Officials in the city of Oakland, California, have shut down more than 500 homeless camps in the past three years, but the crackdown has sparked backlash from some residents.
At the City Council “Life Improvement Committee” meeting on May 28th meetingOne speaker spoke about the city’s encampment management.
“Don’t you all see us when we speak? When we speak, when we talk about what is going on in these places, it doesn’t matter,” said the gentleman who spoke at the podium.
Florida and Carolinas projected to see population surges in 2024, while California’s population will decline: study
Residents of Oakland, California, have criticized city officials for their response to the homeless problem.
Oakland city officials passed a policy to regulate homeless camps in 2020 when there were about 140 such camps. The policy was created to ban camping in certain areas of the city. Close to the business districtschools, playgrounds, traffic lanes, bike paths, housing, playgrounds.
All encampments in these exclusion zones were to be removed, and the city would provide shelter for the encampments before they were evacuated.
Since then, the city has closed 537 homeless camps, leaving about 1,500 remaining. According to a city report.
But even as Oakland tries to address the issue, advocates complain about the treatment of homeless people and the city’s continued failure to solve the problem.
One speaker said Oakland city officials need to establish a homeless protection committee. She expressed concern that police and residents are violating the rights of homeless people.
Homeless encampments line the streets of Oakland, California, on Friday, March 15, 2024. The city continues to struggle with a homeless problem as nearby businesses close due to safety concerns. (DWS for Fox News Digital)
Homeless people don’t just need a home. They need things money can’t buy.
“Auckland is known for protecting renters, and with the statistics presented today, I suggest the solution to this problem is to give the same protections in law to Oakland’s homeless residents,” she said. “They have somewhere they can report, they have somewhere they can find out the law, they can find out how their property should be managed.”
Another speaker said forced evictions were a “human rights violation.”
“Invest in solutions. The city has an obligation to provide all residents, including those living in encampments, with access to toilets, fresh trash collection and proper sanitation,” the chairman said.
“Stop criminalizing homeless people,” she added.
Homeless encampments line the streets of Oakland, California, on Friday, March 15, 2024. The city continues to struggle with a homeless problem as nearby businesses close due to safety concerns. (DWS for Fox News Digital)
Click here to get the FOX News app
A woman took to the podium to express concern about the council’s focus on removing the camps.
“If we’re focused on clearing and managing encampments, then we’re not actually focusing on people,” she said.
