Black Press
Street Medicine Brings Care to Unhoused Angelenos — But Housing Remains the Missing Prescription
BAKERSFIELD NEWS OBSERVER — Mobile street medicine teams treat the immediate health needs of the unhoused, but barriers to care, trauma, stigma and housing costs can leave the underlying causes of homelessness unresolved.
Marion Apio reported this story while participating in the USC Annenberg Center for Health Journalism’s 2026 California Health Equity Fellowship
By the time a street medicine team met Alfred Flores last June along the Los Angeles River , two spider bites on his back had swollen with infection,untreated for three days.
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Divorced a year ago, the 53-year-old had been living along the riverbank for three years without a car or phone, making it difficult to connect with housing programs or reach a doctor as the infected wounds worsened with redness, heat, pus and pain.
On her weekly outreach along the L.A. River, Bukola Olusanya—a nurse practitioner and a street medicine provider with St. John’s Community Health—examined Flores on-site and wrote a prescription for antibiotics.
“My wound is infected,” Flores said in Spanish through an interpreter. “It is normal to be bitten by a spider in this area but I need help finding a home.”
Flores’s experience highlights the steep barriers to receiving housing support and providing medical care among people experiencing homelessness in Los Angeles. Many cannot access care because of physical or mental health conditions, or can’t connect to housing programs because they often lack a phone.
Traditional health care systems often require patients to have transportation, identification, a safe place to store medications and the ability to make follow-up appointments — barriers that can be difficult to overcome for people surviving on the streets.
Street medicine helps people whatever their circumstances
Street medicine challenges the traditional notion that health care must begin inside a medical facility, extending services to those in non-traditional settings and in urgent need.
These teams shift the delivery model by bringing health care directly to patients on the streets, rather than waiting for them to seek treatment in hospitals or clinics. They provide critical care that can stabilize health conditions while helping patients connect with benefits, housing and other services.
Jessica Sanchez, director of the Street Medicine team at St. John’s Community Health, said the program receives about $500,000 annually from L.A. Care Health Plan, $365,000 from the Federal Health Resources and Services Administration and $100,000 from the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health. The team also bills Medi-Cal for eligible medical services, though not all patients are insured or eligible for reimbursement.
Sanchez said the program’s grants typically run for three to five years, providing funding stability. The “street medicine initiative is not currently facing a funding threat,” she said.
Since 2023, St. John’s Community Health—a network of non-profit, federally qualified health centers—has deployed a multidisciplinary street medicine unit in Los Angeles. The mobile vans are staffed by a nurse practitioner, a medical assistant, a health benefits counselor, a community health worker, a behavioral health clinician, a substance abuse counselor and a driver.
The teams provides primary care, behavioral health, and benefits enrollment on the streets, reducing administrative hurdles to head off medical emergencies and reach unsheltered patients.
Primary care and connections are what street medicine can do best
The teams work Monday through Friday and serve around 320 patients a month.
They treat acute wounds, manage chronic conditions like diabetes and hypertension, conduct field blood draws, dispense medications, and connect patients to housing resources through the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority’s Coordinated Entry System.
“Three years ago when we had just started street medicine it was with one team and one provider,” Olusanya said. “But with the increasing demand—especially after COVID—the team doubled everything.”
Deploying two teams is not enough without building trust with unhoused patients, Olusanya said, a lesson she learned on the beat.
While street medicine often can stabilize chronic conditions on the pavement, clinicians stress that field care is a vital shield, not a permanent solution. Without a locked door or a refrigerator to store insulin, medical intervention only acts as a Band-Aid while patients remain trapped in what can be seemingly endless housing queues.
Tanny Hernandez, 45, and her husband, Benwell Hernandez, 35, spent over three years living on the streets. They are now living in a temporary shelter in downtown Los Angeles.
Struggling to manage diabetes without refrigerated insulin
Until they encountered the St. John’s street medicine team, Tanny struggled to manage diabetes without a refrigerator to store her insulin, along with experiencing grand mal seizures and bone disease that forced her to use a wheelchair.
“My sugar levels were crazy—I mean, in the 400 range,” Tanny said. “I can’t be in direct sunlight, so I mean, everything was bad and it was going downhill.”
The American Diabetes Association recommends a premeal blood glucose target of 80 to 130 mg/dL for most nonpregnant adults with diabetes.
