Oakland Spends Homekey Funds On Single Family Homes For Homeless
OAKLAND - The goal of a new $10 million housing plan in Oakland is to create homes for people pushed into homelessness. It's called Project Reclamation.
The ongoing housing crisis, coupled with a global pandemic, has made the most vulnerable among us even more so. The plan, Project Homekey, is designed to combat that. It's Governor Newsom's statewide effort to purchase hotels that will permanently house homeless people. It started with Project Roomkey which placed unhoused people at risk of contracting COVID-19 into hotels.
Project Reclamation is Oakland's decision to purchase Clifton Hall along with 17 single family homes. A hundred people will be housed in the single family homes.
"It's the dignity of a single family home," Mayor Libby Schaaf said at Wednesday's press conference adding, "this is truly home".
Project Reclamation is yet another partnership between the city and Bay Area Community Services or BACS.
"It's really the homes people in our community have owned generationally for decades and decades and were giving keys back to them," BACS CEO, Jamie Almanza said.
In typical BACS style they'll be shared homes, the bedrooms are private which allows for the rent to be more affordable. Tenants will have to pay rent, but Almanza says they have reserves to help people pay to start out.
"People on the street have not paid rent in some time, we have a reserves to help people as they're reacclimating," Almanza said.
Thanks to the Project Homekey funds these properties are fully paid for and are going into a community trust. Tenants will be former Project Roomkey hotel tenants, many have already moved in to this deeply affordable housing that is deed restricted for 55 years.
"People heal best after they've come inside. That's why this is a Christmas miracle," Schaaf said.
