A Neighborhood
Worth Choosing

Oakland’s Neighborhoods Are Not Created Equal

Across 354 Oakland block groups, median incomes range from under $20,000 to over $250,000 — often just blocks apart. SHCLA’s property at 1510 8th St, West Oakland (SHCLA’s selected neighborhood (BG 060014022001)) sits above the city median, placing residents in a context of opportunity rather than concentrated poverty.

Not in the Distressed Tail

The Basic Needs Index captures compounding hardship — food insecurity, housing instability, poverty. Darker blocks are where recovery is structurally hardest. SHCLA’s selected neighborhood sits near the Oakland midpoint, not in the distressed concentration zone.

1510 8th St — Up Close

The map is zoomed into SHCLA’s property at 1510 8th St in West Oakland — marked with a red pin. Daily proximity to parks, transit, and grocery stores is therapeutic infrastructure for residents managing serious mental illness.

POIs from OpenStreetMap — loads in a few seconds.

A Genuinely Mixed Neighborhood

Placing housing for people with serious mental illness in a predominantly white, wealthy enclave would be exclusionary and stigmatizing. Placing it in a community with no economic resources would compound vulnerability. SHCLA chose neither.

The selected neighborhood is genuinely racially diverse — no single group dominates. With 32% White, 27.7% Black, 23% Hispanic, and 12.6% Asian residents, this is a community where people of all backgrounds already live together. SHCLA’s residents integrate into that fabric, not apart from it.

This is not placement by default — it is placement by design. The map shows racial diversity (% non-white) across Oakland.

Food, Housing, Hardship — Where Oakland Struggles Most

Toggle between food insecurity, housing insecurity, and food stamps to see how SHCLA’s selected neighborhood compares to Oakland’s most distressed areas across all three hardship dimensions.

The Mix That Makes a Real Community

At 67.7% renters, SHCLA’s selected neighborhood is a naturally receptive environment for SHCLA’s housing model — renter-dominant but with a meaningful 32% homeowner share that anchors stability. It bridges affordability and rootedness.

A Neighborhood That Doesn’t Add to the Burden

SHCLA’s selected neighborhood sits at the Oakland median for poor mental health prevalence and below median for social isolation — giving residents room to heal without absorbing ambient community distress.

Transit First, Then Digital

For residents without a car, transit access is the difference between isolation and independence — the ability to reach a therapist, pharmacy, or job on your own. With 18.6% of households in SHCLA’s selected neighborhood car-free, transit isn’t a convenience — it’s a lifeline.

Beyond transit, only 4.1% of households lack internet — less than half the Oakland average and in the top 28% citywide for digital inclusion. Physical access gets residents to appointments; digital access keeps them connected to services, benefits, and support networks in between.

A Complete Data Portrait of SHCLA’s Selected Neighborhood

Each bar below ranks SHCLA’s neighborhood among all 354 Oakland block groups — from 0 (lowest) to 100 (highest). For most indicators here, a lower number is actually better: lower food insecurity, lower rates of disease, fewer barriers. The vertical line marks where half of Oakland falls.

Green bars = the neighborhood is in a favorable position on this dimension.
Orange/red bars = this is a relative challenge worth noting.