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Oakland Frontline Healers Request Mayor Release Impact Funds for Emergency Housing During COVID Pandemic

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Prior to COVID 19,  Oakland had experienced a housing crisis for years, a crisis that has taken new proportions as the general public is expected to shelter in place to beat back the virus.

Whereas concerns of displacement and the loss of culture drove conversations in the past, those without housing now face an existential threat made all the more dangerous by five decades of inadequate medical access, poor socioeconomic outcomes, and environmental hazards.  Shelter in Place is a privilege that the most vulnerable in our Black community cannot afford and immediate action must be taken to rectify this issue before we experience a further loss of life.

Oakland Frontline Healers live in and work with the most disadvantaged population in Oakland neighborhoods in Deep East, East, West and North Oakland, and have been doing so long before the advent of the COVID-19 pandemic.  This coalition of Healers has been responding to the growing, tremendous needs of our communities for the past three weeks. In the process, we are building the required infrastructure and collaborative agreements which, according to Donald Frazer of BOSS, “are aligned with our traditions, culture, capability, and capacity of our neighborhoods to respond to the needs of our people. During and after the pandemic.”

In that spirit, the Oakland Frontline Healers member Building and Organizing Self Sufficiency (BOSS) has identified and entered into letters of intent to master lease, with an option to purchase, several properties in the City of Oakland with the goal of providing emergency housing to Oakland’s unhoused neighbors and Oakland residents recently released from jail or prison. One particular site has the potential to provide 120 beds and 10 medical respite beds complete with necessary amenities to provide wraparound services such as medical exams, resource navigation, and case management. In partnership with other service providers and medical practitioners in the Healers network, this space has the potential to be the kind of one-stop-shop needed to provide rapid support during this crisis.

“It is imperative that housing, homeless and reentry groups work together. Now more than ever, in light of COVID-19,  we must integrate all policies, programs and existing funding sources,” says John Jones III of Just Cities, a Frontline Healer Member that recently cleared the path for the recently incarcerated to have fair access to housing in Berkeley and Oakland through their “Fair Chance” Housing campaign.

But as in all things in American Society, additional funding is needed to bring this project to fruition. During a time when the City faces dire financial straits to its General Purpose Fund, it’s incumbent on the City to release money it has already collected in its Impact Fee Fund to support such necessary shelter and housing projects. To date, not one affordable unit has been built with the money collected even though the program was implemented in 2016.

“The City can continue to beat the drum by stating the county and state must provide housing, but the reality is that the City must exhaust all of its existing sources which certainly include impact fees,” said  John Jones III. “ This must include sharing the true dollar amount of impact fees and moving forward to release these funds in a transparent manner that allows for creatively housing people during the COVID-19 Crisis.

Oakland Frontline Healers is formally requesting this week that Mayor Schaaf support this project with either the immediate release of impact fees charged to developers for affordable housing or via other means available.

But whichever method is taken, this much is clear: The City must act now to release whatever funds can be released to the community and work with those closest to the problem, like the Frontline Healers,  to ensure our most vulnerable are safe.

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Activism

Oakland Post: Week of April 24 – 30, 2024

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of April 24 – 30, 2024

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Alameda County

DA Pamela Price Stands by Mom Who Lost Son to Gun Violence in Oakland

Last week, The Post published a photo showing Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price with Carol Jones, whose son, Patrick DeMarco Scott, was gunned down by an unknown assailant in 2018.

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District Attorney Pamela Price with Carol Jones
District Attorney Pamela Price with Carol Jones

Publisher’s note: Last week, The Post published a photo showing Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price with Carol Jones, whose son, Patrick DeMarco Scott, was gunned down by an unknown assailant in 2018. The photo was too small for readers to see where the women were and what they were doing.  Here we show Price and Jones as they complete a walk in memory of Scott. For more information and to contribute, please contact Carol Jones at 510-978-5517 at morefoundation.help@gmail.com. Courtesy photo.

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Bay Area

State Controller Malia Cohen Keynote Speaker at S.F. Wealth Conference

California State Controller Malia Cohen delivered the keynote speech to over 50 business women at the Black Wealth Brunch held on March 28 at the War Memorial and Performing Arts Center at 301 Van Ness Ave. in San Francisco. The Enterprising Women Networking SF Chapter of the American Business Women’s Association (ABWA) hosted the Green Room event to launch its platform designed to close the racial wealth gap in Black and Brown communities.

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American Business Women’s Association Vice President Velma Landers, left, with California State Controller Malia Cohen (center), and ABWA President LaRonda Smith at the Enterprising Women Networking SF Chapter of the ABWA at the Black Wealth Brunch.
American Business Women’s Association Vice President Velma Landers, left, with California State Controller Malia Cohen (center), and ABWA President LaRonda Smith at the Enterprising Women Networking SF Chapter of the ABWA at the Black Wealth Brunch.

By Carla Thomas

California State Controller Malia Cohen delivered the keynote speech to over 50 business women at the Black Wealth Brunch held on March 28 at the War Memorial and Performing Arts Center at 301 Van Ness Ave. in San Francisco.

The Enterprising Women Networking SF Chapter of the American Business Women’s Association (ABWA) hosted the Green Room event to launch its platform designed to close the racial wealth gap in Black and Brown communities.

“Our goal is to educate Black and Brown families in the masses about financial wellness, wealth building, and how to protect and preserve wealth,” said ABWA San Francisco Chapter President LaRonda Smith.

ABWA’s mission is to bring together businesswomen of diverse occupations and provide opportunities for them to help themselves and others grow personally and professionally through leadership, education, networking support, and national recognition.

“This day is about recognizing influential women, hearing from an accomplished woman as our keynote speaker and allowing women to come together as powerful people,” said ABWA SF Chapter Vice President Velma Landers.

More than 60 attendees dined on the culinary delights of Chef Sharon Lee of The Spot catering, which included a full soul food brunch of skewered shrimp, chicken, blackened salmon, and mac and cheese.

Cohen discussed the many economic disparities women and people of color face. From pay equity to financial literacy, Cohen shared not only statistics, but was excited about a new solution in motion which entailed partnering with Californians for Financial Education.

“I want everyone to reach their full potential,” she said. “Just a few weeks ago in Sacramento, I partnered with an organization, Californians for Financial Education.

“We gathered 990 signatures and submitted it to the [California] Secretary of State to get an initiative on the ballot that guarantees personal finance courses for every public school kid in the state of California.

“Every California student deserves an equal opportunity to learn about filing taxes, interest rates, budgets, and understanding the impact of credit scores. The way we begin to do that is to teach it,” Cohen said.

By equipping students with information, Cohen hopes to close the financial wealth gap, and give everyone an opportunity to reach their full financial potential. “They have to first be equipped with the information and education is the key. Then all we need are opportunities to step into spaces and places of power.”

Cohen went on to share that in her own upbringing, she was not guided on financial principles that could jump start her finances. “Communities of color don’t have the same information and I don’t know about you, but I did not grow up listening to my parents discussing their assets, their investments, and diversifying their portfolio. This is the kind of nomenclature and language we are trying to introduce to our future generations so we can pivot from a life of poverty so we can pivot away and never return to poverty.”

Cohen urged audience members to pass the initiative on the November 2024 ballot.

“When we come together as women, uplift women, and support women, we all win. By networking and learning together, we can continue to build generational wealth,” said Landers. “Passing a powerful initiative will ensure the next generation of California students will be empowered to make more informed financial decisions, decisions that will last them a lifetime.”

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