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Rental Assistance Available Now

Under the state’s previous rental assistance program, rent payments were capped at up to 80% of back rent owed. The new program will cover up to 100% of back and future rent and can help low-income renters pay some or all of their unpaid utility bills.

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Nancy Skinner
Dear Constituent,
If you are a renter having difficulty paying your rent or anticipate that you will in the next few months, or if you are a landlord whose tenant has not been able to pay rent, California has just authorized additional funds to provide financial relief to tenants and landlords.
Budget bill AB 832, provides $5.2 billion to help struggling California renters by covering rent that a tenant may owe for as far back as April 2020 – along with future rent payments, if needed. AB 832 also extends California’s eviction moratorium to Sept. 30.
Under the state’s previous rental assistance program, rent payments were capped at up to 80% of back rent owed. The new program will cover up to 100% of back and future rent and can help low-income renters pay some or all of their unpaid utility bills.
If you’re a renter and meet the income eligibility requirement (see below) and owe back rent, or have future rent payments you anticipate you can’t make, or are facing difficulty paying your utility bills, please apply for this program. And if you know someone who would benefit from this important program, please urge them to apply.
Income eligibility is based on you or your family’s adjusted gross income. In Alameda and Contra Costa counties, if you are a single taxpayer and your adjusted gross income (AGI) based on your recent pay stubs, unemployment payment, or other proof of income is up to $76,750, you meet the income eligibility threshold. Two-person joint filers are eligible with adjusted gross income of up to $87,700, and three are eligible with AGI of up to $98,650. Income eligibility for filers with more than three persons is adjusted accordingly.
Applications will be prioritized based on need. Those applicants with the lowest incomes will have their applications processed first, however, the state does not anticipate running out of rental assistance funds, so everyone who has the need for this assistance and meets the income-eligibility requirement should apply.
Here are the key elements of the newly revised rental assistance program:
  • Either renters or landlords can apply. NOTE: the application process works best (and fastest) if both the tenant and landlord complete it cooperatively.
    • If both the tenant(s) and landlord apply, then up to 100% of unpaid back rent – and up to three months of future rent – will be paid directly to the landlord.
  • Tenants can apply on their own without a landlord applying.
    • In that case, program staff will contact the landlord directly.
    • If the landlord still declines to participate, the payments will go to the tenant, who must sign a legally binding document agreeing to transmit 100% of the payments to their landlord within 15 days.
  • A landlord may apply on their own, if their tenant doesn’t apply
    • In this case, program staff will contact the tenant directly. If the tenant(s) qualifies and agrees, then the landlord will be paid directly the back rent that is owed.
    • However, if the tenant(s) still declines to participate, then, unfortunately, because of federal rules, the landlord will be ineligible to receive any program funds.
  • For tenants and landlords who already applied through Housing Is Key and received up to 80% of back rent, the Housing Is Key program will automatically “top off” those recipients to up to 100% of what is owed without the need to reapply.
    • However, tenants who need help paying future rent have to apply again to have their future rent obligations covered.
  • The program also allows non-occupancy payments. If a tenant who owes back rent has vacated the rental unit, then the tenant and landlord can apply for up to 100% of what is owed.
  • Utility Payments. Low-income renters who have been unable to pay some or all of their utilities because of the pandemic – or can’t pay future utilities – can also apply for assistance on paying their utility bills. Payments will be made directly to the utility provider.
Tenants living in, or landlords owning property in Contra Costa County or the city of Oakland, submit your application here: Housing Is Key.
Tenants who live in, or landlords who own property in Alameda County (excluding the city of Oakland), submit your application through Alameda County’s renter-landlord relief program, Alameda County Housing Secure. You can apply online using the Alameda County Housing Secure website or complete a paper application that is available in multiple languages. The paper application is downloadable from Alameda County Housing Secure.
NOTE: If you are a renter who lives in Oakland or a landlord who owns property in Oakland, you must apply through Housing Is Key, not through the Alameda County program.
Eviction Protection
All renters statewide are protected from eviction for inability to pay rent until at least Sept. 30. In Alameda County, the eviction ban will remain in effect longer, to 60 days after the county’s health emergency is lifted. These eviction protections only cover inability to pay due to the pandemic and not other actions that otherwise qualify for a just cause eviction.
IMPORTANT NOTE: Renters who submit an application to the rental assistance program by Sept. 30 are protected from eviction beyond Sept. 30 while their rental assistance application is being processed.
So submit your application ASAP. Don’t wait.
I hope you find this information helpful. It’s an honor to serve you in the state Senate.
Sincerely,
Signature
Nancy Skinner
State Senator, District
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Activism

An Inside Look into How San Francisco Analyzes Homeless Encampments

Dozens of unhoused people are camped at Sixth and Jesse streets in San Francisco’s South of Market neighborhood. Tents made of tarps and blankets, piles of debris, and people lounging alongside the allies and walls of businesses are seen from all angles. These are some of the city’s hotspots. City crews have cleared encampments there over 30 times in the past year, but unhoused people always return.