When unsheltered Angelenos seek traditional hospital care, they often face health struggles while navigating trauma from administrative hurdles and aggressive security in environments that can feel hostile rather than welcoming.
“While it may be tempting to think that mental health disorders or substance use cause homelessness, there is stronger evidence that the reverse is true,” said Kathryn Leifheit, an assistant professor of Health Policy and Management at the University of California, Los Angeles. “When people become homeless, housing insecurity causes severe mental strain that worsens health conditions over time.”
Homelessness remains at a crisis level in Southern California, mirroring national trends, Leifheit said. The insufficient supply of affordable housing puts many people at risk.
A rent increase can tip people already in crisis into homelessness, experts say
“When rents are high relative to incomes, any economic shock, life event, sudden illness or major bill can put someone at risk of becoming homeless,” Leifheit said.
This crisis carries a stark racial dimension. Black residents make up less than 10% of Los Angeles County’s population but accounted for about one-third of people experiencing homelessness in the Los Angeles Continuum of Care’s 2026 count, according to the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority. The Continuum of Care is a federally designated network that coordinates homeless services and housing programs.
The count identified 21,822 Black people experiencing homelessness. Street medicine is an important way to access care for unhoused people of color, with 25% of street medicine patients identifying as Black and 23% identifying as Latino, according to the California Health Care Foundation.
“Black Americans have much lower family wealth and they’re much less likely to own their house because of redlining,” said Margot Kushel, Director of the UC San Francisco Benioff Homelessness and Housing Initiative. She points as a key contributor to “generations and generations of anti-Black racism and other ways to extract Black Americans out of the home ownership market.”
When Rayshawn Whittenburg, a 20-year-old Black Angeleno, encountered Olusanya and her team, she had spent six months on the streets with a high-risk pregnancy.
She was under the team’s care before her newborn inhaled amniotic fluid at birth, sending the infant to neonatal intensive care for two weeks. The baby was later released from the hospital into the care of Whittenburg’s mother.
“A stark racial dimension” to homelessness for Black Angelenos
Whittenburg’s experience highlights the severe maternal health disparities documented across Los Angeles County, where Black mothers and infants experience disproportionately high rates of life-threatening complications and mortality. For those surviving on the street, homelessness adds severe environmental stress and care delays to an already perilous baseline.
Whittenburg said she returned to the streets after losing her interim housing placement at the Los Angeles Inn because she did not realize that failing to remain continuously at the shelter would cost her a bed.
“I really keep to myself most of the time,” Whittenburg said. “I don’t really like people because it’s always drama.”
Olusanya noted that unsheltered patients routinely face judgment from healthcare providers based on their appearance or assumptions about drug use – preconceived notions she pushes back against, as most of her patients are not on the street because of addiction.
“One huge misconception is that unhoused folks are also inherently dangerous,” said Carol Ross, assistant director of Santa Monica outreach for The People Concern, a nonprofit that provides housing and supportive services. “Statistically speaking, folks with serious mental illness are much more of a danger to themselves than to others.”
After seven years of sobriety, Teff Ejigu, 37, is back on the streets navigating severe health and housing challenges.
Ejigu, who describes himself as a political science graduate, said he became unhoused after past triggers contributed to a relapse. He lost his housing six months ago and currently lacks a phone and essential documents to access benefits or housing such as a state ID and Social Security card.
“You know, we can’t give up,” Ejigu said. “I’m hoping that after I get back on my feet, I’ll be able to use this place as a launching pad to restarting my career and getting back to school.”
Navigating housing applications can be complicated and stressful
Beyond missing paperwork, navigating public benefit systems requires administrative literacy.
“There are resources out there, but you have to speak a special language to fill out all these forms,” Ross said. “People who don’t access public benefits have no idea how challenging it is. It’s like a full-time job.”
The main operational challenge for street medicine teams remains patient follow-up. Without phones or fixed addresses, patients are frequently lost to care, especially when encampments are cleared by the city. Olusanya said clinicians also encounter administrative barriers when trying to connect patients with services
Ross noted similar systemic limitations when patients face acute conditions, describing one unhoused individual struggling to receive cancer treatment—a case far more complex than treating a spider bite.
“In terms of getting folks connected to primary care, it works well, but there’s a lot of work to do in terms of linking people to higher levels of care,” Ross said.
