Homeless mom's car towed in Oakland, faith community working to get it back
OAKLAND, Calif. - As city council leaders and community members cheer new legislation that helps crews more swiftly remove abandoned cars off Oakland streets, one homeless mother's story sheds light on another facet of the issue.
Jade Burnett, 53, has been living in her car on Oakland streets, outside the home she used to live in, for the last several years with her son, 17, who is autistic, and her daughter, 9.
Featured
102-year-old Oakland man ordered to clean up graffiti on fence or pay thousands
Wheelchair user, Oakland-born, 102-year-old, Victor Silva, Sr. often finds graffiti painted onto the back fence of his Oakland home. Earlier this month, he got a violation citation from the City of Oakland to remove it by Tuesday the 19th or face an $1100 fine, plus an additional $1277 for each failed re-inspection.
"I’m extremely low income, and it’s impossible to get into shelters in the Bay Area if you have a teenage boy," she said.
In February, when the area was hit by winter storms, Burnett said Berkeley Women's Daytime Drop-In Center placed her family in a motel in Pinole for a few nights. She said she returned to find her car missing, so she called the police.
Featured
Baby dies from injuries in SF West Portal crash that killed parents, brother
The 6-month-old infant involved in the fatal West Portal bus stop crash in San Francisco has died from his injuries, police confirmed.
She said OPD told her crews towed her 2008 Pontiac Vibe from the 3000 block of 39th Street on Feb. 23.
She said she was told verbally that her car didn't have the updated registration sticker on it, even though she said she had paid.
There is no documentation to prove what she said because she never received a ticket or citation – her car was just towed.
She said she learned that her car had been taken to Auto Plus Towing when she called Oakland police, thinking her car might have been stolen.
She is disabled, so she says she uses the car to drive for Uber Eats.
"I do mostly gig jobs because I don’t have childcare, and I can't afford childcare, so I have to work around the kids," she explained.
The cost of getting the car from the tow lot goes up daily. As of Tuesday, Burnett said it cost $3,622 to retrieve her car – a price she can't pay in full.
"I need my car back. I'm willing to pay in installments," she said. "My medication is in the car. Part of one of my leg braces is in the car. Our clothes, blankets, food, everything is in the car."
Burnett said she has been searching the internet for community resources, and came across the Safe Car Park Program, hosted by West Side Missionary Baptist Church.
The program provides secure parking for unhoused people living in their cars, support in keeping tags and plates up to date, insurance, and a gas fund. They also provide trucks twice a month which supply showers and laundry services, job application support, and substance abuse programs.
There are tiny homes on the property, too, for Laney College students working towards a degree.
"Those that are trying to better themselves – let’s help them," President of the Interfaith Council of Alameda County, Rev. Ken Chambers, who is also the pastor of the church.
He said he is making individual calls directly to the mayor's office asking for leniency, promising to help Burnett get her car back.
According to Chambers, Oakland does not have a formal program to help low-income residents retrieve impounded cars.
"I'm the closest thing," Chambers told KTVU.
Burnett said in the meantime, she has received support from organizations like Bloc Love for shelter and food, as well as staying in shelters that let her stay with her son.
Councilwoman Rebecca Kaplan, who has been touting new legislation that will more swiftly remove thousands of abandoned vehicles off Oakland Streets, did not immediately respond Wednesday to comment on Burnett's situation.
In a news release, however, she touted the council's approval of her measure to better use technology to improve the city's tow system, by procuring a contract with software provider to track and speed up tow times.
Abandoned cars are indeed a real nuisance in Oakland. They clutter the streets and impact public right-of-way functionality, Kaplans's office pointed out.
Each year, Oakland receives 20,000 service requests related to abandoned vehicles and tows about 2,500, according to the city.
"I’m all for taking the cars that are just trashed cars sitting," Burnett said. "But if you take something somebody’s living out of, you’re taking somebody’s home."