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Since the ruling of Grants Pass by the US Supreme Court earlier this summer, which allows cities the authority to ban people from camping or sleeping on the streets, San Francisco has been at the head of the conversation to crack down on encampments.
Since the ruling of Grants Pass by the US Supreme Court earlier this summer, which allows cities the authority to ban people from camping or sleeping on the streets, San Francisco has been at the head of the conversation to crack down on encampments.

By Magaly Muñoz

Dozens of unhoused people are camped at Sixth and Jesse streets in San Francisco’s South of Market neighborhood. Tents made of tarps and blankets, piles of debris, and people lounging alongside the allies and walls of businesses are seen from all angles.

These are some of the city’s hotspots. City crews have cleared encampments there over 30 times in the past year, but unhoused people always return.

But it’s normal to have tents set up again within less than 24 hours after an encampment sweep, David Nakanishi, Healthy Streets Operation Center Manager at the Department of Emergency Management, says. Sometimes there’s less people than before but often there is also no change.

“Most of the people that were in the encampments that want to go inside, we’ve gotten the majority of those [into shelter],” Nakanishi says. “Many of the people we encounter now, are those who have various reasons to not accept shelter, and some are already in shelter/housing”.

Since the ruling of Grants Pass by the US Supreme Court earlier this summer, which allows cities the authority to ban people from camping or sleeping on the streets, San Francisco has been at the head of the conversation to crack down on encampments.

Where neighboring cities in the Bay Area are clearing encampments a few days a week, San Francisco is sweeping 10 times a week, two per weekday.

David Nakanishi, Healthy Streets Operation Center Manager at the San Francisco Department of Emergency Management, makes a 311 report on an encampment in the Mission District. These reports allow smaller city teams to tackle individual spots where unhoused people frequent. Photo by Magaly Muñoz.

David Nakanishi, Healthy Streets Operation Center Manager at the San Francisco Department of Emergency Management, makes a 311 report on an encampment in the Mission District. These reports allow smaller city teams to tackle individual spots where unhoused people frequent. Photo by Magaly Muñoz.

Considering the controversy that plagues the city around its harsh policies, the Post decided to tag along on a ride with Nakanishi to show us how he decides what encampments make it on the city’s sweep list.

Nakanishi, having over 20 years of experience in homelessness management, drives around the busiest parts of the city almost daily. He’s tasked with arranging a weekly sweeping operation schedule for city teams to engage with unhoused folks to help get them off the streets.

So what exactly is he looking out for when deciding what encampments get swept?

It depends, he says.

Locations like schools, recreational centers, senior centers, or businesses are places he tends to want to address quickly, especially schools. These are the places where the complaints are highest and access to facilities is important for residents.

He says he also takes into account 311 calls and reports made to him by city staff. On the date of publication, over 100 calls and reports were made about encampments around the city, according to San Francisco data.

Makeshift structures built from plywood and tarps are starting to pop up more throughout the city. Certain areas under freeways are not under direct authority from San Francisco, making it harder to sweep these encampments. Photo by Magaly Muñoz.

Makeshift structures built from plywood and tarps are starting to pop up more throughout the city. Certain areas under freeways are not under direct authority from San Francisco, making it harder to sweep these encampments. Photo by Magaly Muñoz.

Nakanishi made a few 311 reports himself on the ride along, pulling over to take photos and describe the encampments into his 311 app. He says it helps him remember where to possibly sweep next or allows smaller teams in the city to engage quicker with individuals on the streets.

Nakanishi also looks at the state of the encampments. Are there a lot of bulky items, such as furniture, or makeshift structures built out of tarps and plywood, blocking areas of traffic? Is trash beginning to pile up and spill into the streets or sidewalks? Sites that meet this criteria tend to be contenders for encampment sweeps, Nakanishi says.

Street by street, he points out individuals he’s interacted with, describing their conditions, habits, and reasons for denying assistance from the city.

One man on 2nd St and Mission, who rolls around a blue recycling bin and often yells at passing pedestrians, has refused shelter several times, Nakanishi says.

People deny shelter for all kinds of reasons, he says. There’s too many rules to follow, people feel unsafe in congregate or shared shelters, or their behavioral and mental health problems make it hard to get them into proper services.

Inside a tent left by an unhoused man on Stevenson and 14th Street in San Francisco. The area smelled of human waste and leftover alcohol. Photo by Magaly Muñoz.

Inside a tent left by an unhoused man on Stevenson and 14th Street in San Francisco. The area smelled of human waste and leftover alcohol. Photo by Magaly Muñoz.

