Community

Homeless ‘Streets Team’ Starts Trash Clean-up in North Richmond

Published

6 years ago

June 25, 2020

On Tuesday, June 16, the Shields Reid Neighborhood Council, Davis Chapel CME Church and Robert Rogers of Supervisor John Gioia’s office invited a homeless “Streets Team” to begin trash cleanup and organizing of the homeless encampment in North Richmond.

Facilitated by Safe Organized Spaces (SOS!) in Richmond, the SOS! Streets Team employs unsheltered individuals to respond to homelessness at parks, freeways, train tracks, creeks and neighborhood streets impacted by dumping and encampments throughout West Contra Costa County.

The team conducts neighborhood outreach with debris removal, sanitation and hygiene interventions, and community-building processes that lead to improved encampment conditions where unsheltered individuals reside and are supported to shelter-in-place.

The effort started in Central Richmond and now expands across West County.

Each worker is paid a decent wage of $15 per hour for 12 hours or more per week. As the Streets Team builds its personnel – now eight unsheltered individuals – they rely on the support of community members to help meet the challenge of reaching all key encampments where people struggle to shelter themselves and find basic amenities.

While neighborhood beautification is an immediate benefit, the goals of the team’s work are to improve relationships between housed and unsheltered neighbors and to help everyone to recognize how solutions are possible to improve the problems associated with homelessness in our neighborhoods.

The Streets Team is facilitated by SOS!, a community-driven network. The projects of SOS! are fiscally sponsored by TentMakers and Richmond Friends of Recreation. Concerned Richmond community members and agencies continue to join the SOS! network so that housed and unsheltered neighbors may come together and bring about personal, neighborhood and institutional changes. Through the process of integrating encampments and their residents with public agencies, civic groups, neighbors and businesses, SOS! plans to make substantive changes in our responses to homelessness.

The Streets Team has partnered with City and County agencies to place toilet and handwashing portables in key encampment locations. Encampment residents will secure the portable stations and determine responsibilities for sanitation and hygiene. In partnership with Collaborising, a nonprofit that is dedicated to improving race equity and building cross-cultural relationships, the project works with unsheltered leaders in a train-the-trainer process to establish equitable ways to govern the encampments and support safe living conditions.

The Streets Team also distributes food, PPE, hand sanitizer, trash bags and basic amenities to support health hygiene, self-screening and sanitation. It works with Davis Chapel CME Church to provide face masks, gloves, food and water at these encampments. Some 175 lunches are delivered each weekday to encampments through Ephesians of Richmond Church of God in Christ and West Contra County Unified School District.

Richmond is at a critical moment regarding homelessness. Shelters and Warming Centers are closed for adults. The most vulnerable to COVID-19 have been temporarily sheltered in hotels.

Homelessness in Richmond is expected to increase substantially in the coming months as many renters will be unable to pay overdue rents. Temporary hotel stays will end later this year, releasing people back to the streets. Key to increasing Richmond’s capacity to provide interim sheltering before winter includes finding locations to host temporary, managed transitional villages.

Before the pandemic and economic recession, homelessness in Contra Costa County had increased by 43% in two years with more than 1,000 people living outdoors. County Health Services is seeing an alarming increase in the number of homeless seniors in their 70s and 80s. The need is urgent for safe spaces for homeless individuals who are unsheltered and without the resources to pay for housing.

Contributions to the SOS! Streets Team can be made at Venmo: SOS_Richmond. To join the SOS! network to make changes in response to homelessness, call Daniel Barth at 510-990-2686.

Join the Streets Team by showing up with gloves and wearing a mask to contribute to the North Richmond Community Cleanup on Saturday, June 27, 2020 from 8:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Meet the team at the end of Castro Street near Fred Jackson Way.

Daniel Barth

Posts by Daniel Barth

Bay Area

Oakland Mayor Pushes Charter Overhaul to Clarify Roles in City Government, Increase Accountability and Improve Service Delivery

Under the proposal, the mayor would serve as Oakland’s chief executive, overseeing city departments, implementing policy, proposing the annual budget, and managing day-to-day operations. The measure would also give the mayor veto power over legislation and the budget, though the City Council could override a veto with a two-thirds vote.

Published

2 weeks ago

May 17, 2026

Oakland Post

Oakland Mayor Barbara Lee. File photo.

By Oakland Post Staff

Oakland Mayor Barbara Lee is backing a sweeping proposal to restructure Oakland’s government, arguing the changes would make City Hall more accountable and improve the delivery of basic services like public safety, homelessness response, and infrastructure repairs.

The charter reform measure, introduced April 7 and co-sponsored by Oakland City Council President Kevin Jenkins, would ask voters in November to approve a “strong mayor, strong council” system designed to create clearer lines of authority inside city government.

The City Council, meanwhile, would maintain legislative authority by adopting ordinances, approving budgets, conducting oversight hearings, and confirming key mayoral appointments. The proposal would also create an Independent Budget and Legislative Analyst Office to provide nonpartisan fiscal and policy analysis for councilmembers.

“I’ve spent months listening to Oaklanders across every neighborhood about what they expect from their city government,” Lee said. “The Charter Reform Working Group’s engagement made clear that residents want a system where there are no questions about who is responsible for delivering results on public safety, homelessness, infrastructure, and basic services.”

Jenkins said the proposal would strengthen both executive leadership and council oversight.

“I’ve long believed Oakland works best when residents have clear lines of accountability and a government structure that aligns responsibility with results,” Jenkins said.

The proposal follows recommendations from the Mayor’s Charter Reform Working Group, co-facilitated by the League of Women Voters of Oakland and SPUR.

