Another Year at BACS Marks Unprecedented Uplifting of Our Community – 8,000 people served by BACS
Today, our community is experiencing a crisis. There are thousands of people living on the streets – 8,000 people in Alameda County alone are homeless on any given night. You know that nobody wants to be homeless, to be struggling with mental health issues, or to be getting out of jail without a community to care for them. What if BACS were not here to help them?
There is no single “cause” of homelessness, and there is no “one size fits all” solution. In today’s palpable crisis, everyone is desperate and It is easy to focus on the failure – the first time someone loses their housing. It is sensationalized to report on the person who fell back into addiction and returns to the street. But what I know is truly sensational is that BACS has helped thousands of people find housing, and that more than 80% of them have stayed housed more than 2 years after getting off the streets. I believe that we can do this – that we can end the housing crisis.
BACS is thrilled to share our Annual Report for 2018-2019, celebrating 66 years of our mission to do ‘whatever it takes’ to uplift our community.
With all that our community and our country is facing, with all of the stigma and barriers slowing down change, there is new rhetoric creating more hatred and stigma about people experiencing homelessness and the people helping them. Let me tell you – BACS will not be distracted by it and will continue stepping up to meet community need. We are saying “yes” instead of “no” to working with the biggest challenges.
BACS’ CEO Jamie Almanza says, “In this report, you will see why BACS is growing – because we have decided that no problem is beyond solving, no person is beyond helping, and that we are going to break down the barriers of stigma, racism, fear, or anything else that gets in the way of our community being able to thrive.”
This Annual Report acts as our guiding light – showing what we can achieve with the support of such a strong and vocal community. BACS has decided that no problem is beyond solving, no person is beyond helping, and that we are going to break down the barriers of stigma, racism, fear, or anything else that gets in the way of our community being able to thrive. This Annual Report affirms that, while showing that there is still work to be done.
