homelessness Archives - Bay Area Community Services (BACS)

Girl Scouts Install Free Solar Charging Station at BACS

August 17, 2021

Future leaders are right here in our community. BACS is so impressed with this Gold Star Girl Scout project – it’s a solar, eco-friendly design with practical and compassionate applications.

When the pandemic began, it highlighted an issue that was hidden before. Public locations like libraries had closed, and a large population was left without access to their devices that needed electrical outlets to be charged. For many, like our unhoused neighbors, devices like phones are a necessity, not a luxury. They connect people with information and allow them to find jobs. Without devices being charged, important modes of communication were closed. [Read more…]

Media Advisory: Fremont Housing Navigation Center Welcomes First Residents

September 28, 2020

Fremont, CA, September 2020 – Bay Area Community Services (BACS) today announced that the first residents of its new Fremont Housing Navigation Center (HNC) moved out of homelessness and into the program. The HNC, located near Fremont City Hall, is a pivotal partnership between the City of Fremont and BACS to address the city’s homelessness crisis by providing unhoused community members with rapid re-housing services and a path to securing permanent housing.

The HNC model acts as a clean, safe, calm, and flexible environment that enables unhoused community members to rebuild their lives and with a supported and determined focus on finding stable, permanent housing. The program was designed for 45 people at a time, which has been temporarily limited to a reduced 25 participants in order to comply with the best practices for COVID-19 safety while serving as many people as possible. Once the pandemic ends and restrictions are lifted, BACS intends to open the program at full capacity.

Today, the first cohort of people moved in to the HNC. One HNC resident has been homeless 5 years and has been living their car until today. BACS will continue to move in residents in small groups to maximize COVID-19 safety, and anticipates reaching capacity next week.

“BACS is very honored to rapidly open its door to the Fremont Community and to do so with care, courage, and special attention paid to keep our community members, staff, and all of us safe during COVID,” said Jamie Almanza, MBA, CEO of BACS. “The phased opening took in to account locating and intensively outreaching to individuals and inviting them to come inside. I am so appreciative to the Mayor, City Council, City Employees, Community Based Organizations – everyone – for this tremendous milestone in the City and neighboring Cities history.”

The Program Model

This is a “low-barrier” shelter, meaning there are no curfews, people do not have to be sober to stay there, they can bring their pets, and there is storage for accumulated belongings. BACS seeks to support individuals in building and maintaining their independence, in a nurturing environment. Unlike the “shelter” model, people can sleep as long as they like, and there are no strict times people have to be on or off site. There are casual places to sit, and plants, trees, and murals. There are washers and dryers, bathrooms with showers, and a common room with a mini-kitchen.

We envision a world where all people are healthy, safe, and engaged in community wellness, with access to quality housing. When an individual moves in, our determined focus is on finding housing, and the entire team creates a culture of assuming that housing will be found. While participants are getting back on their feet, finding sustainable jobs, getting mental and physical healthcare supports, connecting with benefits, and re-adjusting to living inside, BACS’ Housing Specialists work on housing solutions in the community.

Meeting the Rising Need in Fremont

Homelessness is a humanitarian crisis that will not improve without innovative approaches. The City of Fremont, with historic leadership from Mayor Lily Mei and the Fremont City Council, has committed to a comprehensive and innovative plan to significantly reduce homelessness within the community, based in local models and data that have proven effectiveness. The City of Fremont’s Human Services Department has closely coordinated with the Fremont Police Department, BACS, the City of Berkeley, volunteers across Fremont, and community supporters to ensure the program is operational and on schedule.

According to the annual Alameda County Point-in-Time Count & Survey from 2019, homelessness in Fremont rose 27% from 2017 to 2019, and determined that 485 of the 608 homeless participants were unsheltered. Currently, in Alameda County, for every homeless person who finds permanent housing three more individuals are becoming unhoused. Homelessness will only end with mobilization from local governments, and the City of Fremont is showing great leadership in tackling homelessness through sustainable solutions.

