"With gentrification taking over, the San Francisco Bay Area is in need of more affordable housing and attention on the people being displaced from their own homes." - Leila Mottley
In an underpass on West Grand and Northridge in downtown Oakland, a large tent encampment covers the sidewalk. There are people walking, setting up blankets over tents, taking out the trash to the rapidly rising pile of waste beside the community. In the center of it all is a small wooden table, where some evenings you will catch a glimpse of a few of the occupants sitting, laughing, eating, living in as close to a home as they can get.
Almost every underpass in the East Bay is populated by bodies. The homeless population has skyrocketed in these cities, going up by 39 percent in Oakland over the past two years. With gentrification taking over, the San Francisco Bay Area is in need of more affordable housing and attention on the people being displaced from their own homes.
EveryOne Home, a nonprofit working with homelessness in the Bay Area, conducted a study recently finding that “the cost of housing was listed as the reason [why] 57 percent [of the homeless population in the Bay Area] became homeless.” With this clear need for affordable housing, citizens in the Bay Area have to wonder, what are local governments doing?
Caitlin Enwright, a homeless/housing rights advocate and a diligent activist in Bay Area communities, says “the city administration has admitted they cannot battle the homeless crisis alone.” However, they still do have a huge responsibility in combating this crisis. According to City of Oakland website , the city is currently attempting to minimize displacement including attempts to increase the “enforcement of renter protection laws.” However, the city seems to lack visible implementation beyond these statements. Furthermore, there are various loopholes that can get around many of these renter protection laws. For instance, the “landlord move-in” law allows landlords to evict tenants on the basis of them moving into a house or apartment, which they then turn around and rent out at a higher price.
In June of 2017, Oakland city leaders voted on whether or not to spend $14 million (a relatively small amount compared to the $274 million dollar police budget for 2017) on buying hotel buildings to use as interim housing for the city’s homeless population. Many think this is a wonderful idea and continue to wait for it to actually be put in action. Some, though, such as John Hanahoe, a man who lives in his car, are skeptical.
“Fourteen million is a good start I guess,” Hanahoe says, “but it’s just a band aid on a compound fracture.” With approximately 35,000 people in the Bay Area without homes, there is more to be done.
The City of Oakland is attempting to make progress in the housing crisis, but have harmed the lives of a fair number of people in poverty along the way. In late August of 2017, the East Bay Times reported that city crews forced people to clear two entire encampments, leaving them to wander the streets. Why? The claim is that others in the neighborhood were disturbed by the camps and it made them “uncomfortable.”
When asked what needs to be done, Jackie Juarez, a person currently living in a tent in the Bay Area, responded, “when [the police] come out and try to get [us] to move, have a solution, a place for [us] to go.” Enwright elaborates, speaking about how homeless people and tent encampments face constant threats, such as “continual evictions from the city, getting moved from one spot to another, having their personal belongings taken and thrown away, and being harassed by police despite the OPD being told they cannot harass them.”
In the West Grand tent encampment, people have built a full-fledged community. They recently even created what appears to be a small bike repair business, where people pay to have their bikes fixed. They have made a home on a littered city street.
While it may seem unkempt and recklessly filthy to outsiders, this street is home. Each tent is shaded with blankets, and sprinkled around the armchairs and tables are personal trinkets. One man has action figures lined up outside of his tent. Another has a large white chair where he sits on a Sunday afternoon, seemingly at peace.
With such a large population of people without houses, it is rare to find a bed in a shelter or transitional house. There are scarcely spaces and, even if there are some, they do not always fit what is needed. Some people need to be close to transportation, others need specific mental health services, others need access to free or inexpensive childcare. Most shelters have restrictions that many do not want to adhere to. These restrictions often include curfews, bathroom restrictions, and a policy that keeps shelters closed during the day.
With few places to go and, often, not enough access to other solutions or opportunities, tent encampments seem to be classified as one of the better options. “I don't think anyone should have to live in a tent on the sidewalk, or under the freeway,” Enwright says, “But until the city puts resources into homeless services and shelters, permanent housing programs, building low income, truly affordable housing, preventing eviction, and enforcing rent control, than there is really no other option that people have.”
In Oakland and other Bay Area cities, most of the people who live on streets and in cars are brown. It’s not surprising given the history of brown people’s pre-ordained role in life as the less privileged, the workers, the poor. However, in a city that claims its diversity with such pride, it is essential to look at where and how brown citizens are living.
