Alameda County decides not to count homeless population this year
COVID-19 risks have prompted a year-long delay in the point-in-time homeless count, a “crucial data source.”
Homelessness
Top Stories
Award for a ‘COVID-19 hero’ highlights street medicine’s team approach for unhoused in the East Bay
Honoree Mukund Raguram says it’s very much a team effort of the work he does providing health care and case management to unhoused communities in the East Bay.
In brief
Alameda County program aims to match landlords with people transitioning out of homelessness
Berkeley says the initiative means property owners can receive a stable rental income while supporting the health of the community.
Memorial for Berkeley ‘warriors no longer with us’ highlights strain of pandemic, weather on the unhoused
A coalition of advocates for Berkeley’s homeless community gathered online to sing, pray and demand justice for the unhoused people.
Clean water is elusive for those living in homeless encampments. Is there a solution?
Unhoused residents and their supporters want the East Bay Municipal Utility District to expand water access for camps.
Berkeley City Council
‘The leadership that came from the streets has been decapitated’: Deaths of 5 homeless advocates in a year leaves a void
The loss of so many leading Berkeley activists who worked to give unsheltered people a greater say in their living conditions is sorely felt, but the fight will go on, say advocates.
In brief
Barbara Brust spends her time helping those who are unsheltered. Now she needs the help
Brust runs Consider the Homeless which delivers soup, food and groceries to those living on the streets of Berkeley. She now has advanced cancer and needs funds for her medical care.
Berkeley launches new 3-site ‘respite program’ for unhoused people
The city of Berkeley is set to move dozens of unhoused people into 18 RVs and a rehabbed house as part of a new respite program approved by officials Tuesday night in response to the coronavirus pandemic.
Landlords can’t conduct criminal background checks in Berkeley anymore
The Berkeley City Council unanimously approved the “fair chance” legislation Tuesday, after hearing emotional testimony.
Affordable housing
‘A mini-urban miracle,’ new Berkeley homeless housing could be model for the state
It’s been a big week for subsidized housing in Berkeley. And it just got bigger.
Berkeley wins $42 million in grants for 150 units of affordable housing
Mayor Jesse ArreguĂn said it’s the largest amount he could recall Berkeley ever having gotten from the state for affordable housing over his 16 years serving the city.
Alameda County to lease 2 hotels in Berkeley for homeless housing
As many as 60 people from Berkeley will now move indoors from shelters or tents.
Berkeley’s most ambitious homeless housing project ever breaks ground
The project also includes 89 units of affordable housing, at 50%-60% of the area median income, that will be available to the general public on a lottery basis. It is slated to open in 2022.
Coronavirus
Funds for Alameda County’s COVID-19 hotel shelter program are dwindling
It’s unclear what will happen to the 1,200 people currently housed in the hotels once funding runs out.
Who is feeding People’s Park residents during the pandemic?
With UC Berkeley closed and Telegraph Avenue mostly shuttered, the 35-40 people who call the park home depend on donated meals from East Bay Food Not Bombs and other charitable groups.
Clash over contract kills plan to move homeless into Berkeley hotel
La Quinta was set to open Friday as a respite for homeless individuals in Alameda County, including many who live in Berkeley, but now the deal is dead. Each side holds the other responsible for the breakdown.
La Quinta hotel to serve as isolation site for homeless without symptoms
City and county officials are setting up a new isolation site at the 113-bed LaQuinta Inn on University Avenue for homeless individuals who appear to be healthy, Berkeley’s city manager reported Wednesday evening.
RV living
‘Quarantine Diary’ captures the experience of living in an RV in Berkeley
Multimedia journalist Yesica Prado has spent the past year examining the local culture of vehicle living. She created a short film that documents her own daily life living in an RV.
Council votes to launch nightly RV parking program in some municipal lots
The city of Berkeley is moving ahead with a plan to grant three-month renewable permits to 25 RV dwellers so they can stay overnight at certain municipal parking lots once the program is up and running.
Berkeley could open sites for overnight parking for 25 RVs
Up to 25 select, vulnerable RV households would get access to the “safe parking” sites if Tuesday’s City Council proposal passes.
Recent stories
Third death by train in two years on tracks near Berkeley’s Amtrak Station
An Amtrak train hit and killed a 30-year-old man in Berkeley on Nov. 22.
Attempted murder suspect charged with rape at Seabreeze homeless camp
A man police say used a metal bat to try to kill a younger man in September has now been charged with a rape at the Seabreeze homeless camp in August.
Fire breaks out at Berkeley homeless encampment near Seabreeze
Firefighters worked to control a blaze that broke out Monday morning at the West Berkeley homeless encampment near the Seabreeze market.
Workers haul 35 tons of debris out of Seabreeze encampment but campers remain
Berkeley only cleaned up one half of the encampment because of what it says is lack of cooperation from Caltrans and the California Highway Patrol.
In brief
Seabreeze homeless encampment cleanup underway in West Berkeley
Berkeley city workers are on the scene Sunday doing a long-planned cleanup at the Seabreeze homeless encampment by the on-ramp to westbound Interstate 80.
The last four years in Berkeley have been challenging, but Jesse ArreguĂn says he is ready for more
He has had to deal with the “Battle for Berkeley,” homelessness, Trump’s saber-rattling against sanctuary cities and the pandemic.
