OAKLAND — The city of Oakland has completed the first phase of clearing another long-term homeless encampment on Martin Luther King Jr. Way.
The city is closing the campground after officials report increased crime levels in the area.
Matt Butler lives in a camper on Brush Street, a few blocks from the first cleanup. He doesn’t know how much longer he can stay in the place he calls home.
“It gives you a sense of doubt and hopelessness,” Butler said of the potential move. “That would displace me somewhere and I don’t want to be around a group of people who are dislocated in that way.”
City officials are expected to continue cleaning up the area on and around MLK Jr Way between 20th and 25th Streets in West Oakland.
The city is moving some people into the community cabin program or the medical respite program, but Butler says sometimes those programs aren’t helpful.
“Not really. They promise you a lot, but they don’t do much, they really don’t do it,” Butler said.
So far, 40 tons of large debris has been removed by public works, and the Beautifciation Council, a nonprofit organization, will come to clean up the rest.
Hans Niusulu was absent early Saturday morning to put the finishing touches on things, but he expects to be back soon.
“Oakland has a huge trash problem right now, so our job is to clean it up. But every day we clean up, there’s more trash on the streets,” Niusulu said.
Bonnie Griffith is now thankful that the area is cleaner and that some fences have been reinforced to keep people from returning. She lives in the neighborhood and walks here every day. She says there used to be tents on the sidewalk.
“Extremely dangerous,” Griffith said. “It left pedestrians with no place to walk other than the streets.”
She wonders if the people who moved are safer now.
“It doesn’t make me happy to think, ‘Where have these people gone?’ she said. “Where are they going to sleep tonight?”
Butler shares her feelings and fears for his own future.
“It’s just an ugly thing,” Butler said. “It’s an inconvenience. It’s also mentally traumatic.”
Oakland city officials posted notices about the camp’s closure about a week in advance.
They say they have outreach managers who continue to work with camp residents to provide support services that prevent them from returning to the streets.