Over five months, the group conducted more than 60 interviews, held 14 public meetings across Oakland, and engaged more than 750 residents while reviewing governance models used in other cities.

“The process of engaging residents across Oakland surfaced the governance clarity Oakland needs,” said Sujata Srivastava of SPUR. “The Charter Reform Working Group has produced a thoughtful set of recommendations that if adopted could strengthen accountability and improve service delivery across city government.”

Polling cited by the mayor’s office suggests voters may be open to the changes. A February 2026 poll by the East Bay Polling Institute found 64% of voters support adopting a strong-mayor system. Separate polling conducted by the Oakland Chamber of Commerce and David Binder Research found support ranging from 61% to 63% among likely voters.

The measure is scheduled to be heard by the City Council Rules Committee on May 21. If approved by the council, it would appear on the November 2026 ballot, where Oakland voters would have the final say.

Oakland Post

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Activism

The Ladies of Delta Sigma Theta Hold Day of Advocacy at the Capitol in Sacramento

A member of the “Divine Nine,” Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., was founded on Jan. 13, 1913, at Howard University in Washington, D.C. The organization was established by 22 women who sought to shift the group’s focus from social activities to public service, academic excellence, and social activism.

Published

2 weeks ago

May 17, 2026

Oakland Post

Sen. Laura Richardson (D-San Pedro) presents a Senate resolution to the Delta Theta Sigma Sorority Farwest Region at the State Capitol on May 4. Photo courtesy of the Senate Rules Committee.

By Antonio Ray Harvey, California Black Media

On May 4, members of the Farwest Region of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., convened at the California State Capitol for the organization’s 23rd annual Delta Days in Sacramento.

The two-day advocacy event brings together chapters from across California to engage directly in the legislative process, connect with lawmakers, and advocate for policies impacting Black communities.

Members of the sorority were honored on the Senate floor by Sen. Laura Richardson (D-San Pedro), who is also a member of Delta Sigma Theta.

Richardson welcomed the Farwest Region during the presentation of a Senate resolution recognizing outgoing Regional Director Kimberly Usher for her leadership and service.

“In addition to the Far West Region, we are led by a fearless leader, regional director Kimberly Usher. She has now served her full term of what’s allowed,” Richardson said. “We are going to be having our regional conference, but we wanted to give it to her here, officially recognizing her service.”

The resolution was co-authored by Richardson and fellow members of the California Legislative Black Caucus (CLBC) and Delta Sigma Theta, Sen. Akilah Weber Pierson (D-San Diego) and Assemblymember Rhodesia Ransom (D-Stockton).

Usher has served in the leadership role since 2022.

“We are founded on sisterhood that is deeply rooted in scholarship, service, and social action,” said Weber Pierson, a member of the Gamma Alpha chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority.

“Today, we continue a legacy of empowering communities and upholding the high cultural, intellectual, and moral standards established by our founders over a century ago,” she added.

Oakland Post

Posts by Oakland Post

Activism

Rep. Kamlager-Dove Introduces Bill to Protect Women in Custody After Reports Detailing Miscarriages and Neglect

The Pregnant Women in Custody Act would expand safeguards beyond the federal prison system to include women detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, U.S. Customs and Border Protection and the Office of Refugee Resettlement. The proposal follows reports of pregnant women being shackled, denied medical care and suffering miscarriages while in immigration detention.

Published

2 weeks ago

May 17, 2026

Oakland Post

iStock

By Bo Tefu, California Black Media

Congresswoman Sydney Kamlager-Dove (D-CA-37) on May 7, reintroduced updated legislation aimed at strengthening protections and healthcare standards for pregnant and postpartum women held in federal custody, including in immigration detention facilities.

The Pregnant Women in Custody Act would expand safeguards beyond the federal prison system to include women detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, U.S. Customs and Border Protection and the Office of Refugee Resettlement. The proposal follows reports of pregnant women being shackled, denied medical care and suffering miscarriages while in immigration detention.

The legislation builds on a bipartisan version previously passed by the House during the 117th Congress. The updated bill includes new standards for healthcare access, mental health and substance use treatment, high-risk pregnancy care, family unity protections and increased federal oversight.

“Proper pregnancy care is a human right, regardless of your immigration or incarceration status,” Kamlager-Dove said in a statement. “It’s unacceptable that there are virtually no legal safeguards for pregnant women in federal custody.”

The bill would also limit the use of restraints and restrictive housing for pregnant women, improve data collection on maternal health in custody and require additional staff training and enforcement measures.

Supporters of the measure said the legislation is intended to address long-standing concerns about maternal healthcare and safety in detention settings, particularly for Black women and low-income women who are disproportionately impacted by incarceration and health disparities.

“Pregnant women in custody should never be subjected to dangerous and inhumane treatment that threatens their health, dignity, or the well-being of their babies,” said Patrice Willoughby, chief of policy and legislative affairs for the NAACP and a longtime public policy and government affairs strategist, in a statement.

A 2021 report estimated there are about 58,000 admissions of pregnant women into U.S. jails and prisons each year. Kamlager’s statement also cited a recent investigation by NBC News and Bloomberg Law that identified allegations of severe mistreatment or medical neglect involving at least 54 pregnant women or families in county jails between 2017 and 2024.

Federal policy under the Department of Homeland Security restricts the detention of pregnant, postpartum and nursing immigrants except in extreme cases. However, the agency reported that ICE deported 363 pregnant, postpartum or nursing women between January 2025 and February 2026, including 16 recorded miscarriages during that period.

The bill is cosponsored by several House Democrats and backed by organizations including the NAACP and the Vera Institute of Justice.