The Ella Baker Center is thrilled to be co-hosting “Ain’t I A Mother Too?” at the Oakland Asian Cultural Center.

While many applaud and appreciate the innovations of modern society, we know that our society has failed to keep up with adequate housing supply to meet the needs of the people. This is why our coalition is looking to change the narrative and engage with the tech sector to innovate, not eliminate, the most important relationship on earth – that between a mother and her children. The first step to protecting this relationship is housing.

Unbeknownst to many members of the public, women who have children in the child welfare system are losing their parental rights for life because in the Bay Area housing is becoming more of a luxury than a basic human right. Meanwhile, our court system requires that mothers find and sustain housing before they can reunify with their children. Due in large part to this requirement, there are over 28,000 children currently waiting for reunification with their mothers. Leaving those children to wait is certainly a cruel jest as it is no secret that the housing their parents are required to obtain does not exist. The extreme shortage of “low income” housing is well documented with the latest data revealing that there are only 34 units for every 100 persons in need. This is cruel and unusual punishment.

We are building an interdisciplinary team of innovators from various fields including law, technology, social work, community organizing, urban development, and education. This team will reimagine our housing deficit and the various social services that rely on this system to develop local and state advocacy efforts.

Event Co-Hosted with Time for Change Foundation, Legal Services for Prisoners with Children, California Coalition for Women Prisoners, Root & Rebound, National Black Women’s Justice Institute, East Bay for Everyone, Ella Baker Center for Human Rights, Young Women’s Freedom Center, East Bay Family Defenders, PolicyLink, Safe Return Project, and MAAFA Commemoration San Francisco Bay Area