Youth Spirit Artworks Town Hall

At this upcoming Town Hall, we’ll share key updates on our organizing work, recent shifts in strategy, and initiatives that have taken shape over the past several months.

Youth Spirit Artworks (YSA): Tiny House Empowerment Village (THEV) is currently operating on public land leased from the City of Oakland near the Coliseum site. As plans move forward for redevelopment and a potential sale of the property-alongside the city’s ongoing budget deficit- we have been informed through conversations with city staff and officials that YSA’s lease, as well as the funding that sustains its core services, is expected to end in June 2027. This presents significant uncertainty for the future of the program and the young people who depend on it.

Our gathering centers on the theme of returning and staying in relationship after removal and displacement. While grounded in YSA’s experience, it also opens a broader conversation about how we, as a community, respond in this moment and how we can interrupt the cycles of harm that have historically accompanied development and redevelopment.

Without a clear transition plan, displacement would jeopardize a critical pathway out of homelessness for the young people currently living at THEV, as well as many others who rely on YSA’s services. In response, community members and partners are calling for immediate action, including: the collaboration of a comprehensive displacement plan for YSA and impacted youth; identification of potential relocation sites, connections to stable housing options such as permanent placements, housing vouchers, waitlists, or supportive housing—before any displacement occurs.

We are also calling for a formal meeting between YSA and representatives from the City of Oakland and Alameda County to develop a clear plan for the program’s future. In addition, we are advocating for a public forum that brings together all stakeholders involved in the Coliseum redevelopment process, with the Oakland United Coalition helping to facilitate and represent the interests of the East Oakland community.

This will be a space to learn, share information, hear from community members, build collective power, and work toward solutions that ensure the youth served by YSA are not left behind in the redevelopment process.

See you there!

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