“There’s definitely a need to be sure that street medicine is age friendly, that it has the workforce trained to deal with the unique needs of older adults…” Kushel said.
Local leaders should foot the bill for more street medicine teams, providers say
Some providers say city and county leaders could do more to strengthen mobile street units and cut red tape for permanent housing placements.
The Inglewood mayor’s office said the city is using federal, state and local funding to support affordable and supportive housing, including project-based vouchers and permanent supportive housing.”
The city said it is tracking 600 affordable units in various stages of predevelopment and monitoring about 46 existing density-bonus affordable units.
Roberto Chavez, HUD programs manager for the City of Inglewood, said the city is not equipped or funded to deploy mobile medical responses directly.
“I don’t think the city is equipped to deploy those resources because that’s more a function of the county or the state,” Chavez said. “We don’t have street medicine workers. That’s not something we receive funding for.”
Chavez noted that federal funding constraints continue to impact municipal budgets as housing costs outpace federal allocations.
“Every year costs go up for housing, right, and so the budget authority that we’re allocated from the federal government is not keeping up with that allocation,” Chavez said.
Off the streets, the next hurdle is going from temporary to permanent housing
The transition from temporary beds to permanent housing remains a challenge across the region. Across Los Angeles, the county identified the shortage of affordable permanent housing as the biggest barrier to moving people from interim to permanent housing.
“Healthcare is a human right. Just because somebody is living in an alley doesn’t mean that they don’t deserve to have a doctor who understands them,” said Ross.
“We only see some of them once or twice a week, so that’s the gap that we have,” Olusanya said of unhoused patients. “Cities have a bigger role to play. They have to provide the safety net that is needed by residents.” Health experts said when consistent clinical rapport and trust are established, street medicine can serve as a vital bridge to care.
“Street medicine doesn’t end homelessness. It is trying to keep people alive and safe while they’re homeless,” Kushel said. The street medicine team continues to care for Tanny and Benwell Hernandez, who live in temporary housing in downtown Los Angeles through the Inside Safe program. When Tanny cannot reach a pharmacy, the team delivers her medication directly to her door.
Regular health care “saved us,” one newly housed patient says
Benwell is studying to become a peer educator while the couple works to secure permanent housing. Still, their future remains uncertain.
Tanny said her biggest fear is waiting in temporary housing for six months only to end up back on the street.
Unlike patients living on the riverbank or sidewalk, Tanny can now benefit from reliable follow-up care because she now has a fixed address.
“We were at the point of giving up, but this program saved us,” Tanny said. “With what they do for me, my whole body—like my internal system—feels like it’s slowly getting better.”
Marion Apio
Marion Apio is a multimedia journalist from Uganda currently based in Inglewood reporting for the Observer Group Newspaper of Southern California in Los Angeles. She pursued journalism to make information more accessible—especially for underserved communities like the one she grew up in. Her reporting focuses on access to basic resources necessary to advance human rights, education, health and with a strong interest in solutions journalism that highlights working models addressing community-level challenges.
She is a California Local News Fellow, USC California Health Equity Fellow and Widening the Pipeline Fellow with National Press Foundation. Marion has reported for Richmond Confidential, Oakland North, Bloomberg, and has also worked with the Investigative Reporting Program at UC Berkeley on issues related to journalist safety and human rights.
Black Press
Mayor Lee Delivers 2026 State of the City Address: ‘Oakland Continues to Be on the Move’
To create a police force that better serves and protects Oakland, the city is working toward the goal of reaching 700 sworn police officers, she said. These steps include recruiting from Oakland, holding academies, reinstituting a cadet program, and increasing foot patrols.
Mayor Barbara Lee, speaking this week to Oakland residents and elected leaders in City Council chambers, delivered the annual mayoral State of the City Address, highlighting the city’s accomplishments as well as the challenges Oakland is facing going forward.
Lee began her remarks praising city workers, who picketed outside City Hall before the meeting, and are currently negotiating with the city for a wage increase and ending understaffing that leaves many departments shorthanded.
“We are working very hard (not) just to get a contract, but to get a fair contract,” she said. “I know that our City Council and myself are working constantly toward that end.”
