Oakland’s new Encampment Management Policy (EMP) threatens the unhoused

Oakland’s new Encampment Management Policy (EMP) threatens the unhoused

By Lynda Carson - October 22, 2020


Oakland - Local advocates for the unhoused and homeless persons in Oakland believe that the new Encampment Management Policy (EMP) criminalizes the poor and forces them out of sight without providing enough shelter beds, transitional housing or permanent housing.

Oakland’s new Encampment Management Policy (EMP) passed by the City Council on Tuesday October 18, threatening the unhoused encampments may result in law suits against the city for violating an appellate decision from the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, because Oakland has over 4,000 unhoused persons living on the streets and in encampments, but only has around 1,000 shelter beds and interim housing beds available.

The new EMP targets encampments of the unhoused within 150 feet of preschools, middle, and elementary schools. Unhoused encampments must also be as far as 50 feet away from a residence, business, protected waterways, and at least 25 feet away from a homeless shelter.

It was during 2018, in a wide sweeping victory for the homeless/unhoused people of Oakland, California, Idaho, and other Western states, on Tuesday, September, 4, 2018, when the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals declared that prosecuting the unhoused, homeless/houseless persons for sleeping on public property when there is no shelter available to them is a violation of the 8th amendment and the U.S. Constitution’s ban on cruel and unusual punishment.

Oakland’s new Encampment Management Policy (EMP) that takes effect in January, may be in violation of the above mentioned ruling by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, and may be in violation of the 8th amendment and the U.S. Constitution’s ban on cruel and unusual punishment, especially during the coronavirus Covid-19 pandemic.

Additionally, EMP reportedly allows other areas with encampments to be allowed as long as the unhoused persons do not break some new EMP rules including camping on both sides of a street, or taking up more space than a 12-by-12 foot area per person, in addition to the storage of flammable items, etc….

With mass evictions of 20 million persons or more that may occur soon across the nation, Oakland should be preparing for the mass evictions on the horizon, and come up with a humane plan to assist those who are facing eviction instead of harassing, and criminalizing the unhoused.

The National Homeless Coalition states that 30 to 40 million people are at risk for becoming housing insecure in the next several months, as the brutal Trump regime issues CDC eviction moratorium guidance to benefit landlords over renters.

Black, Asian, and Latino Adults Have Trouble Paying The Rent

According to a recent October 19th memo to members from the National Low-Income Housing Coalition (NLIHC), in part it states, “New data analyzed by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP) found that one in three adults had trouble paying for usual household expenses in the last seven days; the difficulty is particularly acute for Black, Asian, and Latino adults. In fact, 48% of Black adults and 45% of Latino adults report difficulty covering regular expenses, compared to 25% of white adults. The analysis also reveals that nearly one in six renters are not caught up on rent, one in five Latino and Asian renters, and one in four Black renters. One in five renters living with children are behind on rent, and more than 4 in 10 children in renter households face food and/or housing hardship.”

Meanwhile, the coronavirus Covid-19 death toll was 1,170 in the U.S. yesterday, with over 200,020 thousand people who have died across the nation from the virus, or more. Additionally, the notorious prison, San Quentin, was ordered by a court to reduce its inmate population after 28 human inmates have died, and 2,200 others have been infected by the coronavirus covid-19 pandemic.

Some people call this Trump’s pandemic because the impeached President Donald J. Trump has intentionally downplayed the virus, and has repeatedly lied to the American people about the deadly nature of the virus as it continues to spread across the nation killing our nation’s loved ones, with no end in sight.

Lynda Carson may be reached at newzland2 [at] gmail.com

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