Bad Air Quality Prompts the City of Oakland to Open More Shelter Beds

With air quality warnings covering virtually the entire Bay Area, the City of Oakland is offering additional beds to homeless shelters in West Oakland and in East Oakland.

The city's year-round shelter at St. Vincent de Paul, 675 23rd Street in West Oakland, has beds available for the homeless Saturday night. Shelter beds can be secured through referral, reservation or via walk-up on a first-come, first-served basis. Contact St. Vincent de Paul directly at (510)638-7600.

Karen Boyd, communications director with Oakland's city administrator's office, said Saturday that the 23rd Street shelter has had the shelter beds available since the beginning of the bad air crisis over a week ago.

Across town, the East Oakland Community Project will make available 10 additional shelter beds starting tonight to allow more people to escape sleeping outside with the unsafe pollution levels. The beds can be accessed by walking into the Crossroads Shelter, 7515 International Blvd.

These 10 East Oakland beds, Boyd said, are available for the first time on Saturday.

For unsheltered people looking for a daytime indoor reprieve from the unhealthy air, St. Vincent de Paul will once again open its doors all day Sunday from 9:30 a.m. until 3 p.m. as a drop-in respite center. In addition, the Main Library, at 125 14th Street, is scheduled to be open tomorrow from 1 to 5 p.m.

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