The mayor also praised Councilmember Carroll Fife for her legislation for a 45-day moratorium on data center construction, which passed unanimously at the council meeting Tuesday following Lee’s presentation.
Speaking bluntly, she said, “Oakland continues to be a city on the move, (but) I want to tell you the truth about the state of our city.”
“We have made real progress, and we still face real challenges.”
She said the city has balanced its budget but has a structural deficit, which is decreasing, and must operate within the context of federal funding cuts.
“Too many Oaklanders are unhoused, too many families are struggling with the cost of living, and too many neighborhoods still need basic services that they deserve, and too many people are living in fear,” Mayor Lee said.
“We’re not sweeping these realities under the rug,” she continued. “We are being intentional and transparent about how we must face these challenges, but we will not ignore our progress.”
Substantial progress includes:
• Bringing crime down;
• Building affordable and deeply affordable housing;
• Cleaning the streets and fixing the roads;
• Helping small businesses.
“We are bringing new investment to Oakland,” she said. “We’re making City Hall work better. There’s more to do, but make no mistake, Oakland is on the move.”
Speaking broadly about the city’s public safety initiatives, she said that crime continues to decline. Burglaries fell by 26%, and violent crime fell by 17%.
In recent years, homicides and shootings have fallen by double digits, and gun violence has dropped by more than 50% in the last 33 months.
“These aren’t just statistics: these are lives. These are families. These are people who never made it home,” Mayor Lee said.
She talked about what to expect now that federal court oversight of the Oakland Police Department ended last week after 23 years. “Ending federal oversight does not mean ending accountability; quite the opposite,” she said. “Accountability and civilian oversight must remain our standard. Community trust must be our standard.”
Mayor Lee also emphasized that Oakland remains a city of refuge.
“We do not work with ICE; we do not cooperate with ICE; our police do not cooperate with ICE; we will not be militarized,” she said.
The mayor also emphasized that investing in youth is a top priority of her administration and should be considered a public safety strategy.
“We advocated for almost $2 million to restore the mayor’s youth summer employment program,” she said. “We connected youth with Oakland businesses to develop skills that will support them for years to come, and that’s a big deal.”
To create a police force that better serves and protects Oakland, the city is working toward the goal of reaching 700 sworn police officers, she said. These steps include recruiting from Oakland, holding academies, reinstituting a cadet program, and increasing foot patrols.
The city also is strengthening other programs, including the Department of Violence Prevention and Ceasefire, she said. “We must have this comprehensive public safety strategy, because we must also prevent violence before it happens.”
Continuing, Lee said public safety is connected to unsanitary conditions in city neighborhoods.
“Illegal dumping is unacceptable, and it’s a moral disgrace,” she said. “No child should have to walk past piles of garbage on their way to school; no senior should have to live next to it; no small business should have to clean it up outside its door.”
She said the city is changing the way it fights illegal dumping, securing a $9.2 million investment to develop a new strategy. “We’re not just cleaning it up; we’re working to stop it before it starts. We have the three E’s – Eradication, enforcement, and education,” she said.
Focusing on the continuing crisis of Oakland’s unhoused residents, she said, “We consider housing a basic human right, and homelessness remains one of Okland’s greatest challenges.”
“There are two things we must do: keep people from becoming unsheltered and help people who are unsheltered get back into housing with services that they need,” Lee said.
Since 2024, homelessness in Oakland has fallen by 20%, she said. In the past year prevention programs helped keep 1,000 families in their homes, and over 1,300 affordable homes opened over the past two years.
Addressing community tensions over encampments, she said, “We should never have to choose between compassion for people experiencing homelessness and the health and safety of our neighborhoods.”
“A strong city has to deliver both,” she said. “That’s the work we’re advancing through Oakland’s new homelessness strategic action plan.”
Black Press
Oakland Awarded More than $14 Million in State Funding
Direct state investments in city programs can revitalize Oakland’s commercial corridors and foster economic growth, strengthen community violence prevention strategies, and expand transitional housing, while supporting cherished community spaces, according to a city media statement.
Money will support small businesses, public safety, transitional housing, and community partners
Mayor Barbara Lee recently announced that the City of Oakland and local community partners will receive more than $14 million in direct investments from California’s new 2026-27 state budget.
Securing $4.25 million for city programs and $10 million for local community organizations, these state funds were backed by state Senator Jesse Arreguin and Assemblymembers Mia Bonta and Buffy Wicks, with support from Governor Gavin Newsom.
