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Oakland Considers Way Forward As Homeless Encampments Grow
Resume![Jeffrey Hill's tent burned down in an encampment fire in late May 2017. The cause of the fire is not known. Hill calls his encampment at Fifth and Brush streets a "family," but also says it has become harder to maintain order as the encampment has grown in size. (Devin Katayama/KQED)](https://media.wbur.org/wp/2017/07/0720_oakland-homeless.jpg)
California has the largest number of homeless people living without shelter in the country. More than two-thirds of the state's 118,000 homeless live on the streets or in tent encampments, many in the state's largest cities. This is certainly true in Oakland, a city that prides itself on its progressive values.
But helping homeless encampments has proven to be a hard task for the city, which is also trying to welcome new development. From Here & Now contributor KQED, Devin Katayama (@RadioDevin) reports on why the encampments are vulnerable and also what makes them strong.
This segment aired on July 24, 2017.