Poverty is not personal failure, it's policy failure. But the big levers of policy are at the state and especially the federal level. Last week, I published a blog post on the programs that we have begun here in Oakland in the last seven years aimed at reducing poverty, experimenting with different approaches to find out what's most impactful and most scalable. Here's a few:

Education: The Oakland Promise and Universal Pre-school, cradle-to-college-to-career supports, have now been funded for a generation thanks to the generosity of private donors and Oakland’s voters.

Housing: We piloted the Bay Area’s first-ever homelessness prevention program (one-time financial assistance, support services, legal representation) called Keep Oakland Housed that, during its first three-years, helped 5,671 families stay housed. While Keep Oakland Housed has been successful, it does not do enough to address the ongoing impacts of systemic racism on perpetuating poverty. That's why we launched the Oakland Shallow Subsidy Pilot, a pilot that has documented the impacts of modest but long-term rent subsidies of up to $700.

Mobility: We distributed 500 prepaid debit cards to low-income residents of East Oakland that can be used for public transit, bike share, or scooter share. We call this Universal Basic Mobility – allowing our residents to travel in clean and green ways without barriers based on their income.

Guaranteed Income: Oakland secured philanthropic funding to design and implement Oakland Resilient Families, our 18-month pilot offers $500 monthly payments to 600 families with no strings attached. The program was open to all who qualified, but by being intentional about our outreach, 95% of the participants in the pilot are people of color – the people who are most impacted by the policies that produce poverty in our nation.

These programs – addressing housing, transportation, and basic needs – may serve as a roadmap to ending poverty in California and across the nation. By measuring the results of these pilots, we can gather the information we need for policymakers in Sacramento and Washington to use public funds to make the biggest impact on poverty. That’s how our policy choices change, and how we can use policy to end poverty in California.

The City of Oakland is calling on the public to submit proposals for how to address our city's biggest challenges like homelessness, violent crime, and abandoned vehicles and dumping. If you have ever had an idea about how to address one of these issues, but didn't know how to start, this is your time to shine. Until May 6, you can submit proposals for selection by City officials. The authors of winning proposals will have the chance to work with the City government to implement your solution. Visit this link to learn more about this exciting competition and to send in your idea to make your city a better place.

Next Saturday, April 23, Oakland Public Works will be back outside with neighborhood clean-ups of streets, sidewalks, schools, parks, and along creeks and other waterways. Volunteers will pick up litter, remove graffiti, weed and plant, and restore native habitats. OPW will sponsor seven event sites at Chinatown, Rainbow Community Garden, Jingletown, Ira Jinkins Recreation Center, Brockhurst Community Cleanup, Courtland Creek Park, and FROG Park & Temescal Greenbelt.

Oaklanders in every neighborhood are motivated and organized to clean and green our town, and we are so excited to be coming back out in person together. A return to in-person Earth Day cleanup support is just the latest step in our work to make Oakland cleaner and safer for everybody: in just the last few months we’ve improved renter access to free bulky trash pickup service, and piloted a new-and-improved illegal dumping surveillance camera program. There is lots more to come and this year’s Earth Day is the next big step – come be a part of it!