My name is Sabyl Landrum. I am a resident and a tenant living in District 1 and I am an attorney with the homelessness unit of East Bay Community Law Center. I am speaking in support of the APPROVAL OF THE $1MILLION OAKLAND HOUSING SECURE CONTRACT. I support this funding for a number of reasons including:
1. Direct service providers like EBCLC have already delivered on 7 months of this contract, not approving it would be devastating to eviction defense services.
3. BIPOC Oaklanders experience housing instability at significantly higher rates than White Oaklanders. 45% of tenants who receive full representation for evictions and other serious housing challenges are Black and Black Oaklanders are disproporionately unhoused.
4. Working directly with unhoused individuals, I can tell you that a loss of housing can lead to years of living on the streets. An ounce of prevention can make such a huge different in the lives of Oakland families. Once the stability of housing is lost so many other lifelines slip away. It is harder to access healthcare and stay on medications or other treatments; it is harder to find a new place to live; it is harder to maintain and secure employment; it is harder for children to stay in school. And the City is currently in the midst of a homelessness crisis that is significantly more expensive to remedy than extending funds toward homelessness prevention. An ounce of prevention is worth more than a pound of cure.
My name is Sabyl Landrum. I am a resident and a tenant living in District 1 and I am an attorney with the homelessness unit of East Bay Community Law Center. I am speaking in support of the APPROVAL OF THE $1MILLION OAKLAND HOUSING SECURE CONTRACT. I support this funding for a number of reasons including:
1. Direct service providers like EBCLC have already delivered on 7 months of this contract, not approving it would be devastating to eviction defense services.
3. BIPOC Oaklanders experience housing instability at significantly higher rates than White Oaklanders. 45% of tenants who receive full representation for evictions and other serious housing challenges are Black and Black Oaklanders are disproporionately unhoused.
4. Working directly with unhoused individuals, I can tell you that a loss of housing can lead to years of living on the streets. An ounce of prevention can make such a huge different in the lives of Oakland families. Once the stability of housing is lost so many other lifelines slip away. It is harder to access healthcare and stay on medications or other treatments; it is harder to find a new place to live; it is harder to maintain and secure employment; it is harder for children to stay in school. And the City is currently in the midst of a homelessness crisis that is significantly more expensive to remedy than extending funds toward homelessness prevention. An ounce of prevention is worth more than a pound of cure.