A local group is on a mission to clean up the streets of Oakland and prevent illegal dumping in some of the city's hardest hit areas.
Illegal dumping is nothing new in the East Bay. In fact, Vincent Ray Williams co-founded the Urban Compassion Project to help address the issue five years ago.
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WATCH HERE“When we clean it, it helps the businesses, it helps the person who is driving, biking, who has to live here, who has to work here," he said. "It makes it safer and healthier for everybody."
To date, his all-volunteer organization has cleared more than 2,100 tons of trash from local streets. He’s now hoping to expand that mission by launching the East 12th Street Movement.
The group’s goal is to clean up a 2.4 mile stretch of Oakland, from 14th and East 12th to 50th streets.
About 40 community members have already signed up to help this Saturday. But Williams said its not just about the trash, it’s about sending a message.
“It was a movement that was created to involve the community, to involve local city government. To involve the homeless, to involve everybody in a way where people could have their voices heard by being part of a common action,” he said.
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The group is starting a new year long initiative, and is partnering with Andy Wang, widely known as “Pengweather” on social media for his own cleanups.
Urban compassion Project also provides unhoused assistance and connects them with resources. Williams say illegal dumping is often unfairly blamed on the homeless.
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SIGN UP Instead, he says it's more often done by people looking to avoid high dump fees. The unhoused living along east 12th Street said they witness it daily.
Sean is one of the ambassadors the group hires to report illegal dumping and keep areas clear after a cleanup. Earlier this year, Sean said that trash dumped on the street was so bad - it caused a car to flip over.
“It is dangerous for us,” he said.
The efforts don’t come without a cost. Saturday’s clean up is expected to cost more than $5,000. The group has raised over $12,000 through GoFundMe.
“Right now, we are functioning from a week to week basis, hoping that we have what we need for the next week’s cleanup,” Williams said.
