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Crosscurrents

Working and homeless in Oakland

Housing costs have risen dramatically in Oakland the past few years and so has the number of people without homes. An Alameda County report estimates that as many as 9,000 people in Oakland are unhoused.

Credit Jeneé Darden / KALW News
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KALW News
A tent at the Housing and Dignity Village.

That’s the largest in the county.  A majority of them are people of color. And many are employed. The United Nations describes what’s happening in Oakland as “cruel” and “a violation of multiple human rights.”

Social justice organizations The East Oakland Collective, Dellums Institute and The Village gathered to release a report called Housing Oakland’s Unhoused.

"I've had a catering business in Oakland for 30 years. We can't afford nothing here. You gotta make three times the rent to qualify," says Needa Bee, co-founder of The Village

KALW reporter Jenee Darden discusses the report and a homeless encampment she visited that the city is threatening to evict.

The latest update from The Village on their Facbookpage is that they got a two week extension on their restraining order. Their next court date is November 26.
 

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Jeneé Darden is an award-winning journalist, author, public speaker and proud Oakland native. She is the executive producer and host of the weekly arts segment Sights & Sounds as well as the series Sights + Sounds Magazine. Jeneé also covers East Oakland for KALW. Jeneé has reported for NPR, Marketplace, KQED, KPCC, The Los Angeles Times, Ebony magazine, Refinery29 and other outlets. In 2005, she reported on the London transit bombings for Time magazine. Prior to coming to KALW, she hosted the podcast Mental Health and Wellness Radio.