City Council
May 5, 2026
AGENDA REPORT
TO: Jestin D. Johnson FROM: Cupid Alexander
City Administrator Chief, Homelessness
Solutions Office
SUBJECT: SUPPLEMENTAL- City Of Oakland
2026 Homelessness Strategic Action
Plan
DATE: April 22, 2026
City Administrator Approval Date:
RECOMMENDATION
Staff Recommends That The City Council Receive An Informational Report From The Office of Homelessness Solutions On The City Of Oakland 2026 Homelessness Strategic Action Plan.
REASON FOR SUPPLEMENTAL
This supplemental report was prepared to address questions raised at the March 10, 2026 Life Enrichment Committee Meeting. It also provides the revised Homelessness Strategic Action Plan (HSAP) as Attachment A, the revised Racial Equity Impact Analysis (REIA) as Attachment B, and the Technical Explainer for System Modeling Analysis in the HSAP as Attachment C. Revisions made in response to community and councilmember feedback are summarized below:
REIA Updates
• Analysis of encampment locations as reported through OAK 311 and demographics of housed residents in these neighborhoods.
• Analysis of locations of City-funded interim housing and permanent supportive housing.
• Non-substantive edits for clarity and accuracy.
HSAP Updates
• Recommends targeted program outreach and services to neighborhoods most impacted by unsheltered homelessness.
• Recommends aligning Encampment Engagement and Neighborhood Health Activities with the City’s Economic Development Action Plan.
Jestin Johnson (Apr 24, 2026 05:57:19 PDT)
Apr 24, 2026
Jestin D. Johnson, City Administrator
Subject: SUPPLEMENTAL- City Of Oakland 2026 Homelessness Strategic Action Plan Date: April 22, 2026 Page 2
City Council
May 5, 2026
• Recommends yearly updates with adjustments to goals, strategies and deliverables as needed.
• Clarifies the importance of Prop 1/BHSA and partnership with the Alameda County Behavioral Health Department.
• Strengthens alignment with the newly adopted Encampment Abatement Policy, including next steps to develop a comprehensive approach to vehicular homelessness.
• Strengthens commitment to implementing full audit recommendations.
• Non-substantive edits for clarity and accuracy.
The Life Enrichment Committee requested a response to the following five questions:
1. Under Strategy 2, the Plan highlights “rapid diversion” interventions, to expedite stabilization for those who are newly homeless and/or lower acuity, recommending a potential a pilot. Can staff explain these interventions and if there is a specific recommendation for what the City pilots?
Rapid Diversion programs are modeled on the success of Targeted Homelessness Prevention programs. The City of Oakland (City) currently supports a successful Targeted Prevention program
1 operated by Bay Area Community Services. While
Targeted Prevention aims to identify individuals on the brink of homelessness and to stabilize housing circumstances, Rapid Diversion uses a similar model but targets unhoused individuals who are most likely to re-stabilize with short-term support. An example of this program model is Santa Clara County’s Housing Problem Solving Program, described thus:
Individuals who participate in the program engage with counselors who attempt to find immediate, creative housing solutions to their housing crisis, whether that means finding temporary housing options with family and friends or identifying more permanent solutions. In the case that receiving a moderate amount of money will prevent an individual from entering a shelter, immediate cash assistance is provided to participants.
These short-term supports are time-limited and matched to individual need. They range from flexible one-time assistance for immediate needs such as back-rent or car repairs, to short-term Rapid Rehousing and Tenant-Based Rental Assistance (TBRA) — typically 3 to 24 months — for individuals who need temporary rent subsidy to regain housing stability. Rapid Rehousing and TBRA are evidence-based, cost-effective interventions well-suited to lower-acuity individuals who are newly homeless, have a housing history, and can sustain housing independently once stabilized. The program model pairs this financial assistance with focused, time-limited case management to help individuals quickly exit homelessness and maintain housing without long-term subsidy dependence.
1 Data on performance and impact are available in two independent reports available online:
https://www.keepoaklandhoused.org/impact;
https://www.housinginitiative.org/uploads/1/3/2/9/132946414/ccrl-hip_oakland-hpp_final.pdf Jestin D. Johnson, City Administrator
Subject: SUPPLEMENTAL- City Of Oakland 2026 Homelessness Strategic Action Plan Date: April 22, 2026 Page 3
City Council
May 5, 2026
An example of this program model is Santa Clara County’s Housing Problem Solving Program, described thus:
Individuals who participate in the program engage with counselors who attempt to find immediate, creative housing solutions to their housing crisis, whether that means finding temporary housing options with family and friends or identifying more permanent solutions. In the case that receiving a moderate amount of money will prevent an individual from entering a shelter, immediate cash assistance is provided to participants.