The goal of securing state and federal funding and bringing in outside resources to address the city’s most pressing needs continues to be a top priority for Lee.
Direct state investments in city programs can revitalize Oakland’s commercial corridors and foster economic growth, strengthen community violence prevention strategies, and expand transitional housing, while supporting cherished community spaces, according to a city media statement.
“Thank you so much to Senator Jesse Arreguin, Assemblymember Mia Bonta, Assemblymember Buffy Wicks, and Gov. Gavin Newsom for investing in Oakland,” Lee said.
“We are fortunate to have strong, dedicated leaders representing Oakland in Sacramento who consistently deliver for our residents and businesses,” she said. “This critical funding directly addresses some of our most pressing challenges, including supporting our small businesses, building vibrant neighborhood corridors, advancing violence intervention, and housing our unsheltered neighbors.”
How the $4.25 million will be spent for city projects:
- $2.5 million will be used for the Facade and Tenant Improvement Grant Program to support small businesses;
- $1 million for the Department of Violence Prevention to enhance staffing and program capacity; and
- $750,000 for the Holland transitional housing facility, providing resources to help unhoused residents.
• How the $10 million for Oakland community groups will be spent:
- $5 million for Children’s Fairyland for essential infrastructure, accessibility, and facility upgrades.;
- $3 million for the Juntos Fruitvale Cultural Arts Center to create a multi-use space for performances, exhibitions, workshops, neighborhood meetings in the Fruitvale neighborhood; and
- $2 million for Samuel Merritt University to grow its nationally recognized Human Trafficking Prevention and Response Initiative.
“State investments in Oakland’s nonprofit and educational organizations highlight their deep value not just to our city, but their importance to the entire state,” said Lee. “Oakland has long served as a hub for inclusive arts and culture and as a community that protects its most vulnerable members.”
Said Arreguin, “This investment is a commitment to Oakland’s health, safety, and future. In partnership with my state colleagues, Mayor Lee, and our community partners, we are strengthening our response to human trafficking and gun violence, to create safer neighborhoods, and improve the quality of life of all Oakland residents.”
“Investing in Oakland means investing in California’s future. I’m proud to be a voice for the beautiful people of Oakland in the State Capitol and to deliver real funding wins that ensure our shared safety, expand housing opportunities, and preserve the artistic and cultural legacy of Oakland,” said Bonta.
Black Press
Jendayi Arrest Raises Community Concerns Regarding Sheriff’s Chain of Command
Judge Sandra K. Bean ordered a legally inherited home to be taken from beneficiary Jendayi, citing “undue influence,” and gave it to Court Administrator Phillip Campbell, who Jendayi believes will quickly sell the house and pay himself more than $600,000 in court fees. The disinherited sisters will get the remainder of the proceeds of the sale.
Last Thursday, Zakiya Jendayi parked on the side of the René C. Davidson Courthouse in Oakland to file an emergency stay request in what Jendayi asserts was the “legal” theft of her home of 13 years by a court administrator in her ongoing battle for her rightful inheritance in a probate battle.
But before she could fully emerge from the car at 12th and Oak streets, she was arrested by Alameda County Sheriffs for disobeying a court order and obstruction.
According to observers who have read the transcripts, the Hamlin v. Jendayi case, now in its sixth year, has resulted in what they describe as a gross miscarriage of justice.
Judge Sandra K. Bean ordered a legally inherited home to be taken from beneficiary Jendayi, citing “undue influence,” and gave it to Court Administrator Phillip Campbell, who Jendayi believes will quickly sell the house and pay himself more than $600,000 in court fees. The disinherited sisters will get the remainder of the proceeds of the sale.
Dr. Laura Dean Head named Jendayi as the beneficiary and executor over her estate after Jendayi took care of her during the last months of her life. Head’s disinherited sisters, Della Hamlin and Helaine Head, challenged the validity of Head’s will and trust, despite not being able to recognize Head in a photo during the trial, and Della stating she hadn’t spoken to her sister since 1997 or 1998 and would not have taken care of her during her hospice.
The appellate court upheld Bean’s ruling, which Jendayi asserts was based on a failure to fully consider the transcripts. “They never read the transcripts because if they had, they would have seen the truth,” Jendayi said.
