Kaiser Permanente Awards BACS a Grant to Bring Healthy Living to Our Supported Independent Living Sites!

BACS was awarded a $20,000 Healthy Eating, Active Living grant by Kaiser for our Supported Independent Living Houses for people living with behavioral health needs!  This will enable us to invest in our housing sites with healthy activities so that the individuals living there are exposed to health and wellness.

BACS provides six affordable housing sites for adults who have behavioral health issues and are at risk of becoming homeless, and will use this grant funding to promote healthy lifestyles, including breaking the cycle of poor nutrition that many homeless individuals experience.

BACS would like to extend our gratitude for Kaiser Permanente for this grant, and for promoting healthy living for the most vulnerable members of our community.

“Power of Faith” Event

Jamie Almanza, MBA, BACS’ Executive Director, was invited by Alameda County Supervisor Keith Carson’s office to speak at the September “Power of Faith” event. This event was designed to “highlight and celebrate the work of faith-based organizations, as well as bring together faith-based organizations and community members to collaborate to amplify our collective work in the community.”

Jamie participated in a panel on homelessness and housing with our local faith-based community. On behalf of BACS, thank you Supervisor Carson for the invitation, and thank you to our very own Housing Coordinator, Mike King, for blessing the event with your presence!

Volunteers Build Garden Boxes at Woodroe Place

BACS would like to extend a huge “thank you” to volunteers from Beacon Health Options – Laura, Lori, Sam, Gina, Laine, and Sarah – who spent a Friday afternoon building garden boxes at Woodroe Place!

Our volunteers came and learned more about our Crisis Residential Treatment program, then made a permanent impact by starting our gardening project off right. BACS’ vision is for participants to get involved in gardening, and to use the seasonally rotated foods grown in the garden as part of cooking groups. The Beacon volunteers built 8 garden beds, and were happy to work with one of our interested participants.

Employee of the Month

BACS is delighted to honor our wonderful nursing staff by recognizing both Erin Tolva and Sunita Suman as our Employees of the Month for October!

Both Erin and Sunita were nominated by their peers to appreciate the integral role they play in our programs. Here is what our staff had to say:

Erin is such an incredible asset to our programs. She is smart, she is dedicated, and her training as a nurse is invaluable to our participants. Erin is an advocate for our participants, she works hard in the community, and she is an endless morale booster for her team members! Her hard work inspires all of us to work harder. With Erin, you can always trust that client care comes first.

Sunita embodies the spirit of Woodroe Place. She routinely responds to the needs of the house and the residents without hesitation or prompting. She is the consummate team player and has been observed to step in to support her team even outside her job duties. Sunita is the first staff to point out the strengths of the residents that we work with and she is often observed by her team to hold the hope that some of our most challenged residents will do better.  Sunita also has a very sharp sense of humor that keeps her team light on their feet!

Congratulations, Sunita and Erin!

HIP Annex Revitalization Project

BACS’ Hope Intervention Program, which provides mobