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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 will house up to 134 people who are not infected with the virus, but who are more likely to experience 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. Homeless residents who are 65 or older, or have a chronic medical condition such as diabetes or heart disease, are eligible. People from East Oakland will be given priority.
Couples and people who already were living together will share trailers, but children will not be allowed.
When asked how long people will be able to stay in the trailers, Schaaf said there is no set time period. But the trailers — which the city spent a month and $1.5 million in state funding hooking up to water, sewage and electrical connections — are designed to outlast the pandemic, she said. Caseworkers will connect with everyone who moves in and attempt to find them permanent supportive housing.
Each trailer has a bed, a three-burner stove, a small oven, a refrigerator and a bathroom with a sink, shower and toilet. On Tuesday, small tubes of toothpaste, new toothbrushes and bottles of hand sanitizer were laid out on the bathroom sinks for the new occupants.
“These will be wonderful, comforting places for our most vulnerable residents to seek shelter during this crisis,” Schaaf said.
This story will be updated.
