Community

Homeless Census Rises by 47 Percent in Oakland

Published

7 years ago

July 27, 2019

Ken Epstein

Vann: “Mayor Schaaf has never taken the homeless issue seriously.”

Schaaf finally says, “We now need to act with a sense of urgency”

The number of homeless people in Oakland has grown by 47 percent in the past two years, faster than in San Francisco and Berkeley, according to a county survey released this week.

Following federal guidelines, officials organized volunteers who conducted a one-day, “point-in-time” count, which found 4,071 homeless people in Oakland living in vehicles, on the street or in shelters, compared with 2,761 in 2017 and 2,191 people in 2015.

Of those counted, 861 were living in shelters, and 3,210 were unsheltered.

The homeless rate in Oakland has reached 940 per 100,000 residents, compared with San Francisco’s rate of 906 and Berkeley’s rate of 898.

“Of course, it is disappointing … that we’ve had the highest increase, at least in the Bay Area,” said Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf in an interview with the S.F. Chronicle. “It shows that we need to do things differently, and we need to act with a sense of urgency that is greater than anything we’ve done in the past.”

“These increases are not unique to Oakland, they’re throughout this county, they’re throughout this state and throughout the entire West Coast,” she said in an interview on KPIX Channel 5. Nearby counties need to look at this crisis as “an all hands on deck situation,” she said.

According to the survey, 47 percent of Alameda County’s homeless are African American, while African Americans only make up 11 percent of the county’s population. Thirty percent of the county’s homeless are white, while 17 percent are Latino.

The survey also found that 57 percent of the homeless in Alameda County have lived in the county for 10 years or more. Forty percent said they are natives, while 12 percent said they moved to the area in the past year.

Thirty-four percent of the county’s homeless residents live in tents, and 23 percent live in vehicles.

The results of this new survey do not come as a surprise to the people who are working on the ground working with the homeless and advocating the solutions to the crisis.

“It didn’t come as a shock to us,” said James Vann of the Oakland-based Homeless Advocacy Working Group (HAWG) in an interview with the Oakland Post. “There were about 70 homeless encampments, and now it’s between 90 and 100 encampments, and each of those encampments has grown.”

Criticizing the Mayor Schaaf’s policies, Vann said, “This report should not have been a shock. The reason it’s a shock is that (Mayor Schaaf) never took the homeless issue seriously.” Last year, the city only added $1.5 million to the budget for homelessness, “which only pays the administrative costs for one and half of the Tuff Shed villages,” he said.

Seeing some hope on the horizon, he said that that $10 million or more may be coming into Oakland due to initiatives of Gov. Gavin Newsom. Additionally, new money for homeless programs will begin entering city coffers late next year as result of Measure W, a tax on vacant properties and buildings, which local homeless advocates worked to pass with the support of Council President Rebecca Kaplan.

Margaretta Lin, executive director of Just Cities/ the Dellums Institute, told the Oakland Post that the “point-in-time” survey indicates the rapid grow of homelessness in Oakland but does not reflect the true numbers of those who do not have a place to live, which is over 10,000 people.

“Based on a comprehensive Alameda County report conducted in 2014-2015, there were more than 9,000 homeless people in Oakland, and we know on that basis the number is much more today,” she said.

We’re seeing a new homelessness phenomenon, where the homeless population is not just made up of people with mental health or substance abuse problems, said Lin.

“There are people who are working who have lost their homes because they can’t afford the crazy rent. We have people who have minimum wages jobs who are homeless, children who are homeless and even childcare workers who are homeless.”

Because this is a crisis, she said, the city needs to adopt “less expensive, immediate solutions” such as tiny homes, repurposed containers and mobile homes,” dignified, aesthetically pleasing housing models similar to what other cities have done.”

These kinds of homes can cost about $10,000 and be put up in a month, compared with traditional housing, which costs about $600,000 and takes three-to-five years to build, she said. Much of Oakland’s homeless housing strategies, so far, has been transitional housing, only meant for temporary stays of up to six months or building permanent housing which is expensive and takes several years.

State funding can make difference, “depending on how the money is deployed,” Lin said. “People need housing. It can’t be a shelter bed for one night or transitional housing for six months. They need to be able to live in a dignified place for several years until we get more permanent housing built.”

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Ken Epstein

Posts by Ken Epstein

Community

Four Candidates, Including Incumbent Barbara Lee, Qualify for Oakland Mayor’s Race

POST NEWS GROUP — Four candidates, including incumbent Mayor Barbara Lee, filed their papers to run for office by last Friday’s deadline, and the City Clerk issued a list this week of those who are qualified to run.

Published

4 days ago

August 15, 2026

bpusa-syndication

View of downtown Oakland, California and City Hall. iStock photo.

By Post Staff

The four mayoral candidates who will appear on the Nov. 3 ballot are:

Brenda Grisham. A business owner in East Oakland and public safety advocate, Grisham led the successful recall campaign against Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price. As part of her platform, she pledges to work with local, state, and federal partners to secure stricter gun control measures and investments in community violence intervention programs.

