Need Help
Need Help
If you need any non emergency support you contact our Community Mediator team at
(510) 250-2038
Hours of Services: Monday - Friday 8am-4pm
Community Mediators
Purpose
Community Mediators
Purpose
Our Community Mediator program is a non-emergency response program focused on reducing violence in Oakland's Chinatown and Downtown areas by building relationships with all community members. Community Mediators actively de-escalate situations and help connect individuals with necessary resources.
Guiding Principles
Guiding Principles
Safety

We work to make sure all community members and visitors feel safe as they live, work and explore Oakland Chinatown and Downtown.
Security

We are a consistent presence so that when harm does occur you know who to call to de-escalate situations and obtain needed resources.
Inclusivity

We actively engage with all members of the community including the houseless, shop owners, residents, workers and visitors.
Equity

We listen closely and provide needed resources to each individual, supporting their in self-determined goals.
Impact
Impact
Over the course of a year we were able to more than triple our outreach to community members. This included 4,633 merchant check-ins and 5,732 outreach conversations with the houseless for 2023.
2023 Stats
5
911 calls all year, four were car accidents and one was a medical emergency
79
De-escalated/defused Situations
2,196
Directions/referrals to resources
147,000
Pounds of garbage removed
19,887
Square feet of graffiti removed
2024 Work
We are transitioning to be more focused on community relationship building and less on cleaning.
Area We Serve
Area We Serve
We presently traverse the blocks of Oakland Downtown and Oakland Chinatown.
What Makes a Community Mediator?
What Makes a Community Mediator?
Our Community Mediators staff and volunteers are formerly-incarcerated individuals who have experienced houselessness and/or individuals who possess other lived experiences in common with community stakeholders (e.g. immigration, poverty, racism, etc.). Our Community Mediators are sincere in their desire to build, serve and hold themselves accountable to the Oakland Chinatown and Downtown community. We look for individuals who can take care of and address the needs of Oakland Chinatown and Downtown community members and the community as a whole. We require our Community Mediators to be trained in and demonstrate skills to defusing and deescalating conflicts.

How to Spot A Community Mediator
Combined Trainings and Certificates by CM's
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First Aid/ CPR
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Naloxone (NARCAN) Administration
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Alcohol and Other Drug (AoD) Counseling
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Domestic Violence Prevention
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De-escalation & Conflict Management
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Motivational Interviewing and Trauma Informed Care
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Alcoholics Anonymous & Narcotics Anonymous Group Facilitation
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Foundations of Harm Reduction
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Trauma Informed Care, Resilience, and Healing
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Victims' Awareness
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Managing One's Emotions
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On the job training, peer learning and continuous debriefing
We are committed to ensuring the team is multi-racial, multi-ethnic and possess cultural competence to interact with people from similar backgrounds as well as from different backgrounds. The team currently has the language capabilities to interact with people in Chinese (Cantonese, Mandarin), Vietnamese, Laotian, Mien, Thai, Samoan, Tagalog, Spanish and English.