Privacy Policy

There is very little to collect here, and none of it is sold

Effective September 18, 2026

This website is run by one person. It is not a business, it sells nothing, and it has nothing to sign up for. This policy explains the limited personal information the site handles and what happens to it.

What this site collects

Server logs. The web host records standard technical information for every visit, including IP address, browser and device type, the page requested, and the date and time. This is automatic, and it keeps the site running and secure.
Email you send. If you write to info@empoweredtenant.org, I receive your email address, your name if you give it, and whatever you choose to tell me.
Comment information. If you leave a comment, the site records the name, email address, and website you enter, along with your IP address.
Cookies set by the site’s performance and security tools, described below.

This site does not ask for your address, your phone number, your date of birth, your income, your case number, or any document. Please do not send case documents or anything confidential by email.

Categories of third parties

SiteGround, the web host, which operates the servers and the site’s caching and security tools.
Automattic, which operates Akismet, the spam filter applied to comments. If you leave a comment, Akismet receives what you entered and your IP address in order to judge whether the comment is spam.
Google, which serves the two typefaces this site uses. Loading a page requests those font files from Google’s servers, which discloses your IP address to Google.

Nothing is sold. Nothing is shared for advertising. There is no advertising on this site, no tracking pixels, no analytics package, and no social media trackers.

Cookies

Cookies are small files a website stores in your browser. This site sets only the cookies its host needs for caching and security, plus a cookie for the comment fields if you leave a comment. There are no advertising or tracking cookies. You can block or delete cookies in your browser settings and the site will still work.

Do Not Track

Some browsers can send a Do Not Track signal. This site does not track you across other websites, so there is nothing for that signal to switch off, and the site does not behave differently when it receives one.

Reviewing or changing your information

Write to info@empoweredtenant.org and tell me what you want reviewed, corrected, or deleted. I will do it for anything I control, which is email you have sent me and any comment you have left. I cannot alter the host’s server logs, which age out on the host’s own schedule.

Children

This site is meant for adults. It is not directed at children and does not knowingly collect information from anyone under 18.

Where this site is meant to be used

This site is written for tenants in California and is built to California and United States requirements only. It is not designed for, aimed at, or adapted to the privacy laws of any other state or country. You are welcome to read it from anywhere, with the understanding that it was not written for you and does not comply with rules outside California and the United States.

Changes to this policy

If this policy changes in a way that matters, the new version will be posted on this page with a new effective date, and significant changes will be noted on the home page for a reasonable period.

Contact

info@empoweredtenant.org

You do not have to do this alone

An eviction is not just paperwork. It got into my sleep, my health, and my sense of who I was, and there were stretches where the case felt smaller than the fear of it. I got through it. I believe you can too.

Please call someone. Call even if you do not feel like it, even if you think it is not bad enough yet, and even if you are certain no one can do anything. Talking to a person changes what you are able to carry.

Housing, rent help, shelter, food — 211 Alameda County
Call 211 1-888-886-9660
Free and confidential, 24 hours, over 300 languages, and a real person answers. You can also text your zip code to 898211, Monday to Friday, 9am to 4pm Pacific. Verified against 211 Alameda County

If you are struggling, or you are not safe
Call or text 988
The 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline. Free, confidential, 24 hours. Verified against 988lifeline.org

If you served in the military
Dial 988, then press 1
The Veterans Crisis Line. You can also text 838255. You do not need to be enrolled in VA benefits or VA health care. Verified against veteranscrisisline.net

Why there are two numbers for 211. Dialing 211 routes you by your phone’s area code, not by where you actually are. If your cell number came from another county or another state, or you are calling from a work phone or an internet line, 211 can connect you to the wrong county or fail to connect at all. That is a miserable thing to run into when you are already frightened. 1-888-886-9660 goes straight to Alameda County, 24 hours a day. If 211 gives you the wrong place, hang up and call that instead. You did nothing wrong and you are not out of options.Verified against 211 Alameda County, which states to use the toll-free line from outside the county or when 211 fails from a cell, VoIP or office phone

East Bay lifelines

Every number here links to the source it was checked against, so you can confirm it yourself. Intake capacity and hours still change constantly. Call more than one.

Housing & HMIS access

211 Alameda County 211 or 1-888-886-9660 Operated by Eden I&R. 24 hours, free, confidential, 300+ languages. Text your zip to 898211, Mon–Fri 9am–4pm PT. Coordinated entry, shelter, rent help, food. Verified against 211 Alameda County FAQ
Insight Housing (510) 649-4965 Formerly Berkeley Food & Housing Project. 2855 Telegraph Ave, Ste 601, Berkeley. Emergency shelter, transitional and permanent supportive housing, outreach, food. Verified against insighthousing.org

Veteran programs

Swords to Plowshares, Oakland (510) 844-7500 330 Franklin St, Ste 100, Oakland. Free one-time consultation with their attorneys, any era, any length of service. Verified against swords-to-plowshares.org
Operation Dignity (510) 287-8465 318 Harrison St, Ste 302, Oakland. Veteran transitional housing. Non-veterans can call the same number, though their non-veteran housing is very limited. Verified against operationdignity.org
National Call Center for Homeless Veterans 877-424-3838 24 hours, 7 days a week, for housing assistance. Verified against va.gov
VA Oakland homeless triage (510) 453-8478 21st Street VA Clinic, Oakland. Verified against va.gov

Crisis support

988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline Call or text 988 Free and confidential, 24/7/365. Chat at chat.988lifeline.org. Verified against 988lifeline.org
Veterans Crisis Line 988, then press 1 Text 838255. Free, 24/7, and no VA enrollment is required. Verified against veteranscrisisline.net
TTY users Dial 711 Telecommunications relay service. Verified against 211 Alameda County FAQ

Every number on this page was confirmed against the linked source in September 2026. If one has stopped working, please tell me at info@empoweredtenant.org so the next person does not hit the same wall.