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New Councilmembers Reid and Fife Pledge Action in 2021 on Housing, Homelessness

Published

5 years ago

November 25, 2020

Kiki

Trevia Reid, Councilmember Elect

Treva Reid, District 7, and Carroll Fife, District 3, are the two new City Councilmembers elected in November pledging to use the power and resources of local government to help Oaklanders turn a corner on the multiple, intertwined poverty-fueled crises that impact the city.

Among the issues their top priorities for 2021 are rampant homelessness and housing insecurity for many thousands more.

Reid, who is new to public office, formerly worked as a staff member for Assemblymember (now State Senator) Nancy Skinner. She notes that official homeless rates have increased by almost 50% from 2017-2019 and that 70% of those unhoused and unsheltered in Oakland are Black and primarily Black men.

“My goals are strategic community-driven approaches to addressing some of the challenges before us,” she said.

Many families can’t pay the rent, have been forced out of the market, and many homeowners are worried about losing their homes to predatory actors much like in the past recession….We must actually implement and fund policies that reflect that Black lives really matter,” Reid said.

Below are some of her proposed solutions:

Examine the budget to reallocate funding to produce, protect, and preserve affordable housing; prioritize the use of public land and increase the Housing Trust Fund.
Fully utilize the three hotels leased in partnership with Alameda County and the state. Also, secure funding to purchase underutilized hotels and convert vacant property to provide housing.
Remove barriers and enforce policies to ensure residents with criminal records can access secure permanent housing.
Change restrictive zoning to allow churches and places of worship to build low-income homes and affordable units on their property.
Expedite completion of 25 tiny homes being prepared to house young adults in District 7.
More city-owned land for RV parking/shelter locations
Pass and enforce laws to protect tenants from illegal evictions and advocate for programs to prevent homeowners from foreclosures.
Launch the City of Oakland’s NOFA (Notice of Available Funding) to help fund a pipeline of new multifamily affordable housing.
Advocate for tax abatements, increased federal and state funding for permanent subsidized low-income housing and affordable homeownership programs.

While new to the City Council, Fife has spent years at council meetings and organizing in neighborhoods, demanding affordable housing, fighting against displacement and pressuring banks and corporations to block housing foreclosures.

She is the director of the Oakland office for the Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment (ACCE).

She recently won national attention as a leader with Moms 4 Housing, a group of women who occupied a vacant home in West Oakland last year that was owned by a real estate investment firm.

“In order to halt the tsunami of homelessness that is sweeping Oakland and other areas, we need to keep people from becoming homeless in the first place,” she said.

“Once they become homeless, it’s a lot harder to get them into adequate housing. This means stronger local and state laws protecting renters, “pushing back against companies that are trying to get as much money as they can” from their properties.

The community has to demand to protect renters after the moratorium on rents expire, she said.

People are going to need protections to keep from losing their homes. “In the 2008 crisis, we saw what happened. We can’t let that happen again,” Fife said. “Homeowners became renters, and many renters became homeless. The banks were bailed out. People need a bailout to prevent homelessness,” she said.

Recently, West Coast political leaders signed a letter calling for a federal bailout. ACCE was part of that.

The city needs a tough public land policy, Fife believes. “There should not be any sale of public land to private developers, unless it is to house the homeless,” she said.

“There should also be an audit of every empty space of and every empty parcel of public land so everyone can shelter in place,” she said. “That’s what is right for our overall health and safety during this public health crisis.

Fife pointed out that Oakland is the largest city in the county but does not receive from the county the investment that it needs in terms of resources, programs and funding.

If we understand that “housing is a human right,” said Fife, “we must understand” that housing can no longer be sold as an unregulated commodity or traded by speculators.

“Speculations hurt residents,” Fife said in an interview on KQED FM “Speculation harms entire communities and entire neighborhoods. When people are engaged in buying up residential property for the sole purpose of flipping it and making as much money as they can, then that leaves out an entire group of individuals who cannot compete in that type of market.”

Kiki

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Oakland Post: Week of July 9 – 15, 2025

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of July 9 – 15, 2025

Published

3 days ago

July 14, 2025

Oakland Post

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Black Americans Still Face Deep Retirement Gaps Despite Higher Incomes

BLACKPRESSUSA NEWSWIRE — Debt remains a significant barrier. 63% of higher-income Black households said debt is a problem, while just 45% of non-Black households at the same income level said the same. Nearly half of upper-income Black respondents said debt affects their ability to save or live comfortably in retirement.

Published

6 days ago

July 11, 2025

Stacy M. Brown

By Stacy M. Brown
Black Press USA Senior National Correspondent

A report from the Employee Benefit Research Institute shows that Black Americans continue to face serious challenges in saving for retirement, even as their incomes grow.

The 2025 Retirement Confidence Survey, which included a special oversample of Black workers and retirees, found that the wealth gap remains wide at every income level. Among households earning $75,000 or more, only 33% of Black Americans reported having $250,000 or more in savings and investments, compared with 63% of non-Black Americans. Debt remains a significant barrier. 63% of higher-income Black households said debt is a problem, while just 45% of non-Black households at the same income level said the same. Nearly half of upper-income Black respondents said debt affects their ability to save or live comfortably in retirement.

