By Magaly Muñoz

Hundreds of tents and abandoned vehicles now dot major streets and neighborhoods of the Bay Area. Unfortunately, this problem is expected to worsen as the housing market skyrockets and the cost of living becomes unattainable for most Americans.

As one of California’s biggest public policy challenges, over the past four years, the state has allocated nearly $20 billion to housing and homelessness initiatives. Despite this substantial investment, the issue does not seem to be easing. Instead, the number of people without stable housing is surging.

A 2022 Point In Time (PIT) Count showed that there were 9,747 homeless individuals living on the streets in Alameda County, an almost 22% increase from the 2019 count of 8,022 homeless individuals. Many reports estimate that this number will rise once the 2024 data is released.

Amongst the many initiatives to end homelessness, the 2016 Senate Bill 1380 established California as a “housing first” state that would provide assistance, programs and funding to those experiencing homelessness. The bill recognized that the evidence-based model of prioritizing housing could end all types of homelessness and is the most effective approach to ending chronic homelessness.

In the years following the passage of the law, doctors, county officials and a community organization came together to create a first of its kind shelter to combat homelessness with housing and healthcare: the Oak Days shelter. Located in the Hegenberger corridor of Oakland, this facility, once a Days Hotel, now houses 60 individuals, some who are medically fragile.

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As local counties navigated how to isolate people during the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, the state obtained federal funding to begin Project Roomkey, an initiative providing non-congregate shelter options, such as hotels and motels for people experiencing homelessness, to protect life and minimize strain on the healthcare system.

Dr. Alexis Chettiar, a medical director in Alameda County, witnessed firsthand how the coronavirus disease took over the lives of the most vulnerable populations who were too sick to remain stable unless they had hands-on supportive health care and permanent housing.

She also noticed a trend of medically vulnerable individuals with psychiatric illnesses or substance abuse issues being expelled from nursing homes, often ending up in encampments or unsheltered conditions.

This observation would inspire her, along with fellow medical director Catherine Hayes, to start Cardea Health, supported by county funding.

“What we really wanted to do was to be able to layer on the medical services to a permanent supportive housing environment so that people could age in place, they could stay there, no matter how their care needs change over time. They could stay there through the end of their life,” Chettiar said.

Cardea Health provides medical and personal care for almost 60 patients across two sites. One of these sites is an Old Comfort Inn that was also transformed into a shelter for those experiencing homelessness and chronic illnesses. The medical team assists with tasks such as injecting insulin, administering dialysis, helping patients use the restroom or get dressed.

Chettiar shared that she’s seen people as young as 40 years old with health-related issues mimicking that of an 80-year-old. Some individuals had untreated wounds that led to infections or chronic illnesses that went untreated for years, leading to immense suffering before they were able to receive medical attention.

The harsh conditions of living on the streets have exacerbated what could’ve been manageable situations, into a full-blown health crisis that ultimately put them on the priority list for Cardea’s health assistance.

UCSF Benioff Homelessness and Housing Initiative conducted a survey of 3,200 people to study who is experiencing homelessness, how they became homeless, what their experiences are and what is preventing them from exiting homelessness.

Data from those surveys showed that 45% of those experiencing homelessness reported poor or fair health and 60% reported having a chronic illness. Participants also reported that being homeless worsened their physical and mental health.

Of those experiencing health problems, 23% couldn’t access necessary healthcare in the prior six months. Additionally, 38% visited emergency departments without hospitalization and 21% reported a hospitalization for a physical health concern.

Chettiar stated that the work at Cardea is intended to reduce hospital visits for those living on the streets, providing essential care where it’s needed most.

Oakland Post

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By Magaly Muñoz

The Alameda Board of Supervisors unanimously accepted the certification of the results of the valid signatures submitted for the recall of District Attorney Pamela Price on Tuesday evening. The Board will set the election date at a special meeting on May 14.

Before the meeting, recall proponents and opponents held separate press conferences to plead their cases to the Board and residents of Alameda County.

Price, who up until this point has made little public comment about the recall, held her press conference in Jack London to announce that the California Fair Political Practices Commission has opened an investigation into the finances of the Save Alameda For Everyone (SAFE) recall campaign.

The political action committee (PAC), Reviving the Bay Area, has been the largest contributor to the SAFE organization and has allegedly donated over half a million dollars to the recall efforts.

“Between September 2023 and November 2023, [Revive the Bay Area] donated approximately $578,000 to SAFE without complying with the laws that govern all political committees in California,” Price said.

Price accused the recall campaigns of using irregular signature-gathering processes, such as paying gatherers per signature, and using misleading information to get people to sign their petitions.

SAFE held their own press conference outside of the Alameda County Administration Building at 1221 Oak St. in Oakland, once again calling for the Board to certify their signatures and set a date for the recall election.

