A video circulating on social media showed police physically detaining a protester. Christine and Emilio returned to their home one day to find their front door busted, the locks changed and their house pillaged, Schatz writes. They agreed to contribute their share of financial support for the league and come to the aid of other members when defending their homes and property from the grasping greed of land speculators. Schatz found the family was not alone in its unique living situation; dozens of other people on the brink of homelessness live in the Bay Area by "squatting" – occupying land or buildings that you do not own without asking permission. A lawsuit brought by Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association has stalled the collection of funds. And when these former squatters became land owners they were forced to look on the subject in a totally new light and became as bitterly opposed to squatting as the grant holders had ever been. Read more posts by this author. She said she hopes to see more squatter protests in the future. (https://www.sfpublicpress.org/two-squatters-occupy-vacant-s-f-home-to-protest-housing-policies-for-homeless/), Squatters occupied this vacant home in the Castro in a protest aimed at pressuring San Francisco officials to more quickly shelter homeless people. And that's when they, that's when they finally were like 'Enough's enough, you're going to jail.'". A Cal grad and Bay Area native, Michelle now calls San Francisco home. Get the latest posts delivered right to your inbox. “We’re continuing to move more people into these sites every day as we respond to this pandemic.”. He spent years living there and fixing it up before going to Alameda County Superior Court and staking a claim to the house. CLICK HERE TO TURN ON NOTIFICATIONS. Department of Health Demand Thousands of Hours in Overtime Pay, While We Wait: COVID-19 Research Beyond Vaccines, Insider Opposes $5.5 Billion State Bond to Fund Stem Cell Research, Senior, Disability Advocates Mobilize to Ensure Care Facility Residents Vote, Bay Area Leaders Reject Proposed MTC Telecommute Mandate, Workplace Inclusion Expert Reflects on Federal Diversity Training Ban, How Proposed S.F. After Deputy Sheriff John Freaner was sent to execute a writ of removal, he and McCarthy were both shot and seriously wounded. He told KALW in 2014: "You know they'd board it up, and then I'd come back with, like, a hammer. San Francisco voters want change, too. Marisa Kendall covers homelessness as part of the Bay Area News Group's housing team. We have received funding from national and local foundations and thousands of individuals. When a squatter claims adverse possession, they can gain ownership of the property legally. (Dai Sugano/Bay Area News Group), OAKLAND, CA - DECEMBER 23: The kitchen inside Steven DeCaprio's Oakland home is photographed on Dec. 23, 2019. Sam Singer, a public relations specialist representing Wedgewood, said the company would only meet on the condition that they leave first. In that same year, directly across the bay in Alameda County a squatter league, or as they called it a pre-emptioner’s league, was formed for the purpose of organized resistance to land grant owners and for mutual support and defense of pre-emption claims. Nearly 70 percent of these individuals are unsheltered, and 82 percent said they had lived in the county before becoming homeless. Shortly after the sale of their home, the Hernandez Family received an eviction notice. It was sold for 1 cent over the opening price to a single bidder with plans to flip the property. The court recognizes the importance of these issues but, as raised in connection with Ms. Walker’s claim of right to possession, finds that they are outside the scope of this proceeding.”, “After consideration of the evidence submitted and the arguments of counsel, the court finds that claimant has no valid claim of possession to the subject property.”, Walker asked the judge’s ruling telling reporters — “We’re not leaving…They got to take me out.”, When asked if she and the mothers would occupy another home, Walker defiantly answered: “I would encourage folks to do whatever they need to do to provide shelter for their families.”. She now uses her medical knowledge to treat fellow homeless individuals. Funny little thing about this law, though- it actually calls for the banning of smoking in every city park except one, the public golf course. Through years of squatting around the East Bay, police kicked DeCaprio out multiple times. Squatters are people who have no legal claim to the property they live in. In January 2019, a vacant property tax on all privately owned property went into effect in Oakland. rita. In San Francisco there are agencies like the SF Tenants Union (yes, they go by the hilarious acronym SFTU) to help one navigate the process and their rights. “In terms of our total homeless population, San Francisco has done more than any city in the country to move people into hotels, RVs, and other alternative housing sites,” said Andy Lynch, press director for Mayor London Breed. DeCaprio was homeless when he began