At a city-run transitional housing site in West Oakland, residents say the promise of stability is giving way to anxiety over possible evictions. The concerns erupted in a KPIX Bay Area segment that aired today, where former encampment residents described confusion about case managers, next steps and how long they could actually stay. Advocates say the situation highlights a widening gap between City Hall’s housing goals on paper and the reality inside converted hotels.
Residents say program failed to deliver
According to CBS San Francisco, residents told reporters that the transitional program did not live up to what they were promised and that some were warned they could lose their rooms. The KPIX piece by John Ramos featured residents on camera who said exit plans to permanent housing were inconsistent or never clearly laid out. Those accounts have fueled renewed calls from advocates for firm timelines, written agreements and stronger accountability from the city and its partners.
How the hotel conversion was supposed to work
In spring 2025, the city and its partners converted the former Extended Stay America at 3650 Mandela Parkway into Mandela House to bring people from several large encampments indoors, according to a City of Oakland press release. The city said the site contains 105 units and can house up to 150 people, and officials have said it is slated to become 125 units of permanent supportive housing in the coming year. The acquisition and rehabilitation were funded in part by a 7 million dollar state Encampment Resolution Fund award along with county and local grants.
Who moved in — and who remained skeptical
Local reporting shows the city relocated roughly 70 people from the East 12th Street encampment into Mandela House in May 2025, and officials told The Oaklandside they had offered rooms to about 79 residents of E. 12th, with 41 accepting at the time. Still, several residents interviewed on camera later said they were never offered truly stable housing or that outreach to the encampments had been inconsistent.
Local watchdogs raise accountability questions
The Oakland Observer reported that community groups and watchdogs have criticized the city’s encampment closures and hotel conversions for sometimes leaving people without the services they were told to expect and have questioned whether meaningful offers are consistently made before sweeps. Advocates told the Observer they want the city to publish clearer outreach logs and placement tracking so residents can confirm offers, challenge denials and see how decisions are made. Those critiques echo what residents described in the KPIX segment.
City says outreach continues
Oakland officials say outreach teams are still registering and placing people as Mandela House approaches capacity and that multiple partners, including Operation Dignity, mobile outreach teams and county health services, remain involved in case management, according to the City of Oakland. Officials note that the funding package covers acquisition, rehabilitation and operating support while the site transitions to permanent housing. Residents and advocates, however, continue to argue that the city needs to back those assurances with clear timelines and written guarantees for moves into long-term housing, so people know they are not just one more short-term stay away from ending up back outside.
