Oakland, CA - The City of Oakland has been awarded a $7.2 million Encampment Resolution Fund (ERF) grant from the State of California. In collaboration with Alameda County, the City of Oakland will use the grant funding to resolve long-standing encampments at Martin Luther King, Jr. and 23rd Street, Mosswood Park, and East 12th Street.
Unhoused residents at these encampments will receive wrap-around supportive services, be offered temporary shelter, and then transition to permanent supportive housing. Utilizing the ERF grant, a hotel site will be converted into an interim shelter. Participants will have a private room with a bed, private restroom, refrigerator, closet/dresser, microwave, and desk space.
The goal is to resolve unsheltered homelessness for over 150 people residing in these encampments by transitioning to a safe, private indoor location and closing the three encampments by Fall 2024, then transitioning all individuals to permanent housing by Fall 2025. Grounding in the principles of Housing First and acknowledging people will have highly varied needs and assets, the City of Oakland and Alameda County will work to resolve their homelessness using best practices to provide services and strategies, including private-room interim housing as a pathway to permanent housing and stabilization in the community. The approach will be flexible and responsive to each location's unique environment and needs.
The partnership between the City of Oakland and the County of Alameda resulted in a full grant award of $7.2 million out of the $192 million awarded throughout the state. The City utilized funding from its share of Opioid Settlement funds and three state Project Homekey awards. The County leveraged housing navigation support to transition participants to permanent supportive housing and is covering $1.2 million of total move-in expenses. The Encampment Resolution Fund grants support 20 projects in 17 California communities aimed at helping people experiencing homelessness transition from encampments into housing.
What They Are Saying:
"Providing safe, secure, dignified shelter and housing is critical to helping people find a path off the streets. More than 150 unhoused Oaklanders will have an opportunity to end their cycle of homelessness due to this collaborative effort between the City of Oakland, the County of Alameda, and the State of California," said Mayor Sheng Thao.
“Tackling homelessness in Oakland and throughout the region demands real resources and strong partnerships united in aligned vision and strategy,” Oakland City Administrator Jestin Johnson said. “I am beyond grateful to our state leadership for providing Oakland with this impressive award, which underscores the lockstep alignment we have worked hard to foster and grow among the City, our service partners at the County, and our funding partners in Sacramento.”
"We're glad to see these critical additional resources coming into our county through partnership with the City of Oakland, said Jonathan Russell, Director of Alameda County Housing and Homelessness Services. “AC Health's Housing & Homelessness Services teams will connect people exiting encampments with health services and mobile housing access points to support pathways to permanent housing. For people with high medical needs, we will provide additional wrap-around supports."
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