squatting in an abandoned, dilapidated house in West Oakland in 2008. (Dai Sugano/Bay Area News Group), OAKLAND, CA - DECEMBER 23: The backyard of Steven DeCaprio's Oakland home is seen on Dec. 24, 2019. In January, the group reached an agreement to buy the home through the Oakland Community Land Trust. Post was not sent - check your email addresses! Tax Measures Could Affect Inequality, ‘She Represents’ Offers Critical Feminist Look at Women in Politics, Homeless Clamor for Safe Camp Sites While Over 1,000 Hotel Rooms Go Unused. Judge Patrick McKinney heard arguments from both sides last week but delayed his decision until Friday. ► Decorative play icon links to post: Workplace Inclusion Expert Reflects on Federal Diversity Training Ban, ► Decorative play icon links to post: How Proposed S.F. The place was a mess, charred by fire and strewn with dead animals. Some jurisdictions are friendlier to squatters than others are. He and his friends moved in. “And then the problem would be solved at that point — at least the immediate problem of people being unhoused.”. Some cities do have laws which say that if a squatter simply squats for 30 days, she then has acquired rights to the housing and is no longer a trespasser. To stay housed in the Bay Area, some families and their children turn to squatting. We'll fix your roof. “They would have to voluntarily leave the house that they have wrongly occupied and if the individuals voluntarily left the house Wedgewood is open to having a conversation with them,” Singer said. (Dai Sugano/Bay Area News Group), OAKLAND, CA - DECEMBER 23: An exterior view of Steven DeCaprio's Oakland home is photographed on Dec. 23, 2019. Thanks again. DeCaprio eventually gained title to the home. “Homelessness is a public health problem and this pandemic has really shined a light on that,” she said. Stories like DeCaprio's have played out across the Bay Area over the years, to varying degrees of success. DeCaprio won and now legally owns the home. When his clients have squatters in their properties, police generally remove the intruders promptly — as they should have done with the Moms 4 Housing members, Rothbard said. (obligatory libel CYA: those may actually be legitimate city expenditures.) The house, which the Hernandez family spent two years cleaning, fixing and occupying, was eventually put up for auction. If you break into an empty house, move in your family and your belongings and call it home, can you ever stake a legal claim to the property? If a squatter has been allowed to occupy a property for some time, they might have the same landlord-tenant rights as holdover tenants. Then, one must wade through a complicated tangle of bureaucracy. They hung banners outside with messages such as “End homelessness, reclaim San Francisco” and “Housing is a human right” and attracted protesters and neighbors supporting the action before leaving several hours later after negotiations with police. The answer is yes. DeCaprio has filed an appeal, according to the Mother Jones story. An Alameda County judge on Monday considered whether one of the women, Dominique Walker, has the right to occupy the home but has yet to make a decision. They were eventually joined by homeless moms Leena Graves, Jesse Turner, Angela Shannon, and Denise Bambauer and formed a group called Moms 4 Housing. “It shows how messed up our values are.”. “We urge the squatters to leave voluntarily and peacefully so the company, in cooperation with the non-profit Shelter 37, can renovate the home using at-risk Oakland youth–and provide them with job training as well as share the profits from its sale with Shelter 37 so that other at-risk youth can benefit.”. We depend on your support. A generous gift in any amount helps us continue to bring you this service. In November, San Francisco voters approved a proposition to tax vacant commercial properties. If the owner catches wind and objects, the squatter could be arrested for trespassing or evicted in civil court, depending on the common practice in that jurisdiction, Siegel said. “This type of situation is very rare,” he said. They stopped sleuthing Zillow and Craigslist for homes, and started eyeing the vacant properties around them. Tax Measures Could Affect Inequality, ► Decorative play icon links to post: ‘She Represents’ Offers Critical Feminist Look at Women in Politics. There are exceptions to the rule: They read: "This property was found to be vacant and/or unsecured. “The lives of two women who are brilliant contributors to San Francisco are at stake,” said Jennifer Friedenbach, executive director of the Coalition on Homelessness. Santa Clara-based attorney Todd Rothbard, who represents landlords, called the Moms 4 Housing campaign “pure lawlessness.” When his clients have squatters in their properties, police generally remove the intruders promptly — as they should have done with the Moms 4 Housing members, Rothbard said. (Dai Sugano/Bay Area News Group), OAKLAND, CA - DECEMBER 23: Green plants in the living room inside Steven DeCaprio's Oakland home are photographed on Dec. 24, 2019. 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