Just Cities Institute

¡Residentes de Berkeley y Oakland! ¿Conoce sus derechos de vivienda? La ordenanza de Vivienda de Oportunidad Justa garantiza que las personas anteriormente encarceladas no estén sujetas a discriminación durante las solicitudes de vivienda (en función de sus antecedentes penales).

¡No dudes en enviarnos un DM si tienes alguna pregunta!

Berkeley & Oakland residents! Do you know about your housing rights? Fair Chance Housing ordinance ensures that formerly incarcerated folks are not subject to discrimination during housing applications (based on their criminal history).

Feel free to DM with any questions!

“When you give people access to housing, a fair chance, that’s when we have thriving communities. That’s when we see the success of our community members.”

Last week’s Board of Supervisors vote on 2/28 concluded disappointingly with the decision to *not* formalize the Wilma Chan Fair Chance Housing ordinance at its second reading (AFTER its initial first passage in December 2022). Normally, the second reading is perfunctory– but with the seat replacement of Dave Brown and the passing of Richard Valle, we lost two champions of the legislation and did not have enough votes to pass .

Despite this obstacle, we are going to continue to advocate for the Wilma Chan Fair Chance Housing ordinance and a more just society. We are going to continue to hold Supervisors Haubert and Tam accountable to our community and push them to support this impactful legislation.

We want to especially thank YOU–our partners and our neighbors– for your solidarity in this arduous fight. We recognize the countless hours you spent sitting in Board meetings, the energy you bring to our public comment mobilization, and the courageous sharing of stories each of you has dedicated to this campaign to restore housing rights. You have all shown that our campaign is built and run on love for eachother and hope for a better world.

Our fight for Fair Chance Housing is not over, and if you would like to join us, you can check out fairchance4all.org (link in our bio) or DM us for information! Follow our social media to stay tuned for more updates.

TUESDAY 2/28 is the Board of Supervisors vote for the final passage of Fair Chance Housing ordinance in Alameda County.

We anticipate a large show of opposition to the vote by landlords and the real estate lobby. We need to mobilize and show just how much support has from the community!

Link to Zoom meeting is in our bio! DM us or email [email protected] if you have any questions.

Thank you all🔥

TOMORROW 1/24‼️
is the Board of Supervisors vote for the final passage of Fair Chance Housing ordinance in Alameda County.

We anticipate a large show of opposition to the vote by landlords and the real estate lobby. We need to mobilize and show just how much support has from the community!

Link to Zoom meeting is in our bio! DM us or email [email protected] if you have any questions.

Thank you all🔥

Happy new year from Just Cities! As we enter 2023, we reflect on the work our team has accomplished these past couple years alongside our partners. Go through our post to check out how Just Cities has been striving to increase racial inclusion in planning, promote housing rights and anti-displacement resources, and transform public policy design. Thank you to our community partners and supporters for being a part of our journey: Structural change takes ALL of us!

[link to learn about Fair Chance Housing Laws is in our bio]

‼️The final vote was pushed to January 24th‼️

We are just one more passage away from putting the nation’s first county fair chance housing ordinance in effect!

Now that Fair Chance Housing has already been passed at the first level and has been getting nationwide media coverage, we also believe that more of the landlord lobby will show up in opposition at the last vote.

We need the community to mobilize to make public comment on Tues. January 24 to restore the housing rights of our formerly incarcerated community!

We want to thank and Supervisor Dave Brown for their courageous support in the last vote.

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‼️The final vote was pushed to January 24 next week‼️
We are just one more passage away from putting the nation’s first county fair chance housing ordinance in effect!

Now that Fair Chance Housing has already been passed at the first level and has been getting nationwide media coverage, we also believe that more of the landlord lobby will show up in opposition at the final vote.

We need the community to mobilize to make public comment tomorrow to restore the housing rights of our formerly incarcerated community!

We want to thank and Supervisor Dave Brown for their courageous support in the last vote.

——

We are just one more passage away from putting the nation’s first county fair chance housing ordinance in effect!

Now that Fair Chance Housing has already been passed at the first level and has been getting nationwide media coverage, we also believe that more of the landlord lobby will show up in opposition at tomorrow’s vote.

