SAN FRANCISCO, July 27 (Xinhua) -- Mayor Libby Schaaf of Oakland City in East Bay in the United States on Saturday expressed support for turning a closed prison into a homeless shelter to address an increasing homeless crisis.
Schaaf was responding to a media report that many Bay Area cities are urging Alameda County in Northern California to convert a shuttered prison into a shelter for hundreds of homeless people.
"We support the County in any plan that is fast, effective, and dignified. If renovating an unused jail into a place of hope w safety and services for our unsheltered is viable, the county should explore it," the Oakland mayor tweeted Saturday.
The San Francisco Chronicle daily said the 14 Bay Area cities have proposed to Alameda County authorities to convert Oakland-based Glenn Dyer Jail into a homeless shelter, possibly the first of its kind in California if the proposal is approved.
The detention center was closed in June for saving budget.
The proposal was also backed by Berkeley City Mayor Jesse Arreguin, who suggested thinking "outside the box" about solutions to the worsening homeless crisis in the county.
"This is an incredible opportunity because it's this huge piece of land in the middle of downtown Oakland with multiple buildings that could be redeveloped," he said, quoting by the local newspaper.
A recent region-wide survey showed Alameda witnessed a sharp increase in the homeless population by 43 percent to hit over 8,000 people, the biggest growth in the Bay Area, with Oakland taking up almost half of the homeless population in the county.
