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BACS Connections February 2019

February 25, 2019

BACS Celebrates Black History Month

In honor of Black History Month, BACS is paying tribute to the generations of African Americans who struggled against oppression to achieve freedom, citizenship, and equality.

Across our 18+ program sites, we hosted discussions, workshops, and art classes to reflect on our history, and to come together for the work that still needs to be done. Last year, 48% of the people who came to BACS for help identified as Black/African American. They struggled disproportionately with homelessness, with poverty, and with the lasting impacts of criminal justice. We continue to strive for equality, and honor the millions of people who came before us to create the progress achieved so far.

The Tia Family Gives Back

BACS Manager Gary Tia and his family warmed our hearts while helping our clients stay warm this month! The drenching rain has been particularly hard on our homeless community members, especially those recovering from injuries and hospital stays.

Gary and his family surprised our Medical Respite team and clients with home-made, warm, cozy blankets. Everyone is thrilled, thankful and warm.

BACS’ Program Anniversaries

This February, BACS is celebrating program anniversaries for several of our community programs! Woodroe Place opened in 1996, and provides short-term residential services for individuals in active psychiatric distress, in a welcoming and open environment. BACS also celebrates our re-entry program FREE, which opened in Alameda County in 2016, providing care coordination for people living with severe mental health issues who are re-entering the community from jail/prison. BACS is celebrating our SAGE program, which opened in 2016 and provides coordination services for people with mental health challenges who need assistance to obtain Supplemental Security Income (SSI) through legal advocacy.

Start a Career with BACS

BACS services are always expanding, and we are currently recruiting! Check out our career opportunities on our website, and learn more about what makes BACS special.

BACS welcomes people of all backgrounds and expertise to apply. Even if you have never worked in the mental health or homeless solutions fields, but you are inspired to make a change, reach out to BACS – we have many training and entry-level positions.

BACS provides benefits and perks like: fully covered medical/dental/vision/life insurance, tuition reimbursement for loans and tuition, clinical supervision hours towards licensure, internal growth opportunities, and more! BACS also works with a wide variety of populations, and has many opportunities for learning and advancement.

Invest in Your Community

Micah square

Our work has profound individual and community impacts. Every person that comes to BACS for help can achieve stability, move off of the streets, get a job, live safely with their mental health issue, or stay out of jail. And for each of those success stories, our community gets better. We see fewer people living on the streets or in poverty. We spend less on emergency medical services. We see less of our tax money going to prisons. Your investment in BACS, and in the people we help, transforms our community.

Donate to BACS online by clicking here, or via mail to 390 40th Street, Oakland, CA 94609. Make an ongoing impact by donating monthly.

Tagged With: career, donate to nonprofit, FREE

BACS Connections August 2018

August 27, 2018

Thunder Road Updates

This month, BACS is celebrating the 1 year anniversary of operating Thunder Road! It has been an amazing year of start-up, solidifying the program and treatment model so the youth and their families get the help they need.

BACS is also excited to announce that the first stage of remodeling Thunder Road is complete! The youth at Thunder Road have moved in to their new home, which is finally up to the BACS standard of beautiful, welcoming, engaging places to encourage recovery and wellness!

The Thunder Road Treatment Program has so many strengths and assets that are building on top of one another: new 7 Challenges Model, new Home, and a community that cares so much about one another and our youth and families. If you want to help us finish the remodel, donate today!

Jamestown Supports BACS’ Berkeley Homeless Program

BACS is honored to announce a significant donation from Jamestown LP, a real estate investment company founded in 1983, with an office in San Francisco. Jamestown donated $25,000 to the Berkeley Pathways STAIR Center. This generous donation invests in the future of our community, by helping people get out of homelessness through BACS’ rapid re-housing program. Learn more on their website!

We Met the Match!

In March, BACS announced a new partnership with the Jonathan Logan Family Foundation, which awarded BACS $100,000 to support our housing & homeless solutions programs in Oakland. The Foundation also offered a $50,000 challenge grant – and thanks to supporters like you, we met the match! BACS raised more than $60,000 from our community.

Thanks to this generous support from our donors and the Jonathan Logan Family Foundation, BACS will be able to support homeless individuals through our Housing Fast Support Network, ensuring they have access to all the necessities it takes to move from homelessness to housing!

Program Anniversary

Solano County hills

BACS is happy to celebrate the anniversary of our Prevention Engagement Program (PEP), which opened in Solano County in 2014. PEP, a prevention and early intervention program, provides brief services for individuals exiting inpatient hospital stays, or experiencing early-stage behavioral health issues, who need support to prevent relapse and promote well-being. PEP was also BACS’ first program in Solano, and opened the door for us to provide many more services. BACS is grateful for the staff who make the program special, the participants who are part of the program, and the County of Solano!

