Parts of Oakland California have a high concentration of working poor / government welfare recipients, particularly Oakland West. As the New York Times points out this population segment has a median income of less than $15,000 but the median income for Oakland as a whole is $40,055.
en.wikipedia.org
During WW-II Kaiser Industries attracted many poor workers from the U.S. South who remained after these jobs were lost. Although many moved on and advanced, the port adjacent neighborhood remained an enclave of lower income people.
I grew up in Orinda, 9 miles (10 minutes) away through a tunnel, where the median income is $128,017 with an average income of $217,237. When I worked in San Francisco I would frequently drive from Orinda and park at the Oakland West BART station, which was 15 minutes faster than taking BART from the Orinda station (due to the route and number of stations in between). I didn't find the Oakland West area to be particularly dangerous, and frequently parked on the street when the BART station lots were full. No hair thieves have been reported.
bart.gov
I'm sure living in Oakland West with only welfare or an $8 per hour minimum wage job would be challenging, as it would be anywhere. Much of the area consists of once nice Victorian homes and apartments now in a dilapidated condition. The West Oakland neighborhood is comparable to Richmond where the Chevron Refinery is located, also on the BART line.
The condition of Oakland West does not affect the remainder of Oakland, let alone Berkeley or Orinda, as poverty is not contagious. Although when BART was built, when I was in High School, certain people were irrationally opposed to the creation of an Orinda station based on the absurd idea that poor people from Oakland would take the train to Orinda to burglarize homes, supposedly taking their loot back to Oakland on the commuter train. Of course these bizarre events never occurred. It was all too laughable.
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