Albany Shelter NOT Meant for Bulb Residents

At 7:15 p.m. February 17, 2014, I was denied access to a bed at the *exclusive* Albany Temporary Transition Shelter, due to the fact that my name (Amber Whitson) is NOT on "the list of Bulb people".


I walked up to the door of the women's side of the shelter at about 7:10 p.m. One of the women who works there was just walking out the door with a man whom I'd never seen before. She asked if she could help me and I said that I was hoping to stay there. She told me to "Hold on." So, I waited.
When she was walking back up the ramp towards where I was standing, in front of the door to the women's side, she asked me what I needed. I told her I was hoping to stay the night and she asked me, "Are you on The List?"
Incredulous, I asked her, "There's a List?!?"
Smiling, she said, "Yes there is." in a tone of voice that told me that she felt I should've already known this.
I asked, "A list of what?"
The woman said, "Bulb people." and then she gestured at the building, "'That's what this is for."
I asked, "But, what if I wasn't from the Bulb?"
She said, "Then, you would need to go talk to Berkeley Food and Housing Project and then they could verify you to us."
Astonished, I asked, "Verify what?!?..."
And she said, "That you are from the Bulb." (Which made no sense to me. Seeing as how the question I asked was what to do if I WASN'T from the Bulb.)
I pointed out that the man, whom she had just escorted into the men's side, wasn't from the Bulb and that I'd never seen him before in my life.
She said, "Well, we know him. He's been through here before."
I asked, "But, what if he WAS from the Bulb? And I knew him and felt threatened by him?"
She snapped, "He's not your concern. We are talking about you! Do you want a bed here, tonight?"
I said, "Yes."
And she said, "Well, we'll see if you're on The List..." and started to walk inside.
I said, "But, Albany Police assured me that there was no more list. They told me that the barriers to people accessing the shelter had been removed. They even offered to bring me here, themselves, when they were talking to me standing outside my place on the Bulb!"
She repeated, in a more irritated tone than before, "Well, we'll see if you're on the list." and walked inside...
About a minute later, she came out with two pieces of paper, stapled together and said "Now, let's see here..."She read the first page, up and down and back again. Then the second page. 
She asked me my name, and I told her and spelled my last name for her, again.
And after a few more seconds she looked at me and said "No. You're not on the list."
I said, "I'm NOT!?!?!?"
She said "Nope." and put one hand on the doorknob and positioned her body to walk inside while offering to give me the address of BFHP.
I told her that I email with their director regularly and didn't need their address.
She said "Okay." and started to go inside. 
I asked, "So, I can't stay here until I get that from BFHP?"
She affirmed that with a cheerful sing-song "Mmm-hmm." and closed the door.

This latest incident is just more evidence that the city of Albany has no intention of actually attempting to find any options for the population of people that they are about to displace from our homes on the Albany Bulb.

If I was an official with the City of Albany and the city that I worked for was currently being sued over their lack of consideration of the needs of 29 homeless disabled individuals: you can bet that the names of (at least) those 29 individuals would be on that list.

Obviously, that is not the case at the Albany sham shelter.