Mom's House - Moms 4 Housing - OakCLT - Housing is a Human Right

Mom’s House

In late 2019, a collective of Black mothers experiencing housing insecurity engaged in a courageous act of civil disobedience by occupying a vacant West Oakland home owned by a Southern California real estate speculator. Shining a bright light on the violent proxmity of predatory investment to rampant homelessness across Oakland, Moms 4 Housing called upon the corporate owner sell the house to a community land trust to permanently serve low-income or formerly houseless mothers. At the request of Moms 4 Housing and Oakland Councilmembers Nikki Fortunato Bas and Rebecca Kaplan, OakCLT attempted to negotiate with Wedgewood, Inc. on a possible purchase of the home. Unwilling to entertain an offer from OakCLT while the house was occupied, Wedgewood ultimately resorted to forcefully ousting the mothers and their children through a violent eviction by the Alameda County Sheriff. On Martin Luther King Jr. Day, less than one week after being evicted, Moms 4 Housing leaders announced an agreement with Wedgewood, the City of Oakland, and OakCLT. In late May 2020, OakCLT successfully purchased Mom’s House, demonstrating that OakCLT can be used as a powerful tool to put properties back into community hands. OakCLT completed the rehabilitation of the house in late 2021, which is now being operated by Moms 4 Housing as transitional housing for moms with children.