Barbara Lee. A former congressional representative and state Assembly member, Lee was elected by voters in a special election last year for a two-year term. Now running for a four-year term, she points out that her administration achieved major successes in addressing some of the city’s major challenges, including balancing the city budget, dramatically reducing crime, and making significant inroads into homelessness and illegal dumping.

Mindy Pechenuk. An educator and activist, Pechenuk is a registered Republican and supporter of Lyndon LaRouche, who has been described by observers as a conspiracy theorist and cult leader. She ran unsuccessfully for mayor in last year’s special election and for the at-large council seat in 2024. She seeks to end Oakland’s police commission and MACRO and invest in more police while launching a new local war on drugs.

Julius Robinson. While little information is available so far about Robinson, he was quoted in a KTVU story about Thao’s recall, stating that people in Oakland want to come together as a community but lack infrastructure and leadership.

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Posts by bpusa-syndication

Black History

Oakland Observes Black August with Block Parties, Film Showings, Workshops

POST NEWS GROUP — Beginning in 1979 in San Quentin State Prison, the Black Guerrilla Family called for the remembrance of political prisoner George Jackson and his brother Jonathan Jackson who were assassinated in the early 1970s. George Jackson was considered a political prisoner in that it was the anti-Black justice system that led to his incarceration for armed robbery with a sentence of one year-to-life in 1960.

Published

4 days ago

August 15, 2026

bpusa-syndication

George Jackson wrote two books: “Soledad Brother,” and “Blood in My Eye” before her was killed in an attempt to escape prison on Aug. 21, 1971.

By Jana Lang, Propel Youth Reporter

Study. Train. Fast. Fight.

These are the four tenets of Black August, a month dedicated to commemorating the sacrifices of political prisoners and Black revolutionaries in the struggle for Black liberation.

Observers are urged to study the history of the Black struggle for freedom, train their bodies for health and self-defense, fast to cleanse the mind, body, and spirit, and fight ongoing oppression alongside their communities and local political organizations.

Beginning in 1979 in San Quentin State Prison, the Black Guerrilla Family called for the remembrance of political prisoner George Jackson and his brother Jonathan Jackson who were assassinated in the early 1970s. George Jackson was considered a political prisoner in that it was the anti-Black justice system that led to his incarceration for armed robbery with a sentence of one year-to-life in 1960.

While in prison, George befriended fellow prisoner W.L. Nolen, who introduced him to the works of Karl Marx, Vladimir Lenin, Mao Zedong, and Frantz Fanon. This radicalization coupled with his experiences of violence while imprisoned led to him writing and publishing two books, “Soledad Brother” (1970), and “Blood in my Eye” (1972). In January of 1970, George and two other prisoners were charged with murdering a corrections officer at Soledad State Prison in Monterey County.

On Aug. 7, 1970, Jonathan Jackson burst into a Marin County courtroom armed with a shotgun to demand the freedom of the Soledad Brothers. He, along with the inmates he freed, was shot and killed while driving away. This involved one of the Black Panther Party’s most notable associates, Angela Davis, because the shotgun was registered in her name. She was later acquitted of charges of conspiracy, kidnapping, and murder in 1972.

On Aug. 21, 1971, George Jackson was assassinated by a corrections officer after attempting to escape and free other inmates. As a result, there were uprisings and protests within prisons all over the country that year, calling forth resistance against racial oppression and mass incarceration.

Since its outset, Black August has evolved across the country, taking many forms to honor this history and embody the four tenets.

In Oakland, the upcoming Black August Experience, hosted by Youth Alive! and the East Oakland Boxing Association (EOBA), is a free, family-friendly event celebrating the legacy of Black August. Activities include free food and drinks, a kids’ activity zone, interactive workshops, live cooking and boxing demonstrations, and more.

Happening on Aug. 21 from 4-8 p.m. at the EOBA Patio, Carolyn Flynn, director of administration at EOBA, said the event, in its second year, will be an opportunity to engage with people in person through food, shared space, and education.

“We do regular classes in education, and those are ongoing programs that we offer, but we wanted to have [an opportunity] for our neighbors to utilize this space.” Combined with Youth Alive’s work in community violence prevention and youth leadership, this event surely aims to bring the Oakland community together to capture what Black August means today.

Here are additional Black August events happening in Oakland:

Forum and Community Discussion hosted by the Oakland Liberation Center, 1499 Fruitvale Ave., Aug. 14, 7 p.m.

“George Jackson/San Quentin” Screening hosted by Nostalgic for Nothing Cinema at Moments Co-Op, 410 13th St., Aug. 16, doors at 6 p.m., show at 6:30 p.m. (Masks required and scent-free)

Commemorating the Struggle, Building the Altar for Liberation: Black August at Bandung Books, 2269 International Blvd., Aug. 23rd, 1-5 p.m.

Building Opportunities for Self-Sufficiency (BOSS), will host “Black August: The Arc of Liberation” at Oakland City Hall on Sat. Aug. 29, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.