Don Macleay created Wed, 2 Mar at 1:52am, updated Wed, 2 Mar at 1:52am

Do we need those parking and towing dollars so badly that we throw an old woman out into the rain?

The event:

A homeless woman was kicked out of her car in the middle of the night into the middle of a rainstorm so that her car could be towed to A&B’s yard. http://www.bayarealist.net/worldnews/rain.jpg

The need:

The immediate need is for the mayor to exercise her authority and good judgment to waive all fees and return a car to a homeless woman on Opal Street.   (The owners of A&B are welcome to return this car to the homeless woman without help from the city too.  Sort of a ethical business thing to do.  You could return the car to her and we can sort out the paperwork later.)

Almost as quickly our city council should do something to amend our parking enforcement and towing rules to something compassionate towards the homeless living in their vehicles. 

The story: 

A month or so ago I noticed a car with an orange warning letter on it over on 41^st between Opal and Manila.  By the amount of junk in the car, it was a good guess that someone had been living in it.  Sort of like any day in Oakland. 

A couple days later the car was to be found parked across the street from me on Opal.  A shopping cart full of cans and stuff was parked next to it.  This is still not an unusual day for Oakland where we walk past such scenes and do not know what to do about it. 

A couple of mornings after that came the morning of the street sweep.  I saw that the car was still parked at the same place, where it was about to be ticketed.  As I was about to leave a space on the non-street sweep side, I walked over to suggest that they take my spot.  Something we neighbors do for each other in Oakland.

Walking up to the car, where I fully expected to find the driver sleeping inside, I discovered two things. 

1.       The car had a flat tire and would not move.

2.       The occupant was sleeping on a pile of stuff that made me question her physical and mental health.  It was total disorder, and so much of it, that I doubted you could reach the floor pedals even if there was not a flat tire. 

As a long time resident of the area around Mosswood Park, it was not that unusual of a day in Oakland. 

So I let her sleep, figuring that all I could have done was to tell her that she was about to get a ticket that she could not avoid.  I also felt that what was needed here was out of my depth.  If all that the tire needed was air, I could fix it for her, and if it needed a plug, I could drive it over to Big O on W. MacArthur for her.  But the skills to successfully offer help to a homeless senior with probable mental health issues living in filth in her car are not skills I posses. 

Having had dealings with the parking issue, I felt she needed help, so I started looking for it.  I asked around and got put on to Michael Church  (Program Analyst II Office of Health and Human Services, DHS Administration Phone 238-6590 E-Mail  mchurch@oaklandnet.com)  So I called him and told him about this woman, sent him an email with a clear photo of her license plate number and another with a good view of the car.  I also told him that I am available, across the street and may be able to help with the tire.  I told him a couple of times that I was afraid she might get in trouble with parking control.  He told me that someone would be out to see her and sounded like he had it all under control. 

http://www.bayarealist.net/worldnews/plate.jpg 

http://www.bayarealist.net/worldnews/car.jpg

A week went past, it had started to rain. Then it rained harder. Then we came home to find this elderly, homeless, woman on the sidewalk, sheltering under a big umbrella in the rain; her car was gone.  She told us some of the story, but refused any food or drink as help. She wanted cigarettes.  As we were talking to her, a friend of hers came up with smokes.  He assured me that he had an old van for her to sleep in.  He also told me that the towed car contained the last of her deceased husband’s belongings.

I blew a fuse.  How in the living hell are we as a society able to throw an old woman out of her car into the rain as a part of parking enforcement?  Have we lost all sense of our humanity? 

So I wrote an inflammatory note to my local neighborhood list.  I copied Michael Church, Jean Quan, Jane Brunner, Maria Barr-Gibson, Nancy Nadel and a couple of other lists, including North Oakland Voters and my local Green Party.  All kinds of people wrote back.  I saw some neighbors out speaking with the woman and offering some help. Many people sent me resources that she could probably not navigate, but I printed them out and left them with her stuff anyway.  One police employee and one neighborhood activist came up with some good ideas.  Or they would have been good ideas if this woman had a bit more mental health.  One neighborhood activist sent me a good list of stuff that I could have done and will do when (not if) there is a next time.  If I had it to do over again, I would have tried to help her fix her tire even if I do not have any skills to deal with people on the edge. 

She spent some of the days with her stuff by the phone pole and slowly the amount of stuff went down.  I saw one shopping cart being pushed away and could not tell if it was a friend helping or someone stealing.  As far as I can tell she was not sleeping outdoors any more.  I think the last of her stuff she just abandoned out there.  Finally Thunder Road threw the remainder of her things into a Waste Management brown bin.  Another homeless person moves on down the road.  Another day in Oakland. 

But I never heard back from anyone in government.  NOT A PEEP.  Is this the stone wall?  The good old American CYA?  They are too busy and have more important things to do?  Are we just waiting for this to blow over and go away?  It feels like the army.  If you keep your mouth shut and do not react, you can probably avoid any association or responsibility with trouble. 

So Mayor Quan.  How do we get you to not ignore this and give this woman her car back?

Nancy and Jane.  How do we get you to not ignore this and change the policies to something humane?