By Daisha Williams
Post News Group Intern

A large community of unhoused people have been living in an empty lot at 1707 Wood Street. The city of Oakland would like to remove them as soon as possible so they can build 170 units of affordable housing there.

If you live in Oakland or spend any considerable amount of time here, then you have probably seen this encampment at least a few times. The West Oakland community is estimated to include 200-300 individuals. They support each other in accessing food, water, medicine, clothing and other basic living necessities.

In an interview with a city of Oakland official, a spokesperson for the community, John Janosko, described a bike ride that they all took to Sacramento last October.

“That bike ride was amazing for me. Everyone had a chance to bond,” he said. “The people in Sacramento were so welcoming and it was my birthday that morning and they had a cake at 1 o’clock in the morning when we finally rolled in.”

This bike ride was planned, organized and executed by people who have banded together to survive in a system that doesn’t seem to care if they live or die and made the best of those circumstances.

Before the city of Oakland can begin building affordable housing, they are required to provide shelter for the people currently living there. The initial plan was to simply provide cabins near the lot for the people to live in. On Feb. 3, the U.S. District Judge William Orick said that the city could move forward with disbanding this unit only for that ruling to be reversed a week later, on Feb. 10.

Oakland Assistant City Administrator LaTonda Simmons said that the delay was due to issues finalizing the contract for the cabins as well as “IT network challenges.”

The city hasn’t released a timeline detailing when they expect to begin moving people out. Simmons commented on the delay in a statement. “We believe this minor delay will result in an even more supportive cabin program for the Wood Street community.”

Current plans for shelter for the residents include cabins with 30 beds each, which are expected to accommodate 100 people. There will also be 29 parking spaces available for people living in RVs with electrical hookups and bathrooms available.

Furthermore, the city expects to have 100 more beds available at other shelters in Oakland, which will effectively divide the community that the Wood Street residents have created for themselves.

But it is also the case that the amount of affordable housing that the city plans to build in this lot will not be enough to accommodate the people currently living there and what the city considers “affordable housing” is not affordable for many people.

Another hindrance for the community is the difficulty of qualifying for affordable housing.

One hurdle is that it is necessary to provide proof of income, which makes it even less accessible.

Another is that applicants must pass a criminal background screening. Since homelessness itself has been criminalized, many people currently living in the lot will not be able to pass that screening and qualify.

Many of the people now living at the Wood Street lot were residents of a neighboring encampment that was cleared out about a year ago. That they are back on the street can indicate that the city’s processes for quickly finding housing for people in dire need are ineffective.

This is summarized best by what James Vann, co-founder and advisor to the Oakland Homeless Advocacy Working Group, said in response to Judge Orwick’s decision.

“The calamity that will follow is another instance of the City’s failure to acknowledge the homelessness crisis as real and to implement timely actions to assure adequate accommodations and health and safety of the affected unhoused residents.”

Sources for this news article include the Mercury News, the City of Oakland and the Post News Group.

By Emma Gallegos
EdSource

When she returned to school to become a nurse, Karina Mendez wanted a work-study job that she could balance with classes at City College of San Francisco. Thanks to a new program in California, she landed one that does more than pay the bills — it gives her a career boost.

Mendez works to support patients with cancer at UCSF, helping her get a foot in the door of a hospital where she’d love to be a nurse.

“It gives me a sense of hope that I could be a part of the UCSF department,” Mendez said.

She is one of the first beneficiaries of a new state-funded work-study program called the Learning-Aligned Employment Program. It pays the wages of students who are considered underrepresented in a job that aims to give them a leg up in their careers — unlike traditional work-study positions in campus cafeterias or bookstores that have little connection to students’ future career goals.

Besides medicine, the fields include tech, engineering, clean energy, education and university research.

The state invested $500 million of its budget surplus into the program, which is run by the California Student Aid Commission. Over 98% of public colleges and universities have signed on to participate.

The program is in its early days. Funds were rolled out to the state’s public colleges and universities this fall, and institutions have until 2031 to use them. Some colleges and universities have small pilot programs, but most are in the planning stages of using this funding.

It’s too soon to say how many students are participating statewide. In the long run, state funding could provide opportunities for about 100,000 students like Mendez — who makes $20 an hour — working 15 hours weekly for a semester.

Ohlone College in the East Bay has a small pilot, and it is hearing from other colleges in the Bay Area Community College Consortium looking for ideas of how best to spend the funding.

“It has taken a fair amount of time to figure out how we will use these LAEP funds, because it’s in its infancy,” said Kelsey Bensky, program manager for the college’s Career Services.

Eloy Ortiz Oakley, president and CEO of the College Futures Foundation, applauded California for using work-study funds this way. He called it “an important piece of a larger puzzle.”

“Students are hungry for this experience,” said Oakley, former chancellor of California Community Colleges. “They want to see that their work in the classroom is connected to their employment.”

Mendez said her role in the UCSF Patient Support Corps is giving her a preview of what a nurse’s duties look like. She reviews patients’ charts and checks in with them during telehealth appointments.

