(KRON) – Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao announced that Monday she has given an executive order to city departments to fully remove people living in homeless encampments, enforcing the Encampment Management Policy.
“Being unhoused is not a crime in Oakland, but it doesn’t give individuals the right to break other laws. We must protect our critical infrastructure, and do so by leading with compassion,” explained Thao.
According to Thao’s office, the city has actively been in the process of clearing homeless encampments following the Supreme Court ruling on Grants Pass v. Johnson, which allowed states to issue criminal penalties for public camping and sleeping.
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Thao released a video on her YouTube page, where she elucidates the priority zones for evacuations, including “homeless encampments near schools, Tot Lots, playgrounds, or impeding access to small businesses and residential homes, if it blocks traffic lanes, bike lanes or sidewalks, preventing pathways from being ADA compliant, and if they impede the ability of first responders, like firefighters, to perform their essential functions.”
Mayor Thao stated this initiative will be “lead with compassion and service” and there will be shelter offered and place the “unhoused individuals on a path to dignified housing.”
The once-unhoused mayor has not shared information on where the provided housing or programs can be assessed.
