The Village in Oakland

Grassroots & volunteer-run by unhoused, housing insecure and formally unhoused folks

Piece thrown up at first village aka The Promised Land on Marcus Garvey Park in West Oakland, January 2017

The Village in Oakland provides direct services, support, policy advocacy, arts and culture programming, and media literacy and advocacy programs for unhoused residents of Oakland. We also engage in non-violent direct actions to demand policy changes, to demand an end to in-humane practices, and to provide unhoused residents with their basic needs as humans who fighting to stay alive.

We are a grassroots organization that is fiscally sponsored by Holistic Underground.

The Village in Oakland Executive Director Needa Bee shares our organzation’s statement on the Grants Pass v. Johnson verdict.

OUR WORK

Direct Services

We offer several direct services and support to unhoused residents, including sharing hot meals and groceries, building tiny home villages, building collective structures in existing curbside communities, and sanitation services at informal settlements.

Education

We offer political education to unhoused Oakland residents so they understand their constitutional rights, human rights, and government policies that apply to unhoused residents.

Cardboard & Concrete Collective

Our multi-disciplnary art collective of unhoused and formally unhoused residents of Oakland and Berkeley curates exhibits at galleries, provides art activities and political education to curbside communities, and organizes block parties for unhoused residents and their housed neighbors.

Policy Advocacy

Working with a human rights lens and in coalition with other advocates and unhoused leaders we draft, help inform and advocate local government polices on and audits of unhoused interventions.

Media Advocacy

Our media literacy program offers unhoused residents education and training on media advocacy, media critique and platforms for media production.

Word on the Curb

Our media advocacy program has a written word platform and two social media platforms.

WORD ON THE CURB!

Walking The Path of Plants

By Joyous De Asis Miralle For Soul Food Shack/Word On The Curb One of the very first moments that I wanted to learn and understand our plant community, and that we are surrounded by medicine was when I was about 6 years old. As a baby, I was born with blocked tear ducts. My mother works with plant medicine, and …