Keep Oakland Housed

In Oakland, it only costs $2,965 on average to prevent homelessness before it starts.

Keep Oakland Housed (KOH) does exactly that – supportive services, emergency financial assistance, and legal support – for people who are on the verge of losing their housing. To date, the KOH partnership has helped 761 people in under 6 months.

The need is greater than we imagined, and KOH has received additional grant funding to serve more Oaklanders! BACS thanks Kaiser Permanente, which committed $6 million over 2 years, Crankstart, at $3 million over 3 years, donors who sponsored Mayor Schaaf’s Inaugural Dance Party benefitting KOH, and other anonymous funders. This program would not be possible without such significant community investment. Donate today to keep this program going.

Happy Anniversary: Jovan Yglecias

This month, BACS’ Director of Programs Jovan Yglecias is celebrating 5 years with BACS!

Jovan has been a leader in our behavioral health programs, helping us strengthen existing services while opening new programs to expand our reach. Jovan is an expert in clinical programming and daily operations, which he seamlessly balances with a community-oriented and participant-centered philosophy. Congratulations, Jovan, and thank you for your dedication and leadership!

Job Fair Helps Hundreds

BACS is always looking to help our participants find satisfying, sustainable employment in the community. This month, BACS, Oakland Housing Authority, Alameda County Social Services, and California Department of Rehabilitation partnered to host a job fair, which was a huge success! Over 400 job seekers and over 30 employers showed up to make connections, do on-site interviews, and get to work.

A big thank you to our IPS Supported Employment Team, as well as the volunteers and employers who made this possible!

Case Management Celebrates 26 Years

BACS is delighted to celebrate the 26 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.

Invest in Your Community

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.

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?

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.

BACS Connections March 2019