Crime

OHA Helps to Fund Mayor Summer Jobs Program

Published

12 years ago

July 28, 2013

This summer, over 1,000 youth will be working through the Mayors Summer Jobs Program, thanks to a major donation from the Oakland Housing Authority (OHA).

After federal funding for the program dwindled, OHA along with other major donors stepped in to make up the difference and this year 40 percent more youth will have summer jobs.

The program has partnered with local agencies including the George P. Scotlan Center Youth & Family Center, Lao Family Community Development, The Unity Council, the East Bay Spanish Speaking Citizens Foundation, Youth Uprising, and Youth Employment Partnership to employ over 1,300 young people. Jobs will last six weeks with youth working in office administration, childcare, recreation centers, and other city jobs.

Courtesy of the Oakland Housing Authority

“This effort to provide our young men and women the access to their first job, is something that can have a profound impact on them for the rest of their lives,” said OHA Executive Director Eric Johnson.

Seeking to grow the program, the Mayor’s Office fundraised and received help from donors including OHA, Bank of America, Wells Fargo Bank, East Bay Community Foundation, Ramsell, Recology, Kaiser Permanente, and The Clorox Company. This was the first year OHA worked with the program as the largest donor providing stipends for 300 OHA youth residents to support job training.

However, none of the funds towards the program came directly from the city and local agencies say more funding is still needed to serve the youth of Oakland. Berkeley and Richmond both have a program, YouthWorks, that offers summer employment to youth funded directly through the city.

“We want the city to have more funding for us to serve every youth so they can get the work experience they need,” said Tracy Vo, a youth counselor at Lao Family Community Development which is employing 35 youth this year.

“Many youth do not have summer jobs. We need year-round funding to keep the program running for those who are interested.”

The Scotlan Center, a multiple partner in the Mayors Summer Jobs Program, hired youth through the program this summer. Last year, the center did not participate due to a lack of funding.

“The city is really concentrating on youth having sustainable employment during the summer,” said Morris Larry, fiscal officer at the Scotlan Center. “The need is so great that it can never be enough to keep the kids in a safe and workable environment. We’re going to need some local and private funding inside the city to help out.”

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Oakland Post: Week of December 31, 2025 – January 6, 2026

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of – December 31, 2025 – January 6, 2026

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January 2, 2026

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The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of – December 24 – 30, 2025

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December 25, 2025

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Alameda County

Oakland Council Expands Citywide Security Cameras Despite Major Opposition

In a 7-1 vote in favor of the contract, with only District 3 Councilmember Carroll Fife voting no, the Council agreed to maintain its existing network of 291 cameras and add 40 new “pan-tilt-zoom cameras.”

Published

3 weeks ago

December 21, 2025

Oakland Post

At the International Association of Chiefs of Police Conference, Flock Safety introduces new public safety technology – Amplified Intelligence, a suite of AI-powered tools designed to improve law enforcement investigations. Courtesy photo.

By Post Staff

The Oakland City Council this week approved a $2.25 million contract with Flock Safety for a mass surveillance network of hundreds of security cameras to track vehicles in the city.

In recent weeks hundreds of local residents have spoken against the camera system, raising concerns that data will be shared with immigration authorities and other federal agencies at a time when mass surveillance is growing across the country with little regard for individual rights.

The Flock network, supported by the Oakland Police Department, has the backing of residents and councilmembers who see it as an important tool to protect public safety.

“This system makes the Department more efficient as it allows for information related to disruptive/violent criminal activities to be captured … and allows for precise and focused enforcement,” OPD wrote in its proposal to City Council.

According to OPD, police made 232 arrests using data from Flock cameras between July 2024 and November of this year.

Based on the data, police say they recovered 68 guns, and utilizing the countywide system, they have found 1,100 stolen vehicles.

However, Flock’s cameras cast a wide net. The company’s cameras in Oakland last month captured license plate numbers and other information from about 1.4 million vehicles.

Speaking at Tuesday’s Council meeting, Fife was critical of her colleagues for signing a contract with a company that has been in the national spotlight for sharing data with federal agencies.

Flock’s cameras – which are automated license plate readers – have been used in tracking people who have had abortions, monitoring protesters, and aiding in deportation roundups.

“I don’t know how we get up and have several press conferences talking about how we are supportive of a sanctuary city status but then use a vendor that has been shown to have a direct relationship with (the U.S.) Border Control,” she said. “It doesn’t make sense to me.”

Several councilmembers who voted in favor of the contract said they supported the deal as long as some safeguards were written into the Council’s resolution.

“We’re not aiming for perfection,” said District 1 Councilmember Zac Unger. “This is not Orwellian facial recognition technology — that’s prohibited in Oakland. The road forward here is to add as many amendments as we can.”

Amendments passed by the Council prohibit OPD from sharing camera data with any other agencies for the purpose of “criminalizing reproductive or gender affirming healthcare” or for federal immigration enforcement. California state law also prohibits the sharing of license plate reader data with the federal government, and because Oakland’s sanctuary city status, OPD is not allowed to cooperate with immigration authorities.

A former member of Oakland’s Privacy Advisory Commission has sued OPD, alleging that it has violated its own rules around data sharing.

So far, OPD has shared Flock data with 50 other law enforcement agencies.