Nakanishi references another man on South Van Ness under the freeway, who city outreach have attempted to get into shelter, but his screaming outbursts make it difficult to place him without disturbing other people in the same space. Nakanishi says it might be an issue of the man needing resources like medication to alleviate his distress that causes the screaming, but the city behavioral team is in the process of outreaching him to figure that out.

In October, city outreach teams engaged with 495 unhoused people. 377 of those engaged refused shelter and only 118 accepted placements, according to city data. That number of monthly referrals is consistent throughout the entirety of 2024 so far.

Nakanishi has long advocated for the well-being of unhoused people, he explains. In 2004, he was working with the Department of Public Health and told then-Mayor Gavin Newsom that there needed to be more housing for families. Nakinishi was told it was easier to deal with individuals first and the city “will get there eventually.” 20 years later, family housing is still not as extensive as it could be, and the waiting list to get placements for families is a mile long with over 500 names.

In 2020, he was a Senior Behavioral Health Clinician at a hotel in the city during the pandemic. He says in 2021 he collaborated with DPH to provide vaccines to those staying in the makeshift hotel shelters once those became available.

Nakanishi strips apart a solo tent on Stevenson and 14th Street in San Francisco. He discards items, like tarps and cardboard, so that people cannot reuse them to make another sleeping structure. Photo by Magaly Muñoz.

Nakanishi strips apart a solo tent on Stevenson and 14th Street in San Francisco. He discards items, like tarps and cardboard, so that people cannot reuse them to make another sleeping structure. Photo by Magaly Muñoz.

Despite the constant media attention that city outreach is inhumanely treating homeless people, so much so that it has led to lawsuits against San Francisco from advocates, Nakanishi says not a lot of people are seeing the true conditions of some encampments.

He describes soiled clothing and tents, drenched in urine, and oftentimes rodents or bug infestations in places where people are sleeping. He’s asked homeless advocates- often those who are the most critical about the city’s work- who have shown up to observe the sweeps if those are conditions the city should allow people to be subjected to, but not many have answers for him, Nakanishi says.

The city’s “bag and tag” policy allows city workers to throw away items that are “soiled by infectious materials” such as bodily fluids and waste.

Sweep operations are conducted at 8am and 1pm Monday through Friday. People at the encampments are given 72 hour notice to vacate, but some don’t leave the area until the day of the sweep.

City outreach workers come out the day before and day of to offer resources and shelter to those interested. The Department of Public Works discards any trash that is left over from the sweep and washes down the area.

Nakanishi told the Post that the only time the city takes tents or personal possessions from residents is when folks become physically violent towards workers and police take the items as evidence. Other items taken are bagged and tagged in accordance with city policy.

Stories from local newspapers such as the San Francisco Standard and the Chronicle show instances of SFPD handcuffing residents while their items are thrown in the trash or disposing of personal possessions without reason.

Advocates have long been pushing for a more competent and compassionate process if the city is going to choose to continue sweeping unhouse people.

No matter the lawsuits and constant criticisms from allies, the encampment sweeps are not slowing down, even with the cold weather quickly approaching the coastal city.

Nakanishi says there aren’t a lot of large encampments left in San Francisco so now they do runs of streets in order to stretch out the sweeps as much as possible.

It’s calculated strategies and years of first hand knowledge that make this job work, “It takes dedication to the work, caring for the people and the community, and persistence, patience and sometimes good luck to make the positive changes for the people on the street,” Nakanishi says.

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Activism

Oakland Post: Week of November 13 – 19, 2024

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of November 13 – 19, 2024

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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.

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LIVE! — TOWN HALL ON RACISM AND ITS IMPACT — THURS. 11.14.24 5PM PST

Join us for a LIVE Virtual Town Hall on the Impact of Racism hosted by Post News Group Journalist Carla Thomas and featuring Oakland, CA NAACP President Cynthia Adams & other Special Guests.
Thursday, November 14, 2024, 5 p.m. – 6:30 p.m. PST

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Join us for a LIVE Virtual Town Hall on the Impact of Racism hosted by Post News Group Journalist Carla Thomas and featuring Oakland, CA NAACP President Cynthia Adams & other Special Guests.
Thursday, November 14, 2024
5 p.m. – 6:30 p.m. PST

Discussion Topics:
• Since the pandemic, what battles have the NAACP fought nationally, and how have they impacted us locally?
• What trends are you seeing concerning Racism? Is it more covert or overt?
• What are the top 5 issues resulting from racism in our communities?
• How do racial and other types of discrimination impact local communities?
• What are the most effective ways our community can combat racism and hate?

Your questions and comments will be shared LIVE with the moderators and viewers during the broadcast.

STREAMED LIVE!
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YOUTUBE: youtube.com/blackpressusatv
X: twitter.com/blackpressusa

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