While many Black Americans expressed confidence managing day-to-day budgets, fewer felt prepared to invest or plan for the long term. The study showed that Black Americans with higher incomes were less likely to have personally saved for retirement, 77%, compared with 87% of non-Black Americans. Retirement experiences also differed sharply. Forty-four percent of Black retirees said they retired earlier than planned because of a health problem or disability, compared with 32% of non-Black retirees. After leaving their main jobs, Black retirees were more likely to work for pay to make ends meet, and more often said their retirement lifestyle was worse than expected. Access to financial advice and planning remains uneven. Just 31% of Black respondents reported currently working with a financial advisor, although nearly half expect to do so in the future. Black Americans were more likely to seek help with reducing debt, creating wills or estate plans, and arranging life insurance than simply determining if they had saved enough to retire.

Researchers Craig Copeland and Lisa Greenwald wrote, “Black Americans reported disproportionately lower financial resources, and how they feel about retirement and financial security is clearly impacted by having less resources.” They continued, “In particular, Black retirees are struggling with higher likelihoods of their retirement lifestyle being worse than expected and having to retire earlier than planned because of a health problem or disability.” “Still,” the researchers concluded, “there are some modifications in the financial system that could help improve their prospects, such as increased assistance in balancing competing financial priorities like debt reduction, supporting family, and building long-term savings.”

Stacy M. Brown

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#NNPA BlackPress

Scorching Heat Sparks Bipartisan Climate Alarm

BLACKPRESSUSA NEWSWIRE — As record-breaking heat waves sweep across the country this summer, a new national poll reveals an overwhelming majority of Americans are linking the punishing temperatures to climate change — and voicing deep concern about the government’s ability to respond.

Published

1 week ago

July 10, 2025

Stacy M. Brown

By Stacy M. Brown
Black Press USA Senior National Correspondent

As record-breaking heat waves sweep across the country this summer, a new national poll reveals an overwhelming majority of Americans are linking the punishing temperatures to climate change — and voicing deep concern about the government’s ability to respond.

The American Climate Perspectives Survey 2025, conducted by ecoAmerica, found that 86% of Americans say rising temperatures have increased their concern about climate change, with more than half reporting they are “a lot” more concerned. The sentiment cuts across demographic and political lines, with 97% of Democrats, 83% of Independents, and 79% of Republicans expressing heightened worry about the climate crisis. “Americans are connecting extreme heat to climate change, their health, and government inaction,” said Meighen Speiser, Executive Director of ecoAmerica.

Nearly nine in ten respondents recognize the toll heat is taking on public health, with 58% saying extreme heat affects health “a lot.” This awareness is remarkably consistent across racial, age, and income groups. Among Black Americans, 91% said rising temperatures have intensified their concern about climate change, reflecting some of the highest concern levels among any group surveyed. Those concerns are not abstract. Decades of research by the Brookings Institution, NOAA, and others show Black communities often face the greatest exposure to extreme heat and the fewest resources to adapt. Studies have documented that historically redlined neighborhoods, where many Black Americans live, are routinely up to 10 degrees hotter than wealthier, predominantly white neighborhoods nearby.

In cities such as Atlanta and Baltimore, Black homeowners are significantly more likely to face heat risks and energy insecurity, limiting their ability to cool their homes as temperatures rise. Nationally, Black renters experience higher rates of energy insecurity, with over half struggling to afford adequate cooling during heat waves. Meanwhile, the latest study also points to a notable shift in how Americans perceive the link between climate change and extreme weather. Eighty-two percent now believe that climate change is making extreme events, such as floods, wildfires, and hurricanes, more frequent and severe, up six points since 2021. The most dramatic change is among Republicans: the share who recognize that climate change is fueling extreme weather surged 17 points over four years, from 58% in 2021 to 75% in 2025.

These findings arrive as proposals to slash funding for the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) advance in Washington. The agencies are widely seen as the nation’s front-line defense against disasters and a critical source of weather forecasting and emergency relief. The risks are particularly acute for Black communities already facing disproportionate impacts from hurricanes and flooding, as seen in the devastation of New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina and more recent storms that have repeatedly displaced predominantly Black neighborhoods in the Gulf Coast and Southeast.

The survey shows Americans are not just worried about rising temperatures — they’re anxious about the government’s readiness to protect communities. Seventy-nine percent said cuts to FEMA and NOAA make them more concerned about the federal government’s ability to respond to climate impacts. That includes 92% of Democrats, 76% of Independents, and 69% of Republicans, underscoring that the anxiety is bipartisan.

Generational divides are also apparent. While 95% of young adults reported that extreme heat has boosted their concern about climate change, the figure was lower — but still significant — among adults over 65, at 70%. However, across all age groups, majorities agree that the crisis is escalating and requires immediate action. “These findings show it’s time to drop partisan politics and rather meet this moment with urgency, leadership, and protection,” Speiser said.