“I see words that I’m studying at school,” she said. “I’m learning how to communicate with cancer patients at a sensitive time in their life.”

Fixing The Disconnect Between School and Work

Most students work their way through college, but often these jobs have nothing to do with their career aspirations. The state and federal governments are working to change that.

Adele Burnes, deputy chief of Californa’s Division of Apprenticeship Standards, put it this way: “What if that work was really, intentionally connected to their education?”

Critics say that the lack of opportunities for college students to learn on the job is a symptom of the larger disconnect between the California economy and higher education. The state is making important strides on this front, Oakley said, but it is still behind many European countries, Singapore and even states like Indiana and Texas.

“Employers have not invested time and effort to make this work,” said Oakley. “Colleges don’t always have the resources to make this work.”

A lot of work goes into creating a high-quality internship, such as figuring out which students are eligible and vetting opportunities from employers, said Gina Del Carlo, the founding director of Earn & Learn. The Bay Area Community College Consortium contracted with Earn & Learn to guide 25 Bay Area colleges pursuing this work-study funding.

“It’s not as simple as: ‘Here’s an opportunity, here’s a student,’” said Alejandro Sandoval, director of product delivery and expansion for Earn & Learn.

Ohlone College has partnered with 11 organizations, including a local biotech company, an engineering company, a consulting firm and several community nonprofits. Del Carlo has noticed that many colleges are using the funds to pay students to conduct research relevant to their major.

Many fields, such as health care, technology, education and government, face shortages of educated workers.

But work-based learning opportunities that help students get a foothold in a new career have often been limited to building-trade apprenticeships like electrician or welder. Critics say white-collar professional internships — often unpaid — tend to go to well-connected students who can afford to forgo salaries.

This hurts both employers seeking workers and workers who fear college will leave them with debt rather than better career prospects, according to the Governor’s Council for Post-Secondary Education.

Despite placing a greater emphasis on vocational education, this has even been a problem at community colleges, said Sonya Christian, who was recently named chancellor of California Community Colleges.

She said the academic transfer mission should be better integrated with the vocational mission, and every student should expect a chance to learn on the job. She said “earn and learn” opportunities unite these two missions while opening higher education to students who thought they couldn’t afford it.

The Next Big Wave

The Learning-Aligned Employment Program launched in the 2021-21 budget after a report from the Governor’s Council for Post-Secondary Education warned: “Connections between higher education and the workforce are insufficient to meet the economic and workforce needs of California.”

The funds are intended for students who are considered underrepresented. That includes students are low-income, parents, displaced workers, formerly incarcerated, undocumented or have disabilities.

Those who are first generation in their families to attend college, current or former foster youth, homeless or at risk of becoming homeless are also eligible and given priority for the opportunities through state guidelines. Majors in science, technology, engineering or math (STEM) also have priority.

“This new approach to hiring low-income, first-generation college students to work in vital, growth industries provides students with valuable career opportunities, while also helping make those fields become more inclusive and diverse in the process,” said Marlene Garcia, executive director of the California Student Aid Commission.

This money from the state supports the UCSF Patient Support Corps’ efforts to recruit community college students whose diversity, language and culture mirror the patient population, said Jeff Belkora, director of the program.

“The whole idea of me being a Latina in this program, it makes me feel like I belong,” said Mendez. “It gives me hope that I could do this.”

The state opted to give colleges the money in a lump sum to give campuses the time and money to plan the program.

State funds will pay for up to half of student wages at for-profit employers, 90% at a public educational institution or a nonprofit and 100% of the wages at the UC, CSU or community colleges.

Only 5% of the funds can be spent on administration and the rest must be spent directly on students’ wages. Students should be paid a rate comparable to regular employees doing similar work in the company or in the same field. The state recommends that students be given academic credit as well.

Funds are distributed based on the share of students receiving a federal Pell Grant. That makes community colleges one of the biggest beneficiaries. They will receive 56% of funds, while 31.8% will go to the CSU system and the remaining 12.2% will go to the UCs.

Oakley believes the state is on the right track, but he hopes that these partnerships are not just short-lived, successful “boutique programs.” Programs should reach poor, underserved students and communities in the state, he said, and the state and federal governments don’t have a successful track record of making these programs accessible.

“The more streamlined we can make it, the less friction, the more we can make sure that it’s helping the people who need it the most,” he said.

One of the early programs is the Junior Leadership Academy at Ohlone College. Cohorts of 20 students receive coaching in a 15-week career readiness class for credit, while working on a project for a local employer that involves research connected to their field.

This includes business students working for a consulting firm and engineering students at an engineering firm.

Some employers and students have enjoyed the opportunity enough to seek to extend projects beyond their 75 hours-a-semester commitment.

While it has taken time to sort through funding restrictions, such as figuring out exactly which students are eligible, Bensky, the program manager at Ohlone, appreciates the flexibility the state has offered.

“It’s been quite a bit of work, but I’m happy,” said Bensky.