In a 2017 survey conducted by Alameda County, it was found that 70 percent of Oakland’s homeless population is black, though (from data conducted in 2010) only 28 percent of the city’s population is black. These numbers are drastically disproportionate and identify an issue that must be addressed.
“Gentrification has escalated homelessness, as we've seen an enormous influx of homeless people that are homeless for the first time in their lives (and are predominantly black people losing homes in historically black neighborhoods and communities),” says Enwright, describing gentrification’s impact on the housing crisis. The two coincide and leave Bay Area cities without so many of the people that make them home.
In the same survey, 48 percent of people stated that rent assistance quite possibly could have prevented their homelessness and 36 percent said the same about job assistance. If homelessness can be prevented by the government providing more support in paying rent and obtaining employment, it’s important to ask, why hasn’t this been more prioritized? And, if a large portion of the problem is paying rent, then how detrimental are the current rent increases going to be? Are thousands of people about to end up on the streets, answering these same survey questions with little outcome?
Currently, local Alameda County governments aren’t providing easy access to information on how they’re planning to combat the housing crisis. But, with a little research, one can find a few new steps of action attempting to reduce homelessness in the Bay Area.
San Franciscans can expect more Navigation Centers—individualized sites that provide service and shelter to long-term homeless people—and implementation of a new program called Moving On which helps formerly homeless individuals gain access to information on housing, employment, and other resources.
EveryOne Home, a nonprofit working with homelessness in the Bay Area, conducted a study recently finding that “the cost of housing was listed as the reason [why] 57 percent [of the homeless population in the Bay Area] became homeless.” With this clear need for affordable housing, citizens in the Bay Area have to wonder, what are local governments doing?
Caitlin Enwright, a homeless/housing rights advocate and a diligent activist in Bay Area communities, says “the city administration has admitted they cannot battle the homeless crisis alone.” However, they still do have a huge responsibility in combating this crisis. According to City of Oakland website , the city is currently attempting to minimize displacement including attempts to increase the “enforcement of renter protection laws.” However, the city seems to lack visible implementation beyond these statements. Furthermore, there are various loopholes that can get around many of these renter protection laws. For instance, the “landlord move-in” law allows landlords to evict tenants on the basis of them moving into a house or apartment, which they then turn around and rent out at a higher price.
In June of 2017, Oakland city leaders voted on whether or not to spend $14 million (a relatively small amount compared to the $274 million dollar police budget for 2017) on buying hotel buildings to use as interim housing for the city’s homeless population. Many think this is a wonderful idea and continue to wait for it to actually be put in action. Some, though, such as John Hanahoe, a man who lives in his car, are skeptical.
“Fourteen million is a good start I guess,” Hanahoe says, “but it’s just a band aid on a compound fracture.” With approximately 35,000 people in the Bay Area without homes, there is more to be done.
The City of Oakland is attempting to make progress in the housing crisis, but have harmed the lives of a fair number of people in poverty along the way. In late August of 2017, the East Bay Times reported that city crews forced people to clear two entire encampments, leaving them to wander the streets. Why? The claim is that others in the neighborhood were disturbed by the camps and it made them “uncomfortable.”
When asked what needs to be done, Jackie Juarez, a person currently living in a tent in the Bay Area, responded, “when [the police] come out and try to get [us] to move, have a solution, a place for [us] to go.” Enwright elaborates, speaking about how homeless people and tent encampments face constant threats, such as “continual evictions from the city, getting moved from one spot to another, having their personal belongings taken and thrown away, and being harassed by police despite the OPD being told they cannot harass them.”
In the West Grand tent encampment, people have built a full-fledged community. They recently even created what appears to be a small bike repair business, where people pay to have their bikes fixed. They have made a home on a littered city street.
While it may seem unkempt and recklessly filthy to outsiders, this street is home. Each tent is shaded with blankets, and sprinkled around the armchairs and tables are personal trinkets. One man has action figures lined up outside of his tent. Another has a large white chair where he sits on a Sunday afternoon, seemingly at peace.
With such a large population of people without houses, it is rare to find a bed in a shelter or transitional house. There are scarcely spaces and, even if there are some, they do not always fit what is needed. Some people need to be close to transportation, others need specific mental health services, others need access to free or inexpensive childcare. Most shelters have restrictions that many do not want to adhere to. These restrictions often include curfews, bathroom restrictions, and a policy that keeps shelters closed during the day.
