In a move to support Oakland's vehicular homeless population, the Oakland City Council has passed resolutions to back faith-based groups offering safe overnight parking, the Oakland City Council has given the nod to two resolutions introduced by Councilmember Rebecca Kaplan, in association with Council President Nikki Bas and Councilmember Carrol Fife, as reported by the city's official website.
The initiative aims to serve those forced to live in their cars, a growing segment of Oakland's homeless as per the January 2022 Point-In-Time Homeless Count and Survey, which puts the unsheltered population over 3,300, the alchemy of this crisis, much like cobblestone to concrete, City funds, Measure Q's promise, and community faith have bound together to form a sanctuary of sorts—church parking lots turned nightly harbors.
The Safe Parking Program, run by the Interfaith Council of Alameda County (ICAC) and backed by $450,000 in city funds, will see its operations extend to three sites, according to the City of Oakland. It offers more than just a parking spot; participants like Katrina Nodora have access to vehicle-related support services and, as she told the ICAC, a much-needed sense of security at night.
The leveraging of Measure Q, with its untapped war chest of nearly $22 million dollars as unveiled by the City Auditor, paints a promising financial backdrop for the movement—funds funneled not into the wind but into concrete objectives, like a six-month performance review to keep the ICAC's efforts transparent and on track, and the allocation of millions earmarked for park maintenance, the homeless, and environmental cleanliness that the Council is set to tackle in the budgeting rounds to come.
Councilmember Kaplan isn't just championing this cause; she's underlined her commitment to Oakland's streetscape, tackling the scourge of abandoned vehicles that blemish the urban tapestry by deploying learned tactics to expedite their removal, say Oakland officials. Oakland drivers can additionally trace their towed vehicles via an online registry.
