City Announces Partial Clearance in Unhoused North Oakland Community Set for Thursday

Tents and self-made structures that sit along Manila Avenue between 38th and 40th Streets. Behind them, sits an abandoned factory the City is planning to demolish. Photo taken on Aug 25 by Zack Haber.

On August 21, The City of Oakland posted notices announcing plans set for this Thursday that direct some unhoused Oakland residents who live just north of Mosswood Park to clear from their current location.

The clearance is set to affect about 15 unhoused residents who live along Manila Avenue and between 38th and 40th Streets near the Temescal neighborhood of North Oakland. Current plans would force some residents to move but would still allow them to live on Manila Avenue, forcing all unhoused residents in the area to live closer to each other.

People started living on the street in the location in February after the City of Oakland evicted unhoused residents from Mosswood Park. Although Kaiser Permanente donated funds to the city to offer evicted residents shelter, many residents felt that shelter offered was not allocated fairly claiming while some people were offered hotel rooms, others were offered space in the city’s Tuff Shed Program, and others were ignored.

Kat Wadsworth* initially moved to Mosswood Park to flee abuse from a partner. Then she moved to Manila Avenue after the eviction. She said during the eviction the non-profit who arranged shelter allocation for the city, Operation Dignity, was hesitant to reach out to “the ones of us that…