Credit: Darwin BondGraham. 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. The Wood Street homeless encampment once housed 200 people and covered 40 acres. He and the others had lived in four old buses one of which was destroyed during the move and a van. Official Website for the City of Oakland | Mayor Sheng Thao. Official Website for the City of Oakland | Mayor Sheng Thao. City of Oakland Opens 100-bed Cabin Shelter Program at Wood Street, Estelle Clemons, Interim Director of Human Services and, Daniel Cooper, Homelessness Administrator, Court order would allow phased clean-up and closure operation to resume to abate potentially hazardous conditions that threaten public health and safety, Completed Encampment Management Operations, FACT SHEET: Wood Street Update - October 2022, FACT SHEET: Wood Street Encampment - July 2022, HOJA INFORMATIVA: Intervenciones para la gestin del campamento de Wood Street, FACT SHEET: East 12th Street Median Encampment - October 2022, Completed Encampment Management Team Operations Since 2021, Joint Statement regarding Homeless Services Performance Audit, Federal Judge Indicates Approval of City of Oaklands Thoughtful Outreach and Services Plan in Support of Caltrans Encampment Closure Operation on Wood Street. 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. Report the issue to our encampment management team at homelessness@oaklandca.gov. We appreciate your patience; the homelessness@oaklandca.gov service has been restored. Walters: Is ending Californias homelessness just a matter of money? He issued a temporary injunction on July 19, 2022. In May, city officials put the total number of residents in the encampment at 300 people. 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. Caltrans says it's closing Oakland's Wood Street homeless encampment because of safety concerns. 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. Grappling with homelessness, California weighs extending foster care for 5 years By City News Service on . The EMT is facilitated by the City Administrator's Office via the Homelessness Administrator and receives input and advice from the Commission on Homelessness. The controversial policy was approved by the City Council last year, but it's largely gone unenforced. The encampment is on property owned by the city, railroads and various government agencies, including Caltrans, which owns the property directly under the freeway. According to a report by the city administrative officer, the new East Hollywood campground costs approximately $2,663 per participant per month. The judge quickly sided with the homeless residents, and issued a temporary order barring the city from clearing the camp at least until the city could prove it had enough shelter beds for everyone displaced. Mayor Libby Schaaf, city administrator Ed Reiskin, police Chief LeRonne Armstrong and Daniel Cooper, the citys newly appointed homelessness administrator, were at Wood Street on Wednesday. Oakland police towed several vehicles parked by a homeless camp near the Fruitvale Home Depot on Thursday, as part of a cleanup and closure operation. OAKLAND -- The biggest homeless encampment in Oakland will soon be shut down. Recommendations from the Commission on how to prioritize the allocation of funds in accordance with the requirements of this Chapter, including for: services and programs for homeless people, reduction of homelessness, and supporting the provision of affordable housing to households qualifying as at least low-income households (those at 55% AMI or below). The city's lawyers had no comment on the ruling. Walters: Is ending Californias homelessness just a matter of money? We do need permanent supportive housing and where is it? The Oakland Fire . Previously, she covered breaking news and crime for The Chronicle. She graduated from American University with a BA degree in literature with a minor in journalism. 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. 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. 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. We appreciate your patience; the homelessness@oaklandca.gov service has been restored. 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. NO Share; Oakland firefighters responded to 90% of the 988 encampment calls they received in less than eight minutes. Oakland mayor appoints former Compton city manager as Interim City Administrator . We cant just let people to continue to die on the sidewalks while we try to figure out what permanent solutions can be, Fife said. ", previously halted Caltrans plans to clear the camp. 