We need the community to mobilize to make public comment tomorrow to restore the housing rights of our formerly incarcerated community!

We want to thank for their courageous support in the last vote.

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On Friday, Deeply Rooted partners tabled at Black Cultural Zone’s Akoma Market! We engaged with 150+ community members to make sure the Oakland General Plan’s Housing Element represents the values & ideas of residents.

🌟THERE’S STILL TIME TO TAKE ACTION🌟

🔹Public Review period for the DRAFT Housing Element ends Dec. 29. Email the City feedback to [email protected]
🔸Sign up for the Deeply Rooted Mailing List to stay informed [link in bio]
🔹Speak up at City Council meeting/vote on Jan. 24 & Jan. 31. More details on website [link in bio]

WE DID IT!!! 🎉

Tonight we honored Wilma Chan’s legacy by passing the Nation’s first real countywide Fair Chance Housing Law!

Thank you to our coalition leaders and to the community for the tireless and courageous work that was put into this monumental campaign.

and so many others!

Fair Chance’s heroes! Cheers and blessings to Ms. Sherry, Ms. Anita Wills, Taqwaa Bonner, Katie Dixon, John Jones III, Xavier Johnson, Margaretta Lin, Agnes Cho, Kya Chen, Mac Hoang & so many others!

Stay tuned for updates!

In community✊,
Just Cities

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Thank you Katie for sharing your story! The vote on whether or not to pass the Nation’s FIRST true countywide Fair Chance Housing ordinance is happening right now. Read Katie’s story to learn why a Wilma Chan Fair Chance Housing Ordinance is necessary for a just society!

Tomorrow: let’s show up to the vote as a community and listen to our advocates tell their stories on how the Wilma Chan Fair Chance Housing Ordinance will impact them.

Since we want the focus of the meeting to be on the stories of those most impacted, we are NOT asking for folks to sign up for public comment on this item tomorrow. However, we would LOVE to fill the room and show support for our speakers! DM us for more information on how to join the meeting physically.

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Written Comments are due today at 3 PM ❗️Let the Alameda County Board of Supervisors know that the community wants for tomorrow’s vote. You can copy & paste language from our toolkit [link in bio] to send the email in only a couple min!

Since we want the focus of the meeting to be on the stories of those most impacted, we are not asking for folks to sign up for public comment on this item tomorrow. However, we would love to fill the room and show support for our speakers! DM us for more information on how to join the meeting physically.

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Update: “Following a five-hour hearing, the Board of Supervisors postponed to Dec. 20 a decision that could’ve made it the first county in the U.S. to ban landlords from conducting criminal background checks on prospective tenants.

Supervisors indicated majority support for the “Fair Chance” ordinance — the centerpiece of a package of tenant protection bills that drew public testimony from more than 40 people, most of them in support of the legislation — but said they needed another two weeks to fine-tune the wording.”

Thank you to everyone who spoke up yesterday. We refuse to let Fair Chance Housing be phased out, and are currently working on next steps. We’ll keep posting updates so stay looped into the fight!

In community,
Just Cities

We are thankful to community individuals like Taqwaa Bonner, Ms. Sherry, Ms. Anita, Katie Dixon, and many others who are sharing their stories today before the County votes on the Wilma Chan Fair Housing Ordinance. There is still time to join the public comment and add your voice! If you have questions about joining the meeting in-person or over Zoom, DM us or email [email protected]. Zoom link is in our bio.
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❗️TOMORROW 12/6❗️ The housing rights of formerly incarcerated people are on the table. If you are an Alameda County resident, join us for public comment at the Board of Supervisors meeting where they will VOTE on the countywide Wilma Chan Fair Chance Housing Ordinance. If you have questions about joining the meeting in-person or over Zoom, you can DM us or email [email protected]. The link to directly join the Zoom meeting is also in our bio.

This has been a fight years in the making! Let’s show up and voice what kind of future we want for our community ✊❤️

Tomorrow is the big day! It will decide whether or not a countywide Fair Chance Housing ordinance and tenant protections package is moved forward for a vote. If you can, show up! If you can’t, spread the word!

Thank you for organizing this community block party! We had a great time talking to folks about ! Remember that public comment to move forward a vote for the Wilma Chan Fair Chance Housing ordinance is this Tuesday. More details will be posted soon and DM us to be added to our email list!

