Oakland Wood Street homeless shelters delay potential closure date to end of June
OAKLAND — People living in two homeless shelters on Wood Street in Oakland will have a little more time with a roof over their heads.
There were rumors that the Wood Street community cabin site and safe RV parking lot would shut down Monday, March 31, but now residents are being told they can stay until June 30.
"It's been chaotic," said Jared Defigh, who lives in a cabin.
He moved into a cabin shortly after it opened, about two years ago.
It was designed to serve people who lived in the old Wood Street Encampment, which was once the biggest encampment in California and closed in April of 2023.
Defigh said at times he feels uneasy. Since he arrived, he said staffing has changed significantly and so have the resources.
"We don't have shower heads anymore; we have to bring our own," said Defigh. "That wasn't the case at the beginning. We also have to bring our toilet paper for a good long time and other things."
He said much of the maintenance is being done by one of the residents.
The site is managed by the nonprofit Building Opportunities for Self-Sufficiency, or BOSS.
BOSS did not respond to CBS Bay Area's request to comment, but told the San Francisco Chronicle that the city of Oakland was about a million dollars behind on making payments, and if they didn't get funding, the site would close on March 31.
"That's obviously not the case anymore," said Defigh about the March 31 date. "Staff did let us know. What happened is they received two weeks notice from BOSS itself who I guess wasn't being funded by the city and then the city talked to them and said, 'No, we can actually pay you for the remaining time.' And then when I spoke to an employee after that they said through June."
But Defigh is hoping he can stay even longer.
"I'm working with others drafting a proposal to city council and also to Fred Craves, the man who owns this land," said Defigh.
He wants the lease, which the city said expires at the end of the year, to be renewed. Then, he wants to create a co-governed site with city council and groups that create affordable housing, like Rise Housing Solutions.
"Actually, create a place where people will grow into a new life rather than waiting to be put in a box, which has been happening a little too much," said Defigh about his hopes for the future.
If or when this site closes, many residents don't know where they'll go or if the city will help place them elsewhere.
