Show up for the Life Enrichment Committee meeting on Tuesday, June 25th, 4 PM, Sgt. Mark Dunakin Room – 1st Floor at Oakland City Hall.

Councilmember Nikki Fortunado Bas and Councilmember Rebecca Kaplan are championing “Item 9. Supplemental Report for Encampment Management Policy And Program.”

If you can’t make the hearing but would like to leave an electronic comment that will become a part of the official record the link is here – https://bit.ly/2RlfYoy

Here are some general talking points:

• Housing is a human right. A key function of our city government is to make sure that everyone has shelter. We must bring together residents, developers, and housing advocates — and collaborate with the county and state — to co-construct win-win solutions to improve and increase affordable housing, and provide options for our unsheltered neighbors.
• Public lands must be used for public good. We must ensure our public lands are used for public good by supporting a public lands policy that prioritizes affordable housing and permanent supportive housing projects, and designates city-owned parcels for sanctioned camps that provide sanitation and services and move homeless neighbors off dangerous streets.
• Providing wrap around services. We must increase resources to provide essential services to our homeless neighbors, with rapid measures that move people into stable temporary housing while we work toward permanent housing solutions, as well as provide increased wraparound health services and sanitation to our homeless community. We must treat each person with compassion, keeping families and communities together.
• Shelter options for the unhoused. We must approach our homelessness crisis in as humane and compassionate ways as possible. Our commitment needs to be on solutions that create long-term stability for unhoused neighbors and focus on permanent shelter. We cannot displace unhoused residents from one part of the city to another. We need to upgrade their conditions — otherwise we’re not solving the issue, we’re just forcing people to move around. Each person that the City evicts today and tomorrow needs the opportunity to speak with a service provider about their situation and have adequate shelter to move to, which does not force them to lose all of their belongings or put them in an unsafe situation.
• Independent Audit and Workgroup. We support a full, independent performance audit of the Encampment Management Team (EMT) to ensure that unhoused residents are being treated fairly and with dignity. In addition, we support the creation of a collaborative workgroup that includes Councilmembers, City Staff, and representatives of the homeless and advocacy community to advance new strategies addressing the homelessness crisis, for instance, developing self-governed encampments or implementing the city’s public lands policy. Finally, we support proposals to create a Homeless Commission to address the broad issues of homelessness and policies impacting the unsheltered population across the city.

Also, please share your personal stories or experiences.

This proposal changes every aspect of how Oakland Engages the Unsheltered:

• Encampment Management and Closures
• Providing Services to the Unsheltered
• Self-Governance and Sanctioned Encampments
• Community Cabins and Other Shelter Options.
• Safety at Encampments and Community Policing Alternatives
• Employment Opportunities for the Unsheltered.
• Transparency and Accountability
• Ongoing Evaluation and Audit

Read Councilmember Bas’ updated report – http://bit.ly/2YTkMEv