From homelessness to real estate in Oakland: How tenants won affordable housing fights

When Christine Hernandez moved her family into a yellow apartment building on 12th Avenue in Oakland two years ago, she wasn’t planning on paying rent. She knew squatting was risky, but homelessness was worse. What she didn’t know was that her decision would eventually put her at the forefront of a tenant-led fight to create lifelong affordable housing for the five families living in the building’s six units.

“I’m shifting from being in a constant state of fear,” said Hernandez, whose family of six hadn’t had a stable home for half a decade. “But it worked out. Now we’re stable, legit, long term.”