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Reporting on the state of the city in the midst of Oakland’s unprecedented homelessness crisis, Mayor Libby Schaaf on Friday said the city helped move 880 homeless residents into housing last year — and she pledged to double that number in 2020.
Speaking at the Oakland Museum of California, Schaaf used the annual speech to highlight the strides her administration has taken to address the city’s number-one problem: its surging population of unhoused residents. She ticked off the city’s addition of extra shelter beds, an uptick in the construction of affordable housing, hundreds of people housed, and thousands more kept off the streets altogether.
“The state of our city is one of intense change and possibility,” Schaaf said. “Now, our vision remains a vibrant and equitable city where everyone thrives, and where everyone feels a deep sense of belonging in Oakland, to Oakland, and to one another.”
As she spoke, a handful of protesters unimpressed with her response to the crisis gathered outside the museum, chanting “housing is a human right” and holding a banner that read, “Mayor, why? Take our RVs. Why? Take our hope.”
Schaaf on Friday announced that Oakland’s various programs, including its innovative “cabin communities” model, have helped 880 homeless residents move from the streets into permanent housing.
“Our number-one goal for next year is to double that number,” she said, to applause from the audience.
Oakland also doubled its shelter capacity to more than 1,700 beds over the past 28 months, she said. And Schaaf’s Keep Oakland Housed initiative, which offers financial assistance and legal aid to renters at risk of losing their homes, kept 2,100 households off the streets in its first year and a half.
One of Keep Oakland Housed’s success stories was there Friday: Debra Ross, who decorates and sells hats adorned with feathers, rhinestones and other ornaments. Ross, who fell behind on her rent in 2018, was able to keep her East Oakland apartment thanks to an $800 grant from the program.
“I’m so thankful for Keep Oakland Housed,” Ross said from behind the table where she was selling hats to state of the city attendees.
Schaaf also reported progress on her 2016 promise to get 17,000 new housing units built by 2024. The city already has exceeded that goal, she said, permitting 22,000 units in four years. That includes nearly 2,000 new affordable units — placing Oakland back on track to reach its goal of 4,760 units by 2024. That’s an improvement from the city’s last update. In March, city officials reported permitting just 751 affordable units since 2016. Of those, 638 were under construction at the time.
Furthermore, Schaaf said, evictions in Oakland are down by 36% over the past five years, and rent prices are stabilizing.
“This production is absolutely helping,” she said.
But not everyone was convinced by the rosy picture Schaaf painted.
“I think the state of the city is horrendous,” said 29-year-old Cole McLean of the United Front Against Displacement, an activist group that has been advocating for the rights of homeless residents camping along Wood Street in West Oakland.
The solutions that the city has offered — including converting sheds into “cabin communities” to be used as temporary housing, and erecting safe parking sites for RVs — are subpar, said McLean, who showed up at the museum to protest Schaaf. Those programs don’t have enough space for everyone in need, he said, and don’t treat the residents they do serve with dignity.
Dale Smith agreed, calling Oakland’s efforts to tackle the homelessness crisis “a complete and utter failure.”
“At the end of the day, people aren’t getting housed,” Smith said.
As of the city’s last point-in-time count, conducted in January 2019, 4,071 Oaklanders were sleeping on the street, in vehicles, in shelters, or in other make-shift dwellings — up 47% from 2,761 people in 2017. Despite Schaaf’s creative attempts to house people, tent encampments continue to sprawl over city sidewalks and vacant lots, and RVs line the streets.
But 66-year-old Nino Parker, a homeless Oakland resident and activist, left the speech feeling hopeful.
“It sounds to me like they’re trying to look at some of the poor people, trying to keep them housed, and keep them in Oakland,” he said.
While that sounds good, he said, residents will have to wait and see how Schaaf implements her promises.
“I say, give it a chance,” Parker said.
