The Lake Merritt Lodge, originally a boarding house, transformed into desirable transitional housing for unhoused people during the pandemic. However, its closure revealed extensive neglect, with moldy interiors and broken fixtures. The shelter provided essential services to around 100 residents, including medical care and housing counseling. It was operational for about a year before relocating its clients to new apartments. The owner, frustrated with the condition of the lodge, emphasized the vast destruction left behind following its abrupt closure, leaving a significant impression of mismanagement.
Moldy mattresses and toilets. Crumbling ceilings. Cigarette butts, broken furniture, and thick dirt smeared on floors and walls.
The Lodge served around 100 residents who were unhoused, some of whom had underlying medical conditions, providing them with a sense of privacy.
'It's an overall massive amount of destruction,' she told The Oaklandside in January.
The program was in operation for over a year, utilizing a formerly renovated building to provide a refuge during a critical time.
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