Oakland opens trailers to house more than 130 people
Oakland is ready to start moving homeless residents at risk of contracting COVID-19 into dozens of new trailers set up on a vacant lot next to the Coliseum, Mayor Libby Schaaf said Tuesday.
The 67 trailers — part of a new city program dubbed Operation HomeBase — will house up to 134 people who do not have the virus, but who are particularly vulnerable to developing severe symptoms if infected. They were delivered to the city a month ago as part of Gov. Gavin Newsom’s effort to deploy more than 1,300 trailers around the state to house the homeless during the pandemic.
“This will be giving respite and a safe place to shelter during this pandemic, and possibly beyond,” Schaaf said as she stood surrounded by rows of gleaming trailers, the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum visible in the background.
People are set to begin moving in Wednesday, Schaaf said, and she expects to house about 10 people per day until the trailers are full. The month-long delay in opening stemmed from the “great logistical challenge” of putting together what is essentially Oakland’s first public RV park, she said. To illustrate her point, Schaaf pointed out patches of freshly paved asphalt all around the trailers — evidence of the work it took to connect each one with water, sewage and electricity.
Read more: https://www.eastbaytimes.com/2020/05/05/coronavirus-oakland-opens-trailers-to-house-more-than-130-people/