With few places to go and, often, not enough access to other solutions or opportunities, tent encampments seem to be classified as one of the better options. “I don't think anyone should have to live in a tent on the sidewalk, or under the freeway,” Enwright says, “But until the city puts resources into homeless services and shelters, permanent housing programs, building low income, truly affordable housing, preventing eviction, and enforcing rent control, than there is really no other option that people have.”
In Oakland and other Bay Area cities, most of the people who live on streets and in cars are brown. It’s not surprising given the history of brown people’s pre-ordained role in life as the less privileged, the workers, the poor. However, in a city that claims its diversity with such pride, it is essential to look at where and how brown citizens are living.
In a 2017 survey conducted by Alameda County, it was found that 70 percent of Oakland’s homeless population is black, though (from data conducted in 2010) only 28 percent of the city’s population is black. These numbers are drastically disproportionate and identify an issue that must be addressed.
“Gentrification has escalated homelessness, as we've seen an enormous influx of homeless people that are homeless for the first time in their lives (and are predominantly black people losing homes in historically black neighborhoods and communities),” says Enwright, describing gentrification’s impact on the housing crisis. The two coincide and leave Bay Area cities without so many of the people that make them home.
In the same survey, 48 percent of people stated that rent assistance quite possibly could have prevented their homelessness and 36 percent said the same about job assistance. If homelessness can be prevented by the government providing more support in paying rent and obtaining employment, it’s important to ask, why hasn’t this been more prioritized? And, if a large portion of the problem is paying rent, then how detrimental are the current rent increases going to be? Are thousands of people about to end up on the streets, answering these same survey questions with little outcome?
Currently, local Alameda County governments aren’t providing easy access to information on how they’re planning to combat the housing crisis. But, with a little research, one can find a few new steps of action attempting to reduce homelessness in the Bay Area.
San Franciscans can expect more Navigation Centers—individualized sites that provide service and shelter to long-term homeless people—and implementation of a new program called Moving On which helps formerly homeless individuals gain access to information on housing, employment, and other resources.
Jeff Kositsky, SF director of the Department of Homeless and Supportive Housing, says that “like cities around the country, we’re dealing with an 80 percent reduction in federal spending on housing [for] low-income people since 1978.” So, while the efforts being made are a big step, the severity of the issue requires there to be a larger push for affordable housing in the government and communities.
Bay Area governments do not have the capacity to completely reverse the systemic issues of capitalism, gentrification, and racism that have resulted in the housing epidemic. As citizens of these cities, individuals also have a role in combating homelessness. Enwright urges people to take a stronger stance in local government, participating in city hall meetings and volunteering for organizations such as The Village, a Bay Area organization that works to create more housing options.
“The only way to eradicate homelessness is if residents hold our local government accountable,” she says,“and urge our local government to designate resources to homeless communities and social services as opposed to pouring money into the OPD, for example.”
East Bay cities are combatting an unprecedented homeless population and, while it is crucial to keep in mind the complexities of solving this crisis, it is also important to hold local governments accountable for the things they do and do not prioritize. Enwright describes Oakland as “selfish with their resources,” and “inefficient.” She says that “while [the government] may end up helping a couple dozen, they will ultimately be ignoring thousands. Until the city begins to cooperate with citizens and volunteers, as opposed to dominating land and resources, then the crisis will continue.”
Bay Area governments do not have the capacity to completely reverse the systemic issues of capitalism, gentrification, and racism that have resulted in the housing epidemic. As citizens of these cities, individuals also have a role in combating homelessness. Enwright urges people to take a stronger stance in local government, participating in city hall meetings and volunteering for organizations such as The Village, a Bay Area organization that works to create more housing options.
“The only way to eradicate homelessness is if residents hold our local government accountable,” she says,“and urge our local government to designate resources to homeless communities and social services as opposed to pouring money into the OPD, for example.”
East Bay cities are combatting an unprecedented homeless population and, while it is crucial to keep in mind the complexities of solving this crisis, it is also important to hold local governments accountable for the things they do and do not prioritize. Enwright describes Oakland as “selfish with their resources,” and “inefficient.” She says that “while [the government] may end up helping a couple dozen, they will ultimately be ignoring thousands. Until the city begins to cooperate with citizens and volunteers, as opposed to dominating land and resources, then the crisis will continue.”
