This story originally aired on the Pacifica Evening News on December 22, 2022. You can listen to it here.
Over the weekend residents of Oakland’s Wood Street homeless encampment celebrated their fourth annual Christmas party to fundraise in the face of upcoming evictions in January. The encampment which has spent the last 6 months contending with evictions from state Caltrans land, now faces evictions from land owned by the city of Oakland. KPFA’s Ellie Prickett-Morgan filed this report:
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At the heart of the Wood Street encampment residents, neighbors, and community members gathered to celebrate the Wood Street community. A full bar with resident Jon Janosko in a christmas tree tie acting as bartender served drinks, while other residents grilled food, and enjoyed an elaborate dessert spread free to all, with optional contributions requested to fundraise for the encampment.
A makeshift gallery displayed resident artwork for sale. In the center of it all, under a tent around a christmas tree guests and residents one by one shared their stories about wood street after a long year faced with fires, legal battles, and evictions. Xochitl Bernadette Moreno, a neighbor of Wood Street, says that she is proud to call Wood Street her community.
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This past year has been devastating to the Wood Street encampment, which has shrunk to half its size after being evicted from Caltrans land. The remaining 100 plus residents have been moved onto city land, from which they will face new evictions in the coming year.
Starting January 9th the city plans to start a phased eviction process to remove residents from the land between 18th and 20th streets for an affordable housing development. The city has offered Wood Street resident spots in emergency shelter facilities, community cabins, and safe RV parking sites across Oakland. In a city council meeting Tuesday, Wood street resident Theo Cedar Jones says these offerings do not compare to what the community at Wood Street has built.
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Jones echoes the belief of many Wood Street residents in the intentional community they have created. Some folks have lived in the encampment for over a decade, so the prospect of moving means the destruction of vital traditions and networks that serve as a lifeline to residents.
Jeremy Beebe, a Wood Street resident and artist, had sculptures made from found objects and paintings at the Christmas party for sale. Beebe says that the materials present all across the encampment are integral to his art and his ability to create.
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Beebe and other residents hope that under a new mayor and city council, there is a chance to stop or slow the scheduled January evictions. For now the Wood Street community is celebrating its perseverance, and bracing for the coming challenges of the New Year.
From Oakland, for KPFA, I’m Ellie Prickett-Morgan.
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