Successes of the Year Part 2 - Housing

Another aspect of our success this past year has been rooted in fundamentally engaging with constituents differently. A major part of this has required recognizing that those who are unhoused in our district are constituents as well. When unhoused residents are seen as constituents, we can evaluate ways in which the city can create systems, infrastructure and direct services that allow members of these communities to stabilize and begin new eras of their lives, and hold the city accountable for its obligation to all of its residents.

Before I was an elected official in the City of Oakland, I experienced homelessness. It is through that lived experience that I understand the necessity of first having a space to live and a door to lock in order to have the peace to grow. It was that stability, and ongoing work in, and support of, the community that made way for me to become a councilmember.

I believe that housing should be a human right accessible to all. This belief is why I focus on finding ways to provide housing and stable living conditions so unhoused residents can create a solid foundation to access other resources such as healthcare, education, rehabilitation and/or job training. 

Encampments: The Source

Encampments have become an increasingly common sight all across U.S. cities including Oakland. The nation’s homeless population grew last year for the fourth year in a row and last year was the first time the number of single adults sleeping outside surpassed those sleeping in a shelter (“HUD: Growth Of Homelessness During 2020 Was 'Devastating,' Even Before The Pandemic”).

Local governments have been the primary layer of governance implementing policies around encampments, however this year for the first time the federal government has gotten involved by commissioning a survey to review what policies are being implemented and their correlated effectiveness. The study was conducted by Abt Associates and found that clearing encampments is both ineffective and expensive (“The High Cost of Clearing Tent Cities”). 

In 2019, cities in the study paid between $1,672 and $6,208 per unsheltered person in order to clear camps, requiring coordination across multiple agencies, with little to show for their efforts. In Oakland, it’s been apparent that closures by Caltrans in more isolated areas have simply resulted in more encampments emerging within the city. In addition to this, there are costs that can’t be easily quantified, such as the trauma and losses endured by the unhoused when cities clear their communities. 

Approaches That Have Depth - Housing First

It is apparent that simply clearing encampments without providing alternatives is ineffective, expensive and will never resolve the issue of affordable housing that underpins the conditions through which encampments emerge. 

The federally commissioned study points to how the cheapest option for treating homelessness is housing. When housing is provided first, it creates the conditions of stability that allows other services to be utilized whether it be drug related rehabilitation or developing job skills. When housing is provided first it becomes an investment in homelessness prevention and is possible through mechanisms such as rental assistance and supportive housing.

A “Housing First” approach reduces the number of unhoused individuals living on the streets. When there is a lack of affordable housing options in a city, local governments need to minimize evicting people from encampments while developing policies that prioritize affordable housing.

A Relational Approach at D3

As a result, we have resolved to treat residents of encampments with dignity, humanizing, valuing and building trust with these communities. We aim to minimize closures as we work towards policies that focus on providing housing such as Project Homekey and co-governed sites such as Third and Peralta.

In our engagement with unhoused communities, we have been collecting data in order to quantify the scope of the issue so we can then quantify solutions and their potential outcome. This might look like knowing how many beds are lacking and needed, all the way to what kind of relational systems for a co-governed site can result in democratic and empowered life experiences.

Shifts at the Site of D3

What has this looked like in outcomes? Our office has worked hard to bring a number of goals into fruition, all informed by meeting with unhoused communities and learning about the infrastructural challenges they face in stabilizing themselves and providing for their basic needs. 

We have:

• Stopped Caltrans closure practices, recognizing their inefficiencies and relationship to the development of new encampments within the city.

• Motioned a resolution that will convert an empty Caltrans site on Third and Peralta into a co-governed community that can hold elections, create community roles and manage infrastructure.    

• Held weekly meetings with Wood Street leaders and discussed how the D3 office could support co-governed encampments. We learned that there was a significant need for waste management and our office pushed for and won services such as individual trash bins and a large-sized dumpster to the Wood Street encampment.       

• Renamed and supported the development of the Lake Merritt Lodge, a site for emergency COVID-19 response housing for unhoused community members. This project has had full occupancy of all 92 units and is now requiring an advocate for permanent purchase.

• Pushed city council to stand up during an intervention at Third and Peralta and have negotiated a move of that community to the Northgate Parcel

• Advocated for the use of 20+ acres at the Oakland Army Base for an eco-concious tiny house village for D3's unsheltered population.