Accompanied by Alameda Couty Sheriff’s Department deputies, Campbell arrived unannounced at Jendayi’s home on Oct. 1 – at the same time Jendayi was being arrested – to change the locks, board up the windows, and place a fence around the property.
Neither Jendayi, nor her supporters who had been in touch with Alameda County leadership and the Sheriff’s Department and been given the impression that nothing would happen without warning had been told Campbell was coming.
“I went to the courthouse to file an emergency stay document, and while getting out of the car, a sheriff immediately approached me and put handcuffs on me before I could stand up,” Jendayi said in recounting the events of Oct. 1. “I asked him if he had a warrant. He said ‘yes,’ and seven other officers immediately approached and surrounded me, with an additional three sheriffs standing back observing.
“I asked why it was necessary to have 10 officers to arrest me. They would not answer. I asked if the sergeant was there and asked if I could speak to him, but the sergeant refused to approach while another officer started taunting me over and over, stating, ‘I was at your house. I was at your house when you refused to surrender. We got you now.’
“The officer put the handcuffs on tight. I asked him to please loosen them. He refused and said they weren’t too tight. Then a Black, female deputy named Lewis, came over and asked him to loosen the handcuffs. Three times the white male officers were overly aggressive with me, and each time Deputy Lewis would step up and they would fall back. They said I was under arrest for refusing to surrender the house on Aug. 25.
“I asked them if I could file my paperwork, and they said, ‘No.’ Several officers asked me if I was on drugs. I felt like my life was in danger. I asked to speak to Deputy Lewis, and she came. I said, ‘Please tell my mother and Joyce Gordon that I would never kill myself.’ I did not want to end up like Sandra Bland, who was murdered by police officers in a Texas jail.”
Zendayi said they then took her to a section in the basement of the courthouse, placed her in a holding cell, and confiscated her belongings around 3 p.m. “They went through everything, took both cell phones, and asked if they could turn off my phones. I said ‘no,’ so they placed them in airplane mode.”
Then she was taken in a van to Santa Rita Jail in Dublin, which, because of traffic took almost two hours. “They asked me if I was on drugs and asked me to give a urine sample. I refused. They took a mug shot, and I was told it would be Monday before I could go to court. They put me in a cell with feces on the wall.
An hour after being detained, a deputy asked Jendayi if she knew someone who worked for the county and then asked if knew someone from the Sheriff’s Office and answered ‘no’ to both questions. He said, “You must know someone because we received orders to release you immediately. You’ll be out of here in about 40 minutes.”
“Rev. Raymond Langford of the Oakland Private Industry Council has been helping me to negotiate for more time to stay in my home,” Jendayi said. “I have an appeal with the Northern District Court of Appeals, where I’ve been promised they will review my case based on its merits. I was hoping to stay (in my home) until they reached a determination.
Rev. Langford reached out to Alameda County Supervisor Nikki Fortunata Bas and Chief Administrator David Brown, and they’ve been in contact with Sheriff Yesenia Sanchez.
“They weren’t going to give me the time I requested, but they did say that I would have time to move my belongings and would also be notified when they were coming,” Jendayi said. “None of that occurred.”
Langford said he spoke to Brown, Fortunato Bas and Sanchez right after the first attempt to evict Jendayi on Aug. 25 as well as the Alameda County Counsel and others to negotiate a time for Jendayi to move her belongings.
“There is no truth to the statement that there was no contact [with court and law enforcement officials.] There was an obvious miscommunication between Sanchez and her officers. They don’t have to inform the public of their actions, I understand that, but Zakiya and the community were concerned after they confiscated her guns.”
(Jendayi relinquished her weapons on Aug. 25 when sheriff’s deputies came to forcibly evict her while her petition for bankruptcy was still pending and should have interrupted the eviction process.)
“The Sheriffs have their own trust issues, and they need to work on that. They are not following the chain of command. David Brown, Fortunato Bas’s chief of staff, was puzzled also. He was told they would be informed when they would be returning. He was also blindsided like all of us.”
“(The Sheriffs’ Department) can come to the supervisors and get millions of dollars, but they can’t exhibit the courtesy to inform a citizen when she needs to move.”