Fair Chance Housing is only one piece of Alameda County’s anti-displacement strategy, along with expanding eviction protections, passing rent stabilization, and creating a rental registry. Here are 3 ways to support tenant protections and Fair Chance Housing in Alameda County:
🔹Use the link in our bio to send a pre-drafted letter to your representative to schedule a vote for on Sept. 27
🔸Save the date for Sept. 27 & call in to the Board of Supervisors meeting and make public comment. Stay tuned for more details on how to join this meeting.
🔹Share this post and spread the word about this meeting!

In late September, Alameda County Board of Supervisors are meeting to discuss a countywide Fair Chance Housing Ordinance, which would remove the use of criminal background checks from housing applications and restore housing rights to previously incarcerated people.
🔹Follow us to stay updated on this upcoming vote.
🔸Share this post and spread the word using
🔹For more info, check out fairchance4all.org

On August 11 Alameda County is meeting to discuss a countywide Fair Chance Housing Ordinance, which would remove the use of criminal background checks from housing applications and restore housing rights to previously incarcerated people.

 -- Follow us to stay updated on this upcoming vote.
 -- Share this post to spread the word.
 -- For more information, check out fairchancehousing4all.org

Join the Richmond Resident Advisory Council (RAC) to help shape the City of Richmond’s 6th Cycle Housing Element and Housing Equity Roadmap and ensure that solutions to key housing issues such as affordability, accessibility, and houselessness align with the community's goals and needs.

RAC members will be asked to attend a total of 6 monthly meetings from April to August 2022. A stipend of $50 per meeting will be offered per participant.

Applications are now due May 8, 2022.

Please fill out the online application at bit.ly/richmondrac or send application bit.ly/richmondracpaper to Kelly via [email protected]

Join Deeply Rooted for a Housing & Environmental Justice workshop on 4/8-9 to review past & present policies that led to today's conditions & share your vision & solutions for Oakland's future. Register: Fri, 4/8: https://bit.ly/ogpdrw48 and Sat, 4/9: https://bit.ly/ogpdrw49.

Join the Richmond Resident Advisory Council (RAC) to help shape the City of Richmond’s 6th Cycle Housing Element and Housing Equity Roadmap and ensure that solutions to key housing issues such as affordability, accessibility, and houselessness align with the community's goals and needs.

RAC members will be asked to attend a total of 6 monthly meetings from April to August 2022. A stipend of $50 per meeting will be offered per participant.

Applications are due March 20, 2022.

Please fill out the online application at bit.ly/richmondrac or send application bit.ly/richmondracpaper to Kelly via [email protected]

Alameda County Housing Secure prevents displacement in Alameda County by providing free legal services and emergency financial assistance to low-income tenants and homeowners. If you are at risk of becoming displaced, call these phone numbers or visit achousingsecure.org.

Centro Legal de la Raza
www.centrolegal.org
510-437-1554

Eviction Defense Center
www.evictiondefensecenteroakland.org
510-452-4541

Bay Area Legal Aid
www.baylegal.org
1-800-551-5554

Housing & Economic Rights Advocates
www.heraca.org
510-271-8443

East Bay Community Law Center
www.ebclc.org
510-548-4040

Are you at risk of losing your home? Low-income tenants and homeowners in Alameda County can access free legal and financial assistance for their housing issue. Call the following providers or visit achousingsecure.org to get started:

Centro Legal de la Raza
www.centrolegal.org
510-437-1554

Eviction Defense Center
www.evictiondefensecenteroakland.org
510-452-4541

Bay Area Legal Aid
www.baylegal.org
1-800-551-5554

Housing & Economic Rights Advocates
www.heraca.org
510-271-8443

East Bay Community Law Center
www.ebclc.org
510-548-4040

Have you already applied for rental assistance in ? Wondering what happens next?
Go to www.ac-housingsecure.org/what-to-expect to learn more about how your application will be processed.

Are you a renter behind on rent or utilities because of COVID-19? Or a landlord who has experienced a loss in income because of unpaid rent? You may be eligible for emergency rental assistance. Find out: ac-housingsecure.org.