Peer Specialist Graduation

This month, BACS is celebrating our participant Ronnie, who is the first BACS participant to graduate from the Alameda County Accelerated Peers Specialist Program! Ronnie came to BACS’ Supported Employment IPS program ready to make a change. Though the road has not been easy, he has shown determination, strength of character, courage, and persistence towards meeting his career goals. He completed the Accelerated Peer Specialist program, and is on his way to becoming a Peer Specialist with a partner agency. He hopes to serve and give back to the community he loves so much and lead by example. We have no doubt Ronnie will be successful as a peer specialist and wish him the best of luck in all his future endeavors!

Start a Career with BACS

BACS services are always expanding, and we are currently recruiting! Check out our career opportunities on our website, and learn more about what makes BACS special.

BACS welcomes people of all backgrounds and expertise to apply. Even if you have never worked in the mental health or homeless solutions fields, but you are inspired to make a change, reach out to BACS – we have many training and entry-level positions.

BACS provides benefits and perks like: fully covered medical/dental/vision/life insurance, tuition reimbursement for loans and tuition, clinical supervision hours towards licensure, internal growth opportunities, and more! BACS also works with a wide variety of populations, and has many opportunities for learning and advancement.

Employee of the Month

BACS is delighted to announce Khalil Tokhey, of the Hedco Wellness Center, as our Employee of the Month!

Khalil says, “I think BACS’ work matters because there are so many individuals that do not get services/get the right services/know that services are available to them. We are here to help them. Each day, I open the doors not knowing what the day will bring.”

Khalil loves the team work at BACS, and the flexibility within his job to make a difference, but his favorite part of his job is “seeing a participant smile after a hard event happen or seeing the success (big or small) of the participants.”

Invest in Your Community

Micah square

Our work has profound individual and community impacts. Every person that comes to BACS for help can achieve stability, move off of the streets, get a job, live safely with their mental health issue, or stay out of jail. And for each of those success stories, our community gets better. We see fewer people living on the streets or in poverty. We spend less on emergency medical services. We see less of our tax money going to prisons. Your investment in BACS, and in the people we help, transforms our community.

Donate to BACS online by clicking here, or via mail to 390 40th Street, Oakland, CA 94609. Make an ongoing impact by donating monthly.

Tagged With: adolescent treatment, berkeley, berkeley city council, donate to nonprofit, invest in community, jamestown, jamestown lp, jon logan, jonathan logan, jonathan logan family foundation, pathways, stair center, thunder road, youth addiction

BACS Connections July 2018

July 24, 2018

First Graduate of Thunder Road under BACS Leadership!

Jeremiah is a musician, and one day will hit it big. He is making music and is our first Thunder Road graduate under BACS new management of the program!

Jeremiah graduated high school while at Thunder Road, got a job, and used the program to propel him forward! Jeremiah invited both Jamie Almanza, CEO, and Benjamin Blake, COO to his graduation. If you know of a recording artist or producer interested in meeting with Jeremiah, please email us!

Staff Appreciation BBQ

BACS celebrates our wonderful staff members each year at our Annual Staff Appreciation BBQ! This year, we celebrated the 180+ staff, and their friends, family members, and pets who help lift them up and make BACS special. Our team celebrated each other and the hard work each person has done over the last year. Shout out to Rueb’s Qin BBQ for providing the awesome food – an awesome BBQ catering company started by former BACS staff member Rueben!

BACS is fortunate to have an incredible, talented, and dedicated staff. Thank you to everyone who came!

Birthday Fundraiser for BACS

Rena Rickles, Immediate Past Chair on the BACS Board of Directors, hosted a birthday fundraiser for BACS on Facebook. BACS is so grateful to the 20 people donated, who collectively raised more than $1,000 for our Housing Fast Support Network! Happy birthday, Rena, and thank you for generously using your birthday to benefit the community.

If you want to set up a birthday fundraiser, Facebook makes it super easy. Get started here!

Program Anniversaries

BACS is celebrating the anniversaries of two of our programs: IPS Supported Employment (2013) and OPC (2011).

OPC provides outreach, housing and financial support, mental health and care management, substance use, and primary care to individuals who are homeless and have mental health issues.

IPS provides job placement services to help individuals with complex needs find competitive, satisfying, and sustainable employment to uplift them from poverty.

Congratulations to both of these programs for their collective 13 years of making a difference in our community!

Employee of the Month

Jose Barrera, from the Oakland Project Connect program, won BACS’ Whatever It Takes Award this month! Jose says, “It took me a while to understand the motto: “Whatever it takes” until my manager pointed out that I was already doing it. Everyday services and client face-to-face contact made the difference. BACS does what other agencies and organizations do not do consistently, treat clients with dignity and recognize their potential at whatever stage they bring.”