“We, our group, ‘Friends of Zakiya,’ took a letter to Sanchez’s office citing Zakiya’s health issues, asking for more time just last week. Sanchez was a person who ran on the platform that she would not run the Sheriff’s Department on a military strategy, which they did on an African American senior in a comfortable, safe community.
“We understand they have to do their job, but we don’t want them targeting and profiling seniors. There has to be some accountability to the community,” Lankford said.
Supervisor Nikki Bas, deeply concerned with what has occurred, is joining with Supervisor Nate Miley to request a meeting with Attorney General Rob Bonta to request an independent investigation.
Black Press
Marin County Supes Expand Small Business Options with Home Kitchen Pilot Program
“This will deliver immediate financial relief to entrepreneurs in areas like Marin City, West Marin and the Canal neighborhood, removing barriers right where economic opportunity is needed the most,” said Shannon Bell, consumer protection supervisor with Marin County Environmental Health Services, at the meeting.
The Marin County Board of Supervisors adopted a three-year pilot program that will allow cooks and food entrepreneurs to prepare and sell meals from their homes on Sept. 29
The Microenterprise Home Kitchen Operation program, or MEHKO, will establish a permitting process for small-scale home food businesses. California state law allows licenses if local governments opt in.
“This will deliver immediate financial relief to entrepreneurs in areas like Marin City, West Marin and the Canal neighborhood, removing barriers right where economic opportunity is needed the most,” said Shannon Bell, consumer protection supervisor with Marin County Environmental Health Services, at the meeting.
MEHKO licenses fill the gap between cottage food permits, which only apply to non-potentially hazardous foods like baked goods and jams, and full commercial kitchens.
Microenterprises can serve as commissaries for up to two mobile food operations; they require food to be prepared and served the same day. They are exempt from commercial facility requirements, such as industrial grease traps and commercial stove hoods.
The program allows takeout or on-site dining with strict limits of 30 meals per day, or 90 meals per week, and an annual sales cap of $100,000.
The pilot would begin March 1, 2027, and permits would be capped at 100 per year. Application fees are $725 with an annual renewal fee of $414, but fee waivers for a third of the permits are reserved for low-income communities.
After two years, supervisors will consider making the program permanent.
“By eliminating the need for commercial leases and expensive equipment, entrepreneurs can safely test their businesses and ideas with minimal financial risk,” Bell said. According to statewide data from the Cook Alliance, 85% of MEHKO operators are women, immigrants, and people of color, and over 70% rely on this income to support their families, she said.
Bell also said unpermitted sales are already happening in areas like the Canal.
Local Vendors Seek a Legal Path
Marina Palma advocates for San Rafael’s Canal neighborhood, which is home to a vulnerable community of over 13,000 low-income residents. About 84% are Latino and roughly half of all households spend more than 50% of their income on housing.
Palma told the board that the pandemic caused many Canal residents to lose their jobs, and that’s why the neighborhood has so many vendors selling food in public. Because they have no license, enforcement actions can be harsh.
“They have really high tickets of $600, and their food has been thrown away,” said Palma.
She said MEHKO would help vendors get an official license, but she questions whether vendors will need a Social Security number and be legally in the country.
According to the home-chef’s national nonprofit Cook Alliance, MEHKO applicants need no proof of citizenship nor a Social Security number to obtain a permit.
“I’m from Mexico, and I’m one of the mobile vendors,” said Elsie Vega through a Spanish translator. “I have two jobs. Everything is pricey — house, food, everything. I am here to work hard, to pay taxes. I don’t make enough money to pay the community kitchens.”
MEHKO license holders must pass inspection under the oversight of the Marin County Department of Environmental Health Services and comply with local zoning, parking and noise ordinances.
California authorized MEHKO programs in 2019. Seventeen counties have since adopted them, including Sonoma, San Mateo, Solano, Contra Costa, Alameda and Santa Clara counties.
Other commenters who spoke in favor of the program represented a range of food system and small business organizations. They included the Agricultural Institute of Marin, which operates nine Bay Area farmers markets, the University of California Cooperative Extension, the Cook Alliance, the West Marin Food Systems Group, which coordinates farm-to-school food access, and the Marin Small Business Development Center.
