Wood Street Commons
We stand with all poor and houseless people and are working with others to build a movement in Oakland for housing as a human right.
Our Story
The history of the Wood Street Commons Community developed a few years after the housing crash when the Oakland Police Department began to congregate people along the highway in West Oakland. Wood Street folks built a loving caring community, a network of mutual-aid, and an outreach team through the human need for community and belonging. These loving bonds keep people alive, safe, and out of the criminal justice system.
Homeless Helping Homeless and All or None are the mottos we embody at the Wood Street Commons.
As housing costs rose and gentrification continued, the verbal and physical attacks towards the residents of Wood Street began to worsen. The lack of basic services such as dumpsters, water, or electricity led to further stigmatization of the residents. This injustice came to a peak when the State of California and the City of Oakland began forcibly displacing people from their self built homes, chosen communities, and pushing people into other areas of the city or prison like temporary shelters. They justified the forced displacement of Wood Street Residents through building a “100% affordable” housing complex based on the median income over $100,000 a year. The irony of displacing people in order to house completely different people is one of the sad realities of the capitalist system. Since the eviction, more people have died than have been housed.
What Our Residents Say
We know what we need. We know what it was like to sleep out there.
We need to be continuing to do the work because we understand how it feels to be out there, how to survive on the streets and why people are doing the things that they’re doing.
LeaJay
The most beautiful thing is seeing diverse people, despite their varied backgrounds and traumas, coming together. Moments like tonight, with everyone gathered, sharing food and conversations about growth and the future, are truly beautiful.
Witnessing families and babies thriving in the midst of chaos is especially heartwarming.
John Janosko
No one housing situation is right for everyone. I do know that at Wood Street, people who couldn’t get what they needed for the next day– we tried to provide.
We understood they just needed to make it to the next day, just like anybody else. And that’s one way that our community helped that I haven’t seen any other program work with.
Moose
Get involved!
Your support can make a real difference. Whether through volunteering your time, donating resources, or spreading the word – every action counts. Help us continue our mission of Homeless Helping Homeless and create a brighter future for all.