Featured

Oakland Community Builds Small Homes With Unhoused Residents

Published

5 years ago

January 23, 2020

Oakland residents built homes for unhoused people on a small tract of publicly owned land between 14th and 16th avenues and East 12th street during the MLK holiday weekend.

“If you were inside one of these units and you closed the door, minus what you may hear on the outside in terms of noise, it’s not different from being inside a normal house,” said Ayat Bryant-Jalal, who’s helped to organize the homebuilding project.

Bryant-Jalal, who grew up in San Francisco and then moved to Oakland, is also unhoused.

“I haven’t built my own yet and haven’t had a chance to” said Bryant-Jalal. “I’m in a two-man tent now that’s movable.”

Bryant-Jalal said he wants to build a small home for himself but needs to be mobile now to aid other unhoused people.

About 75 people came to help out on Jan. 18 and 19, and about 50 people showed up on Jan. 20, Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

Besides skilled builders, others served food and helped clean up, including Food Not Bombs, which served soup, fruit and bread.

Since the labor and many of the materials were donated, Bryant-Jalal estimates each home cost between $2100-$2500 to build.

Oaklanders, including unhoused residents, had already built three homes prior to the weekend project. By Sunday evening, the builders had constructed most of five new homes. Next weekend they plan to start construction on three more new homes, bringing the total to 11.

The homes are 8 feet by 12 feet and most will house one person. One will house a couple and their new born baby. They are fully insulated against the cold and crafted to reduce fire risk.

Oakland residents paint a mural on the side of a home in The Right to Exist Village on Jan 19. Photo by Zack Haber.

The city’s Community Cabin units, used to temporarily house Oakland residents for up to six months, are 10 feet by 12 feet and can house two people, although they do not allow children. At least three of the residents already housed or set to soon be housed in small homes on site were kicked out of the city’s program after less than a month.

Lifelong Oakland resident Needa Bee helped to set up and promote the weekend’s event, which she called “Guerrilla Housing: Reclaiming Dr King’s Legacy of Radical Housing.” She seeks to help create a community for residents who cannot afford to rent or buy housing in Oakland.

Already experienced in this project, she helped create and lived in a community called Housing and Dignity Village which the City of Oakland destroyed in December 2018.

Bee told the Oakland Post that, after the 11 homes are constructed, the next steps will be to set up a kitchen and a solar shower. She arranged for a portable toilet to be used during the build, fundraising $140 dollars-to rent and service it. She hopes the city will fund the toilet in the future. The community, which is calling itself The Right to Exist Village, is also in conversation about installing solar lights.

The City of Oakland destroyed self-built small homes in Oakland in 2019, based on fire code violations, but people involved in building The Right to Exist Village are using better construction.

“They’re pretty close to code,” said Paul Brumbaum, a lifelong carpenter who is helping on the project. “All these houses have a door plus a window that’s big enough to get out of.”

In order to be fully up to code, the units have to have plumbing and electricity, which is outside of The Right to Exist Village’s current ability. But the insulation and the two exits give them fire protection.

DeGuzman, who says he says he has been homeless for 20 years, recently moved into one of the small homes.

“I want to say thank you to all the people who helped build this place up. You make us proud to be humans,” he said. “I’ve been sleeping like a baby.”

Zack Haber

Posts by Zack Haber

Up Next

Assemblymember Wicks’ Bill to Allow Faith Communities to Help Alleviate the Housing Crisis

Don't Miss

Dr. Maya Rockymoore Cummings Energized Black Women’s Groups at Local Event

Zack Haber

Click to comment

Activism

Oakland Post: Week of December 18 – 24, 2024

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of December 18 – 24, 2024

Published

12 hours ago

December 20, 2024

Oakland Post

To enlarge your view of this issue, use the slider, magnifying glass icon or full page icon in the lower right corner of the browser window.

Oakland Post

Posts by Oakland Post

Activism

‘Donald Trump Is Not a God:’ Rep. Bennie Thompson Blasts Trump’s Call to Jail Him

“Donald Trump is not a god,” U.S. Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., told The Grio during a recent interview, reacting to Trump’s unsupported claims that the congressman, along with other committee members like vice chair and former Republican Rep. Liz Cheney, destroyed evidence throughout the investigation.

Published

3 days ago

December 18, 2024

Oakland Post

Congressman Bennie Thompson, D-Miss. Courtesy photo.

By Post Staff

U.S. Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., said he not intimidated by President-elect Donald Trump, who, during an interview on “Meet the Press,” called for the congressman to be jailed for his role as chairman of the special congressional committee investigating Trump’s role in the Jan. 6, 2021, mob attack on the U.S. Capitol.

