East Oakland residents frustrated with growing homeless encampment near school
E. 12th Street in Oakland, Calif. on July 16, 2026.
OAKLAND, Calif. - Residents in East Oakland say they are fed up with persistent blight and a growing homeless encampment that they say is putting local school children in danger.
The encampment, located at the corner of 54th Avenue and East 12th Street in the Melrose neighborhood, sits just one block away from Bridges Academy. Since April, neighbors and local workers say they have seen school children and parents forced to bypass blocked sidewalks by walking directly into the street, risking being struck by oncoming traffic.
East Oakland homeless encampment
Local perspective:
"The homeless encampment is getting worse by the day," said Mariaelena Ruiz, who works nearby at Andes Construction. "We have seen the kids and the parents walking around them on the street because the sidewalks are blocked."
Ruiz said community members have repeatedly called 311 to report the public health and safety hazard. While the city has cleaned up the area in the past, residents say they are not receiving the same response this time.
"It’s been several months already, and we don’t see any results, any response from them yet," Ruiz said.
The issue is especially sensitive for local businesses. In April 2023, a fire at a nearby construction yard—which workers believe was started by an unhoused individual—caused $500,000 in damage.
Ruiz said she hopes the issues along East 12th Street are resolved before the upcoming school year begins, so no children are injured, calling the current situation "dangerous" and "not safe."
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Cleanup efforts elsewhere
The frustration in East Oakland comes as state agencies continue cleanup efforts elsewhere in the city.
On Thursday, Caltrans led an encampment sweep along Interstate 980 in West Oakland as part of a broader state initiative to increase safety on roadways.
Unhoused residents at that location were given advance notice of the sweep.
However, homelessness advocates argue that sweeps do not solve the root of the issue.
"There’s not enough shelter beds in Oakland to be able to give everybody a shelter bed and they’re also not very adequate," said Charlotte Ione, an advocate with Oakland Advocate for Homeless.
According to Oakland's 2026 encampment abatement policy, the city is authorized to close encampments with 24 to 72-hour notice, especially when they block public sidewalks.
However, the city website tracking cleanup operations has not been updated since December 2025.
The Source: Interviews with Mariaelena Ruiz and Charlotte Ione, an advocate with Oakland Advocate for Homeless