Resisting and Healing from Violence in Our Housing System
The Law Center supports healing from legacies of violence that pervade our housing systems. We do this by partnering with visionary organizations led by poor, houseless, Indigenous, Black and other POC communities usually excluded from power. Informed by those relationships, we envision policy changes and develop legal tools that allow diverse communities (including non-traditional families) to stay rooted in place.
Wood Street Commons Community (https://woodstreetcommons.org/; check out their Instagram too)
Wood Street Commons provides vital sanctuaries of housing and healing for Oakland’s houseless population. It empowers houseless residents to lead, organize, and create dignified solutions for the housing crisis.
Wood Street Commons organizer John Janosko would like to share the following with you all:
- Unfortunately, John and fellow organizer and community member LeaJay were robbed at gunpoint when withdrawing money from a bank to buy a van for their work. Donate here to help them recover the $8,300 that was stolen.
- The first Saturday of every month (including Saturday, March 1) we have our town hall meeting from 12 noon to 2 pm. It's open to everyone. It is always a potluck lunch. Location: Omni Commons, 4799 Shattuck Ave Oakland CA 94609.
- Every Sunday we do outreach at different homeless encampments around Oakland. 1 to 4pm are also potluck lunches for the community. People can follow us on Instagram at Wood Street Commons for weekly details about where the outreach will be.
Photos courtesy of Wood Street Commons.
by tiny aka povertyskola, daughter of Dee, mama of Tiburcio
A powerful call to resist hate and violence against houseless people and support their solutions, by Tiny Gray-Garcia of Poor Magazine – a poor people–led/Indigenous people–led, grassroots, non-profit arts organization dedicated to providing revolutionary media access, art, education, and advocacy to silenced youth, adults, and elders in poverty across Mama Earth. Click here to read more.
Photo courtesy of poormagazine.org.
What does housing look like in the context of rematriation?
Our Indigenous clients and partners have taught and inspired us to live in right relationship with Mama Earth. This begins with rematriating stolen land to reconnect First Nations peoples with their ancestral homelands. In turn, the land will slowly heal from the colonial-capitalist practices of extraction, commodification, and desecration through the reintroduction of care, reciprocity, and traditional ecological stewardship practices.
Increasingly, we’re meeting homeowners across California who feel the ethical and heart-centered call to return their homes to Indigenous peoples. For some, it manifests as a donation upon death, consciously breaking the cycle of privilege and intergenerational wealth accumulation by means of estate planning and inheritance. For others, it manifests as a donation now, with an opportunity to learn from and collaborate with Indigenous peoples to co-steward the land. For homeowners who wish to rematriate and continue living in their homes, we have produced a living guide that discusses the options of transfers with a retained lease and a life estate.
One of our clients, POOR Magazine, provides a glimpse of the possibility of decommodified housing through rematriation. They hold title to a residential site that is home to formerly unhoused peoples, known as Homefulness. In the words of Homefulness resident Tiny Garcia, “we buy the land to permanently unsell it.” Towards this vision, POOR Magazine is developing an easement in which the site will transfer to First Nations’ stewardship if either rent is charged or the site is sold.
Imagine, though, if all land is rematriated to Indigenous groups and permanently unsold. The land would begin to heal, and settlers – including us here at the Law Center – will be reintegrated into a broader web of humanity and life in which our needs, including housing, are collectively stewarded based on being in right relationship with each other and the land. If you are a homeowner who feels the call to rematriate your home (or part of it), please reach out to Veryl Pow ([email protected]) and Moh Mookim ([email protected]) to explore what this might look like for you.
Family & Zoning
The Law Center has begun forming a program focused on the relationship between family and zoning law. As part of this program, we’ll be interviewing coliving and cohousing communities about the legal challenges they have faced or are worried about facing. We’re focused on difficulties permitting communal kitchens. We’re also focused on conflicts with planning officials over family structure. If you have stories to share, please reach out to Hope Williams ([email protected]) and Jay Cumberland ([email protected]). We’re considering a push for legislation to end legal prejudice against group housing facilities, coliving communities, and cohousing communities so stay in touch if you want to be part of a coalition on these issues.