The program could be funded through philanthropy, County dollars, or a City department (HCD or CHS/HSD). The Office of Homelessness Solutions could support the primary funder(s) to recruit and select a service-partner, develop a budget, and define contractual obligations, performance goals, and reporting requirements.
2. Under strategy 3, The Plan points out that 90% of the City is already designated as High Sensitivity and suggests a new priority no-camping zones within the High Sensitivity areas to establish a data-informed framework for assessing and responding to encampments. Can they expound on the goal of the “no-camping zones” and how it would help with meeting the objectives of the plan?
In 2025, 1,921 encampment locations were reported throughout Oakland. With limited staff resources and minimal shelter vacancies, the City needs an equitable, practical, and transparent way to prioritize encampment closures and deep-clean operations, even among high-sensitivity locations.
In the absence of defined “highest” sensitivity locations, community demand for encampment closures has resulted in an accelerated pace of closures in all parts of the City. As a result, the City has circulated homelessness, but has not reduced encampments, nor been able to keep previously closed areas clear of re-encampment.
The HSAP recommends developing No Camping Zones as “Highest” Sensitivity locations. Thus, when encampments are reported, these locations would be prioritized for EMT action. These areas would be developed through either operating procedures for the Encampment Abatement Policy or the Implementation Plan for the Homelessness Strategic Action Plan. Highest Sensitivity Areas, or Priority No Camping Zones should be those areas that are crucial for commerce, business development, infrastructure, health, education, or parks access. They must also be equitably distributed across the City to ensure that assets and business corridors in Oakland’s low-income neighborhoods are equitably served.
Prior to closure, outreach teams would concertedly engage with unhoused individuals to match them to appropriate resources, aiming to maximize shelter/housing acceptances (rather than self-relocation and circulation). Once cleared, the Office of Homelessness Solutions would coordinate with relevant departments and local community members to implement beautification, activation, or fortification strategies discouraging re- encampment.
Jestin D. Johnson, City Administrator
Subject: SUPPLEMENTAL- City Of Oakland 2026 Homelessness Strategic Action Plan Date: April 22, 2026 Page 4
City Council
May 5, 2026
This will help with multiple objectives of the plan:
(1) Reduce negative impacts of unsheltered homelessness on Oakland’s businesses and key corridors, as well other to-be-defined spaces. Align encampment management with the Economic and Workforce Development Strategic Plan and ensure equitable attention to low-income communities. (2) Have a visible and tangible impact by directing limited staff toward a manageable geography.
(3) Conduct encampment closures in a manner that minimizes harm to unsheltered people and facilitates permanent exits from homelessness. (4) Build trust with housed community members and unhoused people by improving the transparency of encampment closure priorities.
3. On OAK-Glitter and the Co-managed encampment pilot, what does this entail? Will this reflect the model the City piloted at 3rd and Peralta and at East Lake?
The Homelessness Strategic Action Plan proposes further research and potential fundraising for a number of new pilot programs. The City cannot launch all pilots simultaneously due to limited staff resources for program development and oversight.
Vetting and prioritization should take place during HSAP implementation. Pilot programs that focus on (a) low-cost interim solutions and (b) workforce development are further described below.
Low-Cost Interim Solutions: including temporary supported communities (TSC’s), co- managed communities, low-barrier shelter, and safe-sleeping sites.
Low-cost interim solutions have many names and forms including co-managed communities, low-barrier shelter or safe-sleeping sites. While the City has previously attempted “co-management” at 3rd and Peralta and East Lake, these examples had significant pitfalls that could be avoided in the future:
1) Insufficient advanced planning to determine roles, governance, program expectations, and budget requirements.
2) The provider’s available staffing and organizational resources did not align with the program’s scope of work.
3) Too little training, support, oversight, and direction of unhoused community leaders.
4) Insufficient financial modeling of true ongoing program costs for operations, services, and capital re-investments (repairs, replacement).
For a future pilot, the Office of Homelessness Solutions would first engage in structured learning from successful models, including the National Health Care for the Homeless Council policy brief and nearby examples such as San Rafael's Sanctioned Camping Area and 33 Gough in San Francisco. Due diligence will require assessing these models on costs, average duration of stay, rates of permanent housing placement, and rates of return to unsheltered homelessness. A qualified provider with demonstrable experience in comparable programs would be identified through a competitive process. Both the Community Homeless Services Division (CHS/HSD) and the Office of Homelessness Solutions must be engaged in program design, ongoing oversight, and evaluation throughout the pilot period.