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. The conditions at the encampment which has mountains of trash and burned-out vehicles were called cruel and inhumane in a U.N. report from 2018. The department is taking this action to address the increasingly serious safety risks to life, property and infrastructure at the encampment, including from the fire this week that prompted the closure of the MacArthur Maze, Caltrans said in a statement. It is . After Caltrans clears part of the encampment, residents move to another part sometimes city property. The Encampment Management Team is responsible for implementing the Encampment Management Policy and directing coordination across city departments. Officials said they do not know when construction on a community cabin site would begin. Multiple fires have erupted at the citys largest homeless encampment, which extends for several city blocks and has been home to hundreds of people. Newsom paid a surprise visit to the encampment in April to show the inhumane living conditions too many Californians face.. Raised eyebrows. Cold Bay Area rains fail to shut down vibrant Holi celebration in Fremont. (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. Caltrans crews wait to clear the Wood Street encampment in Oakland on Sept. 8, 2022, while residents and advocates block the road. Housing | Marisa Kendall is a housing reporter for the Bay Area News Group who covers homelessness for The Mercury News and East Bay Times. She and her husband, Lenton, live in a 20-foot trailer at the Coliseum Stadium parking lot in Oakland. Theyre too densely packed together.. (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. After nearly two-month delay, judge allows Oakland to remove large homeless camp (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. The man was bleeding and was very confused asking police what he had done wrong. The City has implemented a number of interventions at every step in the cycle. But those plans were slow in coming. Orange County Sheriff's Department. Caltrans announced it is closing the entire Wood Street . Police said a person allegedly assaulted a public works employee and when officers tried to detain him, he refused and they used force. The Oakland police department, the Oakland city councilmember responsible for the area, and the mayor's office official running specific policy towards homeless encampments did not respond to a . All Access Digital offer for just 99 cents! July 11, 2022 Updated 3:24 PM PT. On Monday morning, workers removed vehicles, furniture and other items from the encampment on Caltrans property underneath the MacArthur Maze. Settlement reached between . She started her journalism career reporting on crime and breaking news for The News-Press in Southwest Florida. And where do we go? They did not respond to questions as to what the object was. The number of people sleeping on Oaklands streets jumped from 1,902 in 2017 to 3,210 in 2019, according to the most recent point-in-time counts. Thats on top of nearly 90 fires at the site for the 12 months through March. A lawsuit alleges that Stanford-trained chemists Alexander Burckle and Elizabeth Webster nearly drowned after a dive boat left them behind in choppy water near Maui. Specifically, the audit found the City lacked an effective strategy for dealing with the growth in encampments and did not provide sufficient policy direction or adequate funding at the onset of this crisis, the letter continued. 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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. Resident Ron McGowan, who lives at the site in question, said there are about 80 people there. Lydia Blumberg, whos lived at Wood Street for at least five years, called the decision beyond disappointing., Everyone wants to wash their hands of us, she said after the hearing. Fife said the site which could offer pallet shelters, a community kitchen, bathrooms and wraparound services could house many of Wood Streets residents. That's higher than what a typical . Its absurd to think that we've gotten this far through this process and we have not had anybody take a survey of who is actually affected by this, McGowan said at the hearing. Santa Ana, California 92703. OAKLAND, Calif. ( KRON) Caltrans announced in a press release Friday that it will shut down the homeless encampment on Wood Street. Tuesday at 3:07 PM. Bay, Heres where California reservoir levels stand after recent rainfall, Your Privacy Choices (Opt Out of Sale/Targeted Ads). March 23, 2021 6:54 PM PT. Earlier this week, a coalition of residents wrote a public letter to state, city and county officials urging them to work with them. 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. Oakland is experiencing a network outage that is affecting key services such as Oak311, permitting and business tax. Dozens of Caltrans workers and California Highway . Oakland is experiencing a network outage that is affecting key services such as Oak311, permitting and business tax. She started her journalism career reporting on crime and breaking news for The News-Press in Southwest Florida. Driven by a housing crisis and continuing economic inequality that hits Oaklands most vulnerable. Email: sravani@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @SarRavani. Driven by a housing crisis and continuing economic inequality that hits Oakland's most vulnerable. 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.