Funding Sources

The City projects a total of $9.47 million in HNC funding from state, county, and City-led programs to run the Center for the first three years. Beyond 2023, the City will evaluate the program to further extend the operation for additional years, contingent upon future funding opportunities. A breakdown of total funding for the HNC includes: $1.47 million from Homeless Emergency Aid Program (HEAP); $100,000 from California Emergency Solution and Housing (CESH); up to $1.76 million from the Homeless Housing, Assistance and Prevention (HHAP) Program; $1.93 million in Permanent Local Housing Allocation (PLHA) authorized by the Building Homes and Jobs Act (SB2, 2017); $3.24 million in City funds from the unspent portion of the one-time homeless General Fund dollars appropriated by the City Council in FY 2017/18, as well as the unallocated balance in the City-Funded Affordable Housing Fund; $320,000 annually from the Alameda County Social Services Agency; and $31,000 from community contributions. This project was approved unanimously by the City Council in 2019.

About Bay Area Community Services

Since its founding in 1953, BACS has become a local leader in homelessness prevention programs, facing the housing crisis head on through rapid re-housing, targeted outreach for people experiencing homelessness and support navigating the web of services, purchasing housing across the Bay Area to house people who would otherwise be homeless, and much more. BACS also provides recovery-oriented behavioral health services. To learn more, go to www.bayareacs.org

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Media Advisory: Project Homekey BACS

September 23, 2020

PROJECT RECLAMATION: PROJECT HOMEKEY IN OAKLAND

California, Oakland, and BACS – Major Investment in Permanent Housing for Oaklanders

OAKLAND, CA, September 2020 – Bay Area Community Services (BACS)’ Project Reclamation has been awarded $10 million to buy single-family homes in Oakland as part of the State of California’s Project Homekey, creating permanent housing for community members with complex needs who are experiencing homelessness.

On September 21, 2020, Governor Gavin Newsom announced the second round of Project Homekey funding awards, a major investment from the State of California. Project Homekey is a capital infusion to purchase motels and provide for permanent supports of housing for homeless individuals.

BACS’ Project Reclamation plans to develop 100 units at 20 scattered sites throughout Oakland for families and individuals. Project Reclamation seeks to preserve the Oakland community by reclaiming neighborhoods for community benefit. BACS has 67 years of history in Oakland, so we identify and prioritize neighborhoods with strong opportunities for revitalization, preventing gentrification that displaces long-term community members.

Project Reclamation is a grassroots Co-Op Living model aimed to eliminate barriers to access deeply affordable permanent housing with supportive services for homeless individuals. The model is highly efficient in that it does not require a lifetime operating subsidy because the asset is owned and the rental income and some services revenue covers all operating expenses over time.

“This model is a game-changer for how our community will solve homelessness,” said BACS CEO Jamie Almanza. “It is innovative, simple, and cost-efficient. And at the heart of this model is that it takes a stand at fighting gentrification – at reclaiming our communities. BACS, as a non-profit, holds assets in the community trust, for the people. These homes – and the individuals that hold the keys – are for the community, of the community, and in the community. I am so proud to live in a State and a community where the public leaders see the strength of this model, as it is unique and could have easily been passed over. Thank you for your leadership.”

Project Homekey, administered by California Housing & Community Development department, is the state’s $600 million program for purchasing and rehabilitating housing, including hotels, motels, vacant apartment buildings and other properties, converting them into permanent, long-term housing for people experiencing or at risk of experiencing homelessness. Project Homekey builds on the effective crisis response of Project Roomkey, which brought unhoused people rapidly off the streets and inside in an unprecedented – never been done – way. BACS stepped up to run three large Project Roomkey hotels throughout the Bay Area.

BACS is honored to work with the City of Oakland, the Oakland City Council, Mayor Libby Schaaf, and Oakland Housing and Community Development Department leadership on this innovative, neighborhood-oriented approach to ending homelessness.

Housing Co-Ops: Supported Independent Living

Bay Area Community Services (BACS) believes that homelessness is one of the most pressing problems of our time – but that it can be solved through community investment in innovative solutions.