Jestin D. Johnson, City Administrator
Subject: SUPPLEMENTAL- City Of Oakland 2026 Homelessness Strategic Action Plan Date: April 22, 2026 Page 5
City Council
May 5, 2026
Pathways to Self-sufficiency: Oak-Glitter2
Data from the homeless management information system (HMIS) indicate approximately 15% of Oakland’s unhoused could, with connections to work, become self-sufficient without needing long-term housing support. Given the shortage of affordable housing and Section 8 vouchers, helping folks who are able to work take the next steps toward self-sufficiency is an important strategy for reducing long-term homelessness. These individuals may need help getting back on their feet, obtaining stable housing, and re- connecting to sustainable and dignified work. Portland’s Glitter program offers one model of success to learn from.
Oakland-specific program could have the following four components, but a next phase of research and program design will be needed.
1. Identify work-ready people from targeted lists in the City and County who are experiencing unsheltered homelessness, who are low-acuity, and who are in-line to receive either a temporary shelter or permanent shelter placement;
2. Make available temporary, part-time work
The temporary work component could, like Glitter, focus on trash and waste mitigation in areas of highest need. This approach would deliver immediate, tangible improvements to neighborhood conditions while providing participants with structured, paid work that builds foundational job skills.
3. Provide housing gap assistance along with focused intervention to connect individual to long-term housing; or, at minimum, ensuring individual is placed in temporary shelter during program participation;
4. Provide additional supports, including access to health services; and job readiness training with individualized case-management plans to continued, consistent employment post temporary work subsidy;
Like Oakland’s other homeless services, the program would be delivered by community- based organizations and would require funding. As with other innovative policies and pilot programs suggested by the HSAP, Oak-Glitter could be a target for philanthropic fundraising.
4. The Plan highlights the need for better collaboration with the County and even assigns roles and responsibilities under each strategy. Has the County agreed to the roles and responsibilities? Will there be a push to formalize an agreement to facilitate these efforts?
While the County has not explicitly agreed to each role and responsibility, they have had an opportunity to review and provide input on the draft Homelessness Strategic Action Plan. In County staff’s review of the Homelessness Strategic Action Plan, leadership of
2 https://www.groundscoreassociation.org/glitter
Jestin D. Johnson, City Administrator
Subject: SUPPLEMENTAL- City Of Oakland 2026 Homelessness Strategic Action Plan Date: April 22, 2026 Page 6
Cit
y Council
May 5, 2026
Alameda County’s Housing and Homelessness Services did not raise concerns about the suggestions and have generally been open and welcoming of further solidifying the roles and responsibilities between City and County. The format and process for defining roles and responsibilities will be outlined in the HSAP implementation plan. There are also a number of meeting spaces already in-place for City-County coordination that can be leveraged and adapted for this purpose.
The Office of Homelessness Solutions will be responsible for working with the County to define process(es) and outcome(s) such as formal agreement(s). The County is also leading discussions on this topic through the Home Together 2030 process. Home Together may include some recommendations for City/County roles that will be applicable to Oakland as well as other jurisdictions in the County. Nevertheless, due to Oaklands unique role and size, the Homelessness Solutions Office will need to forge more detailed Oakland-specific agreements in order to truly improve efficiency, transparency, and accountability. While we cannot make commitments on behalf of the County, it is the intent of the HSAP that coordination, including on services for addiction and mental health, will improve under the leadership of the Office of Homelessness Solutions.
5. How does the City plan to better identify and coordinate with the County as it pertains to services for unhoused individuals with addiction and mental health di
sorders? This is a major area in which the County needs to step up to support the City as these are health concerns and that is the purview of the County? B
ehavioral health services are largely provided by the Behavioral Health Department (BHD), rather than H&H. While the City has had successful collaborations with BHD – such as partnership in funding the Maya Hotel – there is much work to be done to deepen relationships and to understand one another’s mission and programs.
T
he HSAP is explicit that the County holds primary responsibility for behavioral health s
ervices. The City's role is to serve as a consistent, accountable partner that advocates for adequate County investment, tracks outcomes for unhoused Oaklanders receiving behavioral health services, and escalates gaps to the appropriate level of County and
C
ity leadership.
A
CTION REQUESTED OF THE CITY COUNCIL
S
taff Recommends That The City Council Receive An Informational Report From The Office of Homelessness Solutions On The City Of Oakland 2026 Homelessness Strategic Action Plan.
Jestin D. Johnson, City Administrator
Subject: SUPPLEMENTAL- City Of Oakland 2026 Homelessness Strategic Action Plan Date: April 22, 2026 Page 7
City Council
May 5, 2026
For questions regarding this report, please contact Sasha Hauswald, Manager of Policy, Impact and Evaluation, at (510) 813-7572.
Respectfully submitted,
Cupid Alexander
Chief, Office of Homelessness Solutions
Reviewed by:
Betsy Lake, Assistant City Administrator
Prepared by:
Sasha Hauswald, Manager of Policy, Impact
and Evaluation,
Housing and Community Development
Department
Attachments (3):
A. HSAP
B. REIA
C. System Modeling Technical Explainer
Attachment A
City Council
May 5, 2026