKLAND -- A federal judge on Tuesday granted a temporary order blocking Caltrans from clearing a homeless encampment under the MacArthur Maze. Caltrans crews remove a vehicle from the Wood Street encampment in West Oakland on July 19, 2022. hese are vehicles of human beings," he said at the hearing, "and they are not to be lost. A United Nations report from 2018, for example, stated that a U.N. investigator witnessed officials "attempting to discourage residents from remaining in informal settlements or encampments by denying access to water, sanitation and health services and other basic necessities, [which] constitutes cruel and inhuman treatment and is a . 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. Get Morning Report and other email newsletters. And, he ordered the state transportation agency to work with staff from the city of Oakland and from Alameda County to come up with a plan to relocate residents. When you are dealing with homeless individuals or a homeless encampment, these types of crimes include: Trespassing Public intoxication Public urination You report that you've witnessed a crime to the police or sheriff. 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 . But that's only a fraction of the more than 5,000 encampments on . Aric Crabb has been a staff photographer at the Bay Area News Group since 1998. The city may now post notices of the closure and shall give individuals at the encampment at least seven days notice before the closure begins, Orrick wrote. Residents sued in July, saying it was more dangerous to force people to move on such short notice with no alternatives for shelter or housing. 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. To learn more about how we use your information, please read our privacy policy. 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. (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. kept in homes through Keep Oakland Housed in Fiscal Year 19-20, moved from homelessness to permanent housing in Fiscal Year 19-20, Oakland doubled transitional housing capacity from 2018-2020, City of Oakland Opens 100-bed Cabin Shelter Program at Wood Street, Estelle Clemons, Interim Director of Human Services and, Daniel Cooper, Homelessness Administrator, The Funding will enable the Kingdom Builders Transitional Housing project to make accessibility and other improvements to the building to address the needs of some of our most vulnerable neighbors, Learn About the City's Homelessness Strategy, Joint Statement regarding Homeless Services Performance Audit, City of Oakland Receives $5.6M Homekey Award for Transitional Housing Acquisition and Rehabilitation. 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. Photograph: Talia Herman/The Guardian ", previously halted Caltrans plans to clear the camp. The plaintiffs asked that the eviction be enjoined because of a lack of shelter beds, heavy winter rains, and the continued prevalence of Covid and other viruses. News Feb 07, 2023 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. Local News | OAKLAND -- About 80 unhoused residents and their property were being cleared from Caltrans property along Wood Street in Oakland on Thursday following a federal judge's ruling that the state. Since the policy has gone into effect, two Oakland nonprofits have burned as a result of fires started in areas where the city knew there to be encampments. City workers do a sweep at the homeless encampment under Interstate 580 in West Oakland as the city promise to deliver porter potties, fences, regular trash pickup, and counseling . Caltrans says it's closing Oakland's Wood Street homeless encampment because of safety concerns. And Orrick agreed. $400 rent for the low income housing they made. Caltrans reports it's on pace to close 1,200 encampments in this fiscal year up nearly 500% from the 269 cleared last year. Sarah Ravani covers Oakland and the East Bay at The San Francisco Chronicle. July 11, 2022 / 6:27 PM / CBS San Francisco. Several non-emergency systems including phone lines within the City of Oakland are currently impacted or offline. 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. As in the earlier case, the plaintiffs argued, among other things, that the eviction would amount to an unconstitutional state-created danger. But the time for finger-pointing and disclaimers of responsibility is over. City leaders have been struggling with how to deal with the massive encampment, which has exploded in size over the past seven years. He concluded his decision with "I recognize that no party is happy with this order. All Access Digital offer for just 99 cents! It ended badly, Hit bean company Rancho Gordo embroiled in discrimination lawsuit. (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. Oakland has responded to the crisis level surge in homelessness with emergency measures like community cabins. Many people at Wood Street live in RVs, cars and other vehicles. Housing | The city says it needs to clear the camp to make way for a 170-unit affordable housing project planned for the site. Fife said the site which could offer pallet shelters, a community kitchen, bathrooms and wraparound services could house many of Wood Streets residents. (Aric Crabb/Bay Area News Group), OAKLAND, CA - SEPTEMBER 26: Community members move a motorcycle to a trailer 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. Today at 621AM OFD responded to report of an RV fire at East 12th & 17th Ave. E4 arrived and found 2 RV's & 12 . Home used to be a tent at the 77th Street homeless encampment, where they had to fill two .