By Mike Kinney

Recently, I received a powerful spiritual anti-cancer turtle medicine bag medallion and rope necklace from Chief Gordon Plain Bull Jr., a member of the Assiniboine and Sioux Reservation located near Fort Peck, Montana.

He is the great-grandson of Chief Plenty Coups and the great-great nephew of Sitting Bull, the famous defender of native lands against settlers during the 1800s.

Chief Plain Bull’s gift was particularly powerful to me, as it was emblematic of the immense kindness and generosity of the communities in which I live and work, which includes fellow Native Americans and my neighbors here in Richmond.

Aside from reporting stories about people, places and events in the Richmond Standard, I have been a Native news journalist for some 45 years here in Richmond, writing for publications such as Native Hoop and Native News Online.

Today, as I celebrate my first-year anniversary as a cancer survivor, I’m taking a break from reporting on the issues of the communities I cover in order to tell my story of recovery. The reason is that my journey in the past year shines a light on the powerful bonds within the Richmond and Native communities. I am forever grateful to write about them, and to be part of them.

In November of 2021, I was diagnosed with small cell lung cancer on my left lung. I had been a career cigarette smoker for 40 years. I gave it up finally in 2014. Naturally, the diagnosis had me fearing death.

On March 13, 2022, I underwent robotic surgery to remove the cancer at the John Muir Hospital campus in Concord. The surgery team removed a quarter of my left lung. It was successful, and I remained at the hospital in recovery for seven days.

But the journey was far from over. Upon returning home, I was required to use an oxygen concentrator until my lungs healed, stripping me of the activities I most loved, from riding my mountain bike to taking long hikes at Wildcat Canyon. I feared being a burden on others, but was limited in what I could do physically.

Moreover, my doctor informed me of my need to undergo chemotherapy and immunotherapy. I would have a monthly infusion from IV bags. While I was fortunate to suffer no pain or side-effects from these therapies, hair loss from the chemotherapy meant I lost my Native ponytail, which was crushing to me.

And I was angry at myself. For 40 years, I chose to smoke cigarettes. I had no one to blame but myself for my condition, and that was difficult to handle; it drove me into depression. I felt alone, but due to the support from members of the Richmond and Native communities, I wouldn’t be alone.

Countless neighbors and Natives rallied to my side. My close friend, the well-known Richmond community activist Antwon Cloird, went out of his way to drive me to out-of-town medical appointments.

Cloird also offered powerful words of encouragement. Rather than considering this condition as the beginning of the end of my life, Cloird pointed out this was in fact my “second chance at creating a first-class life.”

There was also the kindness of Rev. Dr. Ofa Haunga from St. Luke’s United Methodist Church in Richmond, who along with the church community ensured I had fresh cooked food and prayers during my recovery. My good friend Georgette Bynum, a veteran registered nurse, acted as my medical coach, providing invaluable advice.

Richmond resident Don Gosney of “Radio Free Richmond,” along with Tyler Swartz, my nephew Ben, Denise Gianni and Richmond resident and photographer Ellen Gailing, all helped me shop for groceries and attend medical appointments.

Michelle Milam, a Richmond resident who serves as the city’s Crime Prevention Manager, offered prayers and also numerous drops of bottled water to my home to keep me hydrated.

Local Richmond residents John Ziesehenne, owner of M.A. Hays Insurance and Robert Rogers, district coordinator for County Supervisor John Gioia, were also powerful sources of support and encouragement.

Meanwhile, Native people and tribal communities across the nation conducted prayers on my behalf.

Carolyn Martell, a well-known Ojibway tribal artist and photographer in Denver, Colo. conducted numerous sacred ceremonies to support a successful surgery and recovery.

Meanwhile, Pomo tribal elder and leader Connie Reitman instructed me on important spiritual aspects of recovery as my being a Cherokee tribal person.

There are many more examples of generosity, too many to list here. Perhaps the cherry on top was receiving the spiritual anti-cancer turtle medicine bag medallion from Chief Plain Bull. He is a master of beading Native jewelry that comes to him in visions.

“All of my work comes from the Creator,” he told me. “I sit in Prayer for an hour or more before I start. Once the vision is given to me, I begin the work. Sometimes I start with the medallion and sometimes the rope is first. I always ask the person who’s receiving the special gift what their favorite color is.

“Then I start their Protector. When I get close to sewing up the medallion, I put the medicine in it. I have been instructed by the Creator to use seven herbal medicines to put in the medallion,” he said.

The many examples of healing power, from advice from loved ones on positive thinking, to powerful spiritual guidance and medicines, served to dissipate my depression and launch a life of recovery and spiritual journey.

I realized being Cherokee was important to my recovery. I returned to reconnecting with my culture, language, history and most importantly our spiritual and belief value system. Meanwhile, I was reminded why I live and love Richmond.

Recently, my doctor informed me that I am now free of cancer. I believe fully that in addition to the incredible care of medical staff, the incredible care and support from my communities are responsible for this positive outcome.

Thank you, wholeheartedly, to my fellow Native Americans and to the people of Richmond. I love you. You have enriched my story. Now, my mission is to double-down on enriching yours.

See you at the press conference.