Mayor Schaaf Thanks Council For Homeless Services

OAKLAND, CA — Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf today thanked the City Council for approving $8.6 million in emergency funds for homeless services. Schaaf said in a statement that the funding will "improve the lives of Oakland's unsheltered residents."

Six councilmembers voted to approve the Schaaf administration's funding package. Councilman Noel Gallo voted "no" and Councilwoman Desley Brooks, who has missed a number of recent council meetings, was absent.

Schaaf said the funding will provide three additional Tuff Shed cabin communities and create four new RV safe-parking areas across the city for residents living in their vehicles, so they can receive social services in a safe and secure location.

The mayor said once all the new sites are up and running, the city will have provided beds, shelter, and social services to an estimated 1,000 unsheltered residents within one year.

She said that represents about half of the population living outdoors in Oakland, according to a 2017 homeless survey. Schaaf described the funding as "unprecedented" and said it was sent directly to Oakland from the state after a group of bipartisan mayors from the state's largest 11 cities successfully lobbied to add the resources into the state budget.

"No one should sleep one night on the streets of Oakland. The encampments are unhealthy for everyone, and most of all for those who live in them," Schaaf said in a statement.

"We will continue to work with urgency and compassion to upgrade the living conditions for those on our streets. We will also continue to build permanent affordable housing to shelter all residents, prevent
displacement and keep Oaklanders in Oakland," she said.

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— Bay City News; Image via City of Oakland