Their press conference turned contentious quickly as Price’s “Protect the Win” supporters attempted to yell over the SAFE staff and volunteers. “Stop scapegoating Price” and “Recall Price” chants went on for several moments at a time during this event.

Families of victims urged the Board to think of their loved ones whose lives are worth much more than the millions of dollars that many opponents of the recall say is too much to spend on a special election.

The Registrar of Voters (ROV) estimates the special election could cost anywhere from $15 to $20 million, an amount that is not in their budget.

The Board was presented with several options on when and how to conduct the recall election. They have to set a date no less than 88 days or more than 125 days after May 14, meaning the date could fall anywhere from late July to September.

But the County charter also states that if a general election takes place within 180 days of their scheduling deadline, the Board could choose to use the November ballot as a way to consolidate the two events.

In the event that Price is recalled, the Supervisors would appoint someone to fill the vacancy, though neither the County nor the California charter specifies how long they would have to pick a replacement.

The appointee would serve as district attorney spot until the next election in 2026. Afterwards, either they, if they run and win, or a newly elected candidate would serve the rest of Price’s six-year term until 2029. Price is unique as the only district attorney wo serves a term of six years.

The Board acknowledged that they knew last fall that this recall would come with its own set of complications when Measure B, which changed the local recall charter to match California’s, was first brought to their consideration.

Supervisors Nate Miley and David Haubert opposed discussing the measure, stating that the public would think that the Board was attempting to influence the recall campaign that had already taken off months prior.

“I think ultimately this feels like it’s going to end up in court, one way or the other, depending on who files what,” Haubert said.

Price’s legal team told the Post that the district attorney intended to consider all legal options should the recall election take place.

Miley stated that while he was in support of the amendment to the charter, he did not think it was right to schedule it for the March ballot as it would ultimately cause confusion for everyone involved.

“It has produced some legal entanglements that I think, potentially, could’ve been avoided,” Miley said.

Oakland Post

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By Antonio Ray Harvey, California Black Media

The Community Housing Working Group hosted a briefing on April 23 at Cafeteria 15L in Sacramento.  Discussions focused on how the housing crisis in California affects Black and Brown communities and explored ways to provide low-income families and individuals with affordable housing.

Tia Boatman Patterson, CEO and President of the California Communities Reinvestment Corporation, said “entry-level housing” is not available as it was in the past, adding that affordable units were a major point of entry into homeownership for many families in the Black community.

“My mother bought her first house when I was in junior high. It was an 850-square foot, two-bedroom and one-bathroom house in 1978. That house cost $30,000,” Boatman-Patterson said.

“A woman working part-time at JCPenney was able to afford that house. We don’t build these types of housing now. We do not build entry-level homeownership,” she added.

The Community Housing Working Group is a collection of diverse community organizations from across California working together to address housing challenges in their communities. The organization believes that solving the affordable housing crisis will require creating enough smaller, lower-cost, multi-family homes located near jobs, transit, and good schools.

The briefing included a panel discussion titled, “Exclusionary Zoning: A Look Back and a Path Forward.” Boatman-Patterson participated in that session along with Henry “Hank” Levy, Treasurer-Tax Collector for Alameda County, and Noerena Limón, consultant, Unidos U.S., and Board Member of California Housing Finance Agency.

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Boatman-Patterson, a former Associate Director for Housing, Treasury and Commerce in the Office of Management and Budget for the Biden Administration, started her presentation by highlighting how exclusionary single-family zoning is contributing to continued segregation of California communities.

She said that single-family zoning originated in the Bay Area city of Berkeley in 1916.

“By creating single-family zoning and having fenced-off communities, you were able to exclude the ‘others,’” Boatman-Patterson said. “It really was a method to exclude — what they called ‘economic segregation’ — but that was a guise for racial segregation. Single-family zoning, along with redlining, became a systemic approach to exclude based on affordability.”

Title VIII of the federal Civil Rights Act of 1968 — commonly known as the Fair Housing Act of 1968 – is the U.S. federal legislation that protects individuals and families from discrimination in the sale, rental, and financing of housing. It was passed to open the doors to affordable housing.

In 1968, 65.9% of White families were homeowners, a rate that was 25% higher than the 41.1% of Black families that owned their homes, according to National Low-Income Housing Coalition. Today, those figures have hardly changed in the Black community, although White homeownership has increased five percentage points to 71.1%.

Boatman Patterson said the rate has not changed in Black and Brown communities because financing for affordable entry-level homes is almost nonexistent. The homeownership disparities contribute to the disturbing racial wealth gap in the nation, according to the National Low-Income Housing Coalition’s October 2018 report.

“We really must align the financing with the actual building of units, which we haven’t necessarily done. Because of this misalignment, I think we continue to see problems,” Boatman-Patterson said.

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