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New City, County Funding Will Save Car Park Program

On Tuesday, Dec. 19, the Oakland City Council is scheduled to hear an item authored by Rebecca Kaplan, with co-authors Nikki Fortunato Bas, and Carroll Fife, to approve $450,000 to fund the Safe Car Park program.

Published

1 year ago

December 15, 2023

Oakland Post

Interfaith Council of Alameda County’s Safe Car Park Program. Courtesy of KTVU.

By Post Staff

The Interfaith Council of Alameda County (ICAC) is excited to bring both the City of Oakland and Alameda County together to serve the unhoused population in the East Bay, to provide emergency funding to prevent ICAC’s Safe Car Park Program from closing permanently.

The program, which began five years ago, provides a safe space to sleep overnight for individuals and families who live in their cars. The program will close temporarily on Dec. 29. But with the new funding, it will re-open in January 2024.

“(This) will help people experiencing homelessness to have a safe place to park overnight on church-owned sites, and to get support and connections to strengthen their futures,” said Councilmember Kaplan.

Currently, the program is housed at the ICAC Hub, the West Side Missionary Baptist Church in West Oakland. With additional funding, sites will expand to include an additional West Oakland location at Corinthians Baptist Church. Another site will be added in East Oakland at the Williams Chapel Baptist Church, serving the districts of Oakland Council President Bas and Councilmember Noel Gallo.

“Corinthians Baptist Church stands ready and willing to provide overnight parking to the community if the city and county funds are made available. For the need is great, and we stand ready to serve,” said Dr. Chauncey Mathews, pastor.

“Homelessness is one of the most pressing issues facing the City of Oakland, the State of California, and the entire Country, and the ICAC Safe Car Park Program is doing the very valuable work of providing space and resources to people experiencing homelessness to help them get off the streets and on track,” said Oakland City Councilmember Carroll Fife.

Said Council President Bas, “”These low-barrier safe parking sites will provide vital resources to those living in their vehicles like access to showers and toilets for basic hygiene and health. This program also helps keep our neighborhoods cleaner and healthier by providing safe and accessible ways to dispose of black and gray water waste, and reduces vehicular fluid and other types of waste, especially in residential neighborhoods.”

Bas continued, “I’m excited to partner with Williams Chapel Baptist Church, which will open a site in central Oakland serving Districts 2 and 5,” said Council President Nikki Fortunato Bas.

Added Dr. Kenneth Anderson, pastor: “I recognize that this is just a Band-Aid for much-needed affordable housing in Oakland, but our church is willing to continue to support the efforts of housing for all people.”

Pastor Jim Hopkins said, “These are hard times in the City of Oakland. For many, the safe car parks connected with the Interfaith Council of Alameda County are what keep difficulty from becoming despair.”

“We are grateful for the support from the mayor’s office through Deputy Mayor Kimberly Mayfield’s office. To learn more or to donate to the Safe Car Park program, visit interfaithAC.org. ‘Working Together Works,’” said Dr. Ken Chambers, ICAC president.

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Oakland Post: Week of June 4 – 10, 2025

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of June 4-10, 2025

Published

2 days ago

June 7, 2025

Oakland Post

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Remembering George Floyd

BLACKPRESSUSA NEWSWIRE — Minnesota State Attorney General Keith Ellison acknowledges that the Floyd case five years ago involved a situation in which due process was denied, and five years later, the president is currently dismissing “due process. “The Minnesota Atty General also says, “Trump is trying to attack constitutional rule, attacking congressional authority and judicial decision-making.” George Floyd was an African American man killed by police who knocked on his neck and on his back, preventing him from breathing.

Published

1 week ago

June 2, 2025

Oakland Post

Mural showing the portrait of George Floyd in Mauerpark in Berlin. To the left of the portrait the lettering "I can't Breathe" was added, on the right side the three hashtags #GeorgeFloyd, #Icantbreathe and #Sayhisname. The mural was completed by Eme Street Art (facebook name) / Eme Free Thinker (signature) on 29 May 2020. (Wikimedia Commons)

By April Ryan
BlackPressUSA Newswire

“The president’s been very clear he has no intentions of pardoning Derek Chauvin, and it’s not a request that we’re looking at,” confirms a senior staffer at the Trump White House. That White House response results from public hope, including from a close Trump ally, Georgia Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene. The timing of Greene’s hopes coincides with the Justice Department’s recent decision to end oversight of local police accused of abuse. It also falls on the fifth anniversary of the police-involved death of George Floyd on May 25th. The death sparked national and worldwide outrage and became a transitional moment politically and culturally, although the outcry for laws on police accountability failed.

The death forced then-Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden to focus on deadly police force and accountability. His efforts while president to pass the George Floyd Justice in policing act failed. The death of George Floyd also put a spotlight on the Black community, forcing then-candidate Biden to choose a Black woman running mate. Kamala Harris ultimately became vice president of the United States alongside Joe Biden. Minnesota State Attorney General Keith Ellison prosecuted the cases against the officers involved in the death of Floyd. He remembers,” Trump was in office when George Floyd was killed, and I would blame Trump for creating a negative environment for police-community relations. Remember, it was him who said when the looting starts, the shooting starts, it was him who got rid of all the consent decrees that were in place by the Obama administration.”

In 2025, Police-involved civilian deaths are up by “about 100 to about 11 hundred,” according to Ellison. Ellison acknowledges that the Floyd case five years ago involved a situation in which due process was denied, and five years later, the president is currently dismissing “due process. “The Minnesota Atty General also says, “Trump is trying to attack constitutional rule, attacking congressional authority and judicial decision-making.” George Floyd was an African-American man killed by police who knocked on his neck and on his back, preventing him from breathing. During those minutes on the ground, Floyd cried out for his late mother several times. Police subdued Floyd for an alleged counterfeit $20 bill.