Black Press
Allen Temple Baptist Church Hosts Free Prostate Cancer Screenings on Oct. 17
The summit’s mission is to reduce the impact of prostate cancer through education, early detection, research, and support. It is presented in partnership with The Oakland Institute of Health, Inc., SCAN, Brotherhood of Elders Network, UCSF Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center, Alameda County Public Health Department, Stanford Medicine Cancer Center, Impact Oakland Now, Bay Area Umoja Health, Bay Area Black Nurses Association, Inc., and 100 Black Men of the Bay Area, Inc.
The Prostate Cancer 2500™ Care Summit brings together health systems, community organizations, and survivors to put early detection within reach
Black men in America are diagnosed with prostate cancer more often than other men and are about twice as likely to die from it. Early detection changes that outcome.
On Saturday, Oct. 17 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., Allen Temple Baptist Church will host the Prostate Cancer 2500™ Care Summit (#PC2500), a free event open to the entire community.
. Attendees can receive prostate cancer screenings and health consultations on site, learn about prevention and nutrition, ask medical experts questions in an interactive Q&A, and hear from survivors who will share their stories and offer support.
Screening is recommended beginning at age 45, and at age 40 for Black men with a family history of prostate cancer. All men are welcome, and families are encouraged to attend.
The summit’s mission is to reduce the impact of prostate cancer through education, early detection, research, and support. It is presented in partnership with The Oakland Institute of Health, Inc., SCAN, Brotherhood of Elders Network, UCSF Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center, Alameda County Public Health Department, Stanford Medicine Cancer Center, Impact Oakland Now, Bay Area Umoja Health, Bay Area Black Nurses Association, Inc., and 100 Black Men of the Bay Area, Inc.
For more information prior to the event, reach out to Rev. Charlotte Y. Williams at (510) 604-5242 | [email protected]
For more information on the day of the event, reach out to Deacon Dwight Williams (510) 501-1650 [email protected]. The church is located at 8501 International Blvd., Oakland, CA 94621 The service is free and free parking and refreshments will be provided. The site is accessible to persons with disabilities. To pre-register, go to Allen-Temple.org
Allen Temple Baptist Church was organized in 1919 in Oakland. For 107 years, ATBC has served as a bright beacon of faith, hope, and love beyond its’ four walls. Allen Temple is committed to sharing the love of God and the message of Good News throughout the world. We welcome people of all ages and cultural backgrounds as we joyfully celebrate worship and fellowship, and carry out ministries of evangelism, discipleship, education, community outreach, and global missions. Allen Temple’s holistic, prophetic and social justice ministries address the needs of the whole person as well as the whole community. Dr. Jacqueline A. Thompson.
Rev. Charlotte Y. Williams is the minister and director of Communications at Allen Temple Baptist Church.
Black Press
AC Transit Labor Unions Back Director Joel Young
ATU Local 192 Vice President Nathaniel Arnold stated “our support reflects confidence in Young’s leadership and experience as the longest-serving member of AC Transit’s current Board of Directors. His experience is particularly important as AC Transit confronts serious fiscal challenges while working to preserve and strengthen service.
In the AC Transit Ward 3 election, AC Transit’s labor organizations have recently expressed their endorsement for Director Joel Young, recognizing his longstanding commitment to public transportation, workforce investment, and the employees who keep AC Transit moving every day.
Those unions include the Amalgamated Transit Union Local 192, the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 1245, and the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Local 3916.
ATU Local 192 Vice President Nathaniel Arnold stated “our support reflects confidence in Young’s leadership and experience as the longest-serving member of AC Transit’s current Board of Directors. His experience is particularly important as AC Transit confronts serious fiscal challenges while working to preserve and strengthen service.
“At a time when difficult decisions lie ahead, Young brings institutional knowledge, longstanding relationships, and a demonstrated commitment to public transportation.
“Since joining the board in 2009, Young has served in key leadership roles, including president and vice president, helping guide AC Transit through periods of growth, innovation, and change.
During his tenure, he helped AC Transit secure more than $600 million in funding to support critical transportation investments. Young has also helped advance workforce development initiatives, support transit technology improvements, expand AC Transit’s zero-emission bus fleet, and strengthen the District’s national presence on transportation policy issues.
His leadership has extended beyond the Bay Area.
Young has represented AC Transit on the national stage, including participation in the White House Roundtable on Clean Bus Manufacturing, where transit leaders and policymakers discussed the future of clean transportation and domestic manufacturing.
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