Some affordable housing projects are taking up to 10 years before move in, & can cost up to $600,000 per studio apartment built. We cannot afford to wait 10 years. We buy homes where the entirety of a six-bedroom house costs less than one newly built affordable housing studio, and are ready to move people in within 30 days – not 10 years

This program model is deeply rooted in the community. BACS has acquired, owned, operated, and property managed small-site, scattered, Co-Op Living properties for individuals experiencing homelessness since 1973. Our vision is one of preservation, anti-gentrification, system coordination, and one that still believes firmly that there are pathways to end homelessness if there is an openness to break the frame of requiring rigid and conservative, one-way lifetime strategies in favor of non-traditional, true community-driven solutions like the BACS Co-Living model.

At BACS’ Supported Independent Living Co-Op sites, residents are people who would otherwise be homeless due to mental health complications and other barriers. Rather than living on the streets or being institutionalized, which is harmful for the individual and our community, participants get to live safely and healthily in the community of their choice.

Each resident is paired with a Care Coordinator who helps them build independent living skills through job support, benefits assistance, mental health support, financial assistance, job support, group activities, and money management. Residents learn skills by sharing responsibilities for cleaning, paying bills, and running their household.

Every single person in a BACS house has their own bedroom, door, and key. Individuals share communal areas such as kitchen and bathrooms. BACS does not believe in individuals crammed in shared bedrooms or in bunkbeds. Our housing is embedded in the community, and allows clients to share in cooking & other house activities while still having their own bedroom, preventing isolation. Tenants hold long term leases, and because BACS in the landlord, we are more attune to typical behavioral issues that tend to cause them to be evicted and return to homelessness.

About Bay Area Community Services

Bay Area Community Services (BACS) provides innovative behavioral health and housing services for teens, adults, older adults, and their families across the Bay Area. BACS’ mission is to uplift under-served community members and their families by doing whatever it takes. Since its founding in 1953, BACS has become a local leader in homelessness prevention programs, facing the housing crisis head on through rapid re-housing, targeted outreach for people experiencing homelessness and support navigating the web of services, purchasing housing across the Bay Area to house people who would otherwise be homeless, and much more. BACS also provides recovery-oriented behavioral health services. To learn more, go to www.bayareacs.org

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California, Oakland, and BACS – Partner Together Announcing Major Investment in Permanent Housing for Oaklanders

September 22, 2020

During the upheaval of the last 6 months – with the pandemic and fires making the ongoing housing crisis more complex – BACS has persevered and continues to be ‘on the ground’, doing whatever it takes:

All of our residential programs, community intensive programs, and houses have stayed open 24/7;
In the first three months of the pandemic, BACS kept 695 families in their housing through Keep Oakland Housed;
BACS — operating two sites and serving 600+ people — joined Project Room Key, the state-wide initiative to provide a safe place for unhoused community members to shelter-in-place.

And today, we get to share spectacular news: BACS has been awarded $10 million to buy single-family homes in Oakland, to create permanent housing for community members with complex needs who are experiencing homelessness through Project Home Key! [Read more…]

“We are going to end homelessness in Oakland”

June 6, 2019

BACS is partnering with Kaiser Permanente to house 515 homeless seniors in Oakland. This is a transformative change to how someone goes from homelessness to housing in the Bay Area.

“This partnership with Kaiser is a game-changer. So far, we have more than 250 seniors out of encampments, off the streets, and into permanent housing. With more programs like this, we are going to end homelessness in Oakland.” – Jamie Almanza

Thanks to Kaiser, BACS helped Victor N. end his homelessness. Victor, pictured here, receives his keys to his new home in Oakland. Victor is a veteran, and became homeless in January. He lived in his car, which made his health problems worse. After being hospitalized, he came to BACS and we were able to get him into housing.

[Read more…]

Girl Scouts Install Free Solar Charging Station at BACS

Media Advisory: Fremont Housing Navigation Center Welcomes First Residents

Media Advisory: Project Homekey BACS

PROJECT RECLAMATION: PROJECT HOMEKEY IN OAKLAND

California, Oakland, and BACS – Partner Together Announcing Major Investment in Permanent Housing for Oaklanders

“We are going to end homelessness in Oakland”

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