Join Our Cause

Do you want to join BACS in our mission to uplift under-served individuals and their families by doing whatever it takes?

Micah square

Donate

Donate to BACS online by clicking here, or via mail to 629 Oakland Ave, Oakland, CA 94612. Make an ongoing impact by donating monthly!

Currently the Jonathan Logan Family Foundation is matching all new gifts up to $50,000! This funding will go to end homelessness in the Bay Area.

Do you work for Cisco? You can donate to BACS, and the Cisco Matching Gifts program will match your gift!

Work Here

BACS services are always expanding, and we are currently recruiting! Check out our job opportunities. Learn more on our website or by calling 510.613.0330.

Tagged With: BBQ, birthday fundraiser, birthday fundraiser facebook, donate to nonprofit, facebook, IPS supported employment, oakland project connect, staff appreciation

BACS Connections March 2018

March 26, 2018

Jonathan Logan Family Foundation Grant Award

BACS is delighted to announce a historic grant from the Jonathan Logan Family Foundation, which awarded BACS $100,000 to support our housing & homeless solutions programs in Oakland.

Additionally, the Jonathan Logan Family Foundation has offered a $50,000 challenge grant. We need community support to help us meet this match. You can make a gift towards this goal and double your impact: donate now!

Thanks to this generous support from the Jonathan Logan Family Foundation, BACS will be able to support homeless individuals through our Housing Fast Support Network, ensuring they have access to all the necessities it takes to move from homelessness to housing.

Case Management Program 25 Year Anniversary

BACS is delighted to celebrate the 25 year anniversary of BACS’ Intensive Care Coordination / Case Management Program. BACS opened our Case Management program in 1993 to fill a crucial need in the community: providing psychiatric services and care coordination for people with severe behavioral health issues and trauma.

Our Intensive Care Coordination programs have made a difference for hundreds of people over the last 24 years. Learn more about our Intensive Care Coordination programs here.

Homelessness Can Happen to Anybody

Veronica has lived in the Bay Area her whole life, and raised her four children here. But when she got into a car accident and could not afford to keep her housing along with her bills, suddenly Veronica was homeless and dealing with addiction to pain medication. She came to BACS to get her life back on track – and today, she works at a hospital, has a home, and is connecting with her family.

Veronica says, “BACS helped me with employment issues. If it wasn’t for BACS, and the staff, I don’t know how I would have done it. BACS always encourages me to keep going to the next level.”

Congratulations on your successes, Veronica!

Employee of the Month

BACS is delighted to honor Marian Asu, Accountant with our Finance Team, as Employee of the Month!

Marian’s colleagues who nominated her say, “Marian is a good colleague that is easy to work with and ask for help. She always works hard and is friendly.” 

Marian’s work in the Finance Team helps keep BACS operations running smoothly! Marian says “It gladdens my heart to see our staff smile each time they leave our office. I help employees’ with petty cash and checks to pay for participants needs and other expenses. My favorite part of my job is that from the back end, I do whatever it takes to serve our staff and clients and to ensure BACS is solvent to continue the good work.”

Join Our Cause

Do you want to join BACS in our mission to uplift under-served individuals and their families by doing whatever it takes?

Micah square

Donate

Donate to BACS online by clicking here, or via mail to 629 Oakland Ave, Oakland, CA 94612. Make an ongoing impact by donating monthly!

Or, donate gently used blankets, canned goods, and other items to our housing programs. Email us to learn more.

Work Here

BACS services are always expanding, and we are currently recruiting! Check out our job opportunities. Learn more on our website or by calling 510.613.0330.

Planned Giving

Many people leave a charitable gift in their will. Do you want to make a lifetime of impact in the community you care about? Email us to learn more!

Tagged With: ASW, case management, donate to nonprofit, employee recognition, homeless bay area, homelessness, housing, LCSW, MSW

BACS Receives Generous Grant from the Jonathan Logan Family Foundation

March 15, 2018

BACS is delighted to announce a historic grant from the Jonathan Logan Family Foundation, which awarded BACS $100,000 to support our housing & homeless solutions programs in Oakland.

BACS’ Executive Director, Jamie Almanza, says, “I am ecstatic and so grateful to the Jonathan Logan Family Foundation for the generosity and creativity put forward in this unprecedented grant to our Homeless Programs in Oakland. BACS’ mission is to do whatever it takes to end homelessness.  In partnership with Jonathan Logan Family Foundation, we will transition individuals from street homelessness to permanent housing. ”

Additionally, the Jonathan Logan Family Foundation has offered a $50,000 challenge grant. We need community support to help us meet this match. You can make a gift towards this goal and double your impact: donate now!

[Read more…]

Tagged With: donate, donate to a nonprofit, donate to nonprofit, homelessness, housing crisis, jon logan, jonathan logan, jonathan logan family foundation, Oakland, solutions

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