Ban Land Grabs
The Law Center has long dreamt of banning corporate speculation in housing. In the past year, we have gotten warm reception in Richmond, California to a policy proposal that would ban for-profit corporations from purchasing housing in the city. This move would assert the city’s ability to limit the worst excesses of our housing market—where housing is treated not as a home and basis of community, but rather as a commodity for investors to profit from. After meeting with city council members and organizers throughout last year, we prepared an extensive legal and policy report, including a template ordinance that any California city could pass.
Know Your Rights: Immigration Enforcement and Housing
We’re working to build a world where homes are not privatized commodities. However, in our current legal landscape, private residencies offer important protections against ICE/CBP (Customs and Border Patrol) immigration enforcement. Check out these resources to keep yourself and others safe when ICE or CBP comes knocking at your door:
The Fourth Amendment protects people from unwarranted searches and seizures in homes and other areas where people have a reasonable expectation of privacy. ICE/CBP cannot enter your home without a judicial warrant, voluntary consent, or if there is an emergency that requires immediate action. In apartment buildings, ICE/CBP can access public areas (lobbies,etc) but protections for homes apply to apartments.
Upcoming Events
The “Nonprofit Killer” Bill and How It Might Affect Our Clients MCLE
March 4, 2025 at 12:00 PM PST (Zoom)
In the face of escalating fascism and white supremacy, our team has engaged in rapid-response research about emerging threats like the “nonprofit killer” bill, H.R. 9495. This webinar aims to demystify the threats posed by H.R. 9495—reviewing existing laws around nonprofit terrorism and explaining what the bill would change if passed. We will then survey nonprofit protection strategies our partners could explore. This activity is approved by the California State Bar for 1 MCLE credit. RSVP here.
People-Centered Facilitation (Module 3 Collaborate to Co-Liberate -C2C)
March 19, 2025 at 10:00 AM PDT (Zoom)
Join our friends from AORTA for Module 3 of Collaborate to Co-Liberate, to learn concrete skills for people-centered facilitation in organizations practicing liberatory governance. RSVP here.
Decision Making (Module 4 Collaborate to Co-Liberate -C2C)
April 16, 2025 at 10:00 AM PDT (Zoom)
Join Hope Ghazala from NYC Network Of Worker Cooperatives for Module 4 of Collaborate to Co-Liberate: Decision Making. Hope will share concrete tools for choosing and implementing some of the most common and effective decision making methods in organizations practicing democratic leadership. Together we’ll explore how to determine which decision making method is most appropriate given the context, and how to navigate power in decision making.
Good Reads and Updated Resources
Blog Post: What I learned from my Back Pain by Law Center Staff Erika Sato
Read Erika’s vulnerable account of their role as a Law Center “Care Bear” and their personal learning journey to better understand their relationship with ableism and disability.
Podcast: What If No One Could Save Money? on Next Economy Now
In this thought-provoking episode of Next Economy Now, our very own Janelle Orsi, shares her journey of questioning traditional systems. She explores how wealth redistribution, Indigenous land relationships, and love-driven collaboration can redefine society.
In the news: Is This the Key to Improving Prison Life? by Mike Diago in the Bittman Project
Read about our partner Kelton O’Connor’s idea for prison cooperatives at San Quentin and about the Law Center’s legislative efforts to help him make that idea a reality.
Updated Bite Sized Legal Guide: How to Pay Your Board of Directors
Who should use this guide? Nonprofit public benefit corporations wondering if and how they can pay their directors for their work on the board, especially nonprofits looking to recruit and compensate BIPOC and working class directors or directors from the communities they serve.
Updated Bite Sized Legal Guide: How to Receive Grants and Donations Through a Fiscal Sponsor
Who should use this guide? Anyone considering starting a nonprofit or otherwise conducting activities that may be eligible for grants and donations.
Staff Highlights
Welcome to the State Bar Dorian!
After completing a legal apprenticeship with our Radical Real Estate Law School, our co-worker Dorian Payán got sworn in as an attorney for the State Bar without having gone to law school!
Welcome to the Law Center (forever!) Moh!
Moh Mookim completed their ABA Tax Public Service fellowship in August 2025, and this Valentine’s Day, we voted them in as a permanent staff member after their fellowship ends. Mohit is a land justice and wealth redistribution lawyer committed to abolition, landback, and anti-capitalist solidarity economies.
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