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[Press] Two West Oakland homeless shelters could close at end of month

There are housing navigators and case managers over there doing the best they can to find people housing. I don’t think they’ll have everyone out — the city needs to come in. Donald Frazier | BOSS CEO

A dedicated BOSS staff member managing waste disposal efficiently at the cabin area, ensuring a clean and welcoming environment.
A dedicated BOSS staff member managing waste disposal efficiently at the cabin area, ensuring a clean and welcoming environment.

The director of two Oakland homeless shelters says he’s shutting down the programs at the end of the month over the city’s failure to pay his organization. Building Opportunities for Self-Sufficiency, or BOSS, has contracts with Oakland to run both the “Community Cabins” shelter and RV “safe parking” site on Wood Street in West Oakland. Executive Director Donald Frazier claims that Oakland has been months late in paying BOSS for its services and hasn’t been able to commit to covering the remainder of the contracts.


Letters and emails shared with The Oaklandside show a tense back-and-forth between Frazier and city staff going back at least a couple of months. On Feb. 7, Frazier wrote a letter to City Administrator Jestin Johnson. BOSS was owed back pay for both homelessness programs for the four-month period from September through December 2024.


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