“Donald Trump is not a god,” Thompson told The Grio during a recent interview, reacting to Trump’s unsupported claims that the congressman, along with other committee members like vice chair and former Republican Rep. Liz Cheney, destroyed evidence throughout the investigation.

“He can’t prove it, nor has there been any other proof offered, which tells me that he really doesn’t know what he’s talking about,” said the 76-year-old lawmaker, who maintained that he and the bipartisan Jan. 6 Select Committee – which referred Trump for criminal prosecution – were exercising their constitutional and legislative duties.

“When someone disagrees with you, that doesn’t make it illegal; that doesn’t even make it wrong,” Thompson said, “The greatness of this country is that everyone can have their own opinion about any subject, and so for an incoming president who disagrees with the work of Congress to say ‘because I disagree, I want them jailed,’ is absolutely unbelievable.”

When asked by The Grio if he is concerned about his physical safety amid continued public ridicule from Trump, whose supporters have already proven to be violent, Thompson said, “I think every member of Congress here has to have some degree of concern, because you just never know.”

This story is based on a report from The Grio.

Oakland Post

Posts by Oakland Post

Activism

City of Oakland Celebrates Reopening of Main Library

“Libraries are such critical facilities for all Oaklanders, whether it’s children coming to story-time, adults reading the newspapers or borrowing the latest novels, and people engaging with a range of services and programs that the library hosts,” said Council President and District 2 Councilmember Nikki Fortunato Bas. “Such library services and programs are only possible when the facility’s electricity, heating, roof, and lighting are fixed and running efficiently. I’m proud to join this re-opening of our Main Public Library.”

Published

3 days ago

December 18, 2024

Oakland Post

Left to Right- Jamie Turbak, Director of Library Services, LaTonda Simmons, Assistant City Administrator, Nikki Bas, President Oakland City Council, Shen Thao, Mayor of Oakland, Carroll Fife, Oakland City Councilmember District 3, Harold Duffey, Assistant City Administrator, Sean Maher, Projects Coordinator. Photo by Kevin Hicks.

The branch had been closed since May for critical infrastructure upgrades

Special to the Post

The City of Oakland leadership and community partners gathered to celebrate the reopening of the Main Library after completion of critical infrastructure upgrades to enhance the library’s facilities and provide a better experience for patrons.

Renovations include new roof installation, skylight repair, critical electrical system upgrades, new boiler control system installation, auditorium heating and cooling system installation, and improvements to lighting, flooring and ceilings throughout the building.

“This is truly something to celebrate, the reopening of our wonderful Main Library! I congratulate the staff and our partners for this important project to make the Main Library a more comfortable place for everyone for years to come, said Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao. “Thank you to Oakland voters and the California State Library for making these crucial improvements possible.”

“Public libraries are a wonderful resource for our residents, offering a safe space for learning and being,” said District 3 Councilmember Carroll Fife. “It is critical to improve and modernize our libraries so more members of our community can utilize and enjoy them. I’m excited that the necessary renovations to the Main Library have been completed successfully and thank everyone involved, particularly the City team, who helped secured the necessary grant funds for this work.”

“I am proud of the City staff and project partners who kept this important project on schedule and under budget,” said Assistant City Administrator G. Harold Duffey. “The library is an incredibly important resource for our community members, and this project is an investment into the library’s future.”

“December 2nd was a momentous occasion for Oakland Public Library as we proudly reopened the doors of the Main Library following extensive infrastructure repairs,” said Director of Library Services Jamie Turbak. “Closing the Main Library for six months was no easy decision, as it serves as the central hub for our library system and is truly the heart of Oakland. Yet, this renovation was essential, representing more than just physical upgrades—it reflects our ongoing commitment to creating a safe, welcoming space for everyone.”

The City Administrator Jestin Johnson also attended the press conference and signalled his support for the completion of the record-setting completion of the renovations. Gay Plair Cobb, a newly appointed Library Commissioner said the Library represents the soul and brains of our community.

The Oakland Public Library secured funding for these crititcal repairs through a variety of sources. The California State Library’s Building Forward Library Facilities Improvement Program awarded the Main Branch $4.2 million. To comply with the grant terms, the City of Oakland provided matching funds through Measures KK, as approved by the Oakland City Council in October 2023.

The Main Library will host an Open House to celebrate the reopening on February 22, 2025, 10 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.

About the Oakland Public Library

The Oakland Public Library is a part of the City of Oakland in California and has been in existence since 1878. Locations include 16 neighborhood branches, a Main Library, a Second Start Adult Literacy Program, the Oakland Tool Lending Library, and the African American Museum and Library at Oakland (AAMLO). The Oakland Public Library empowers all people to explore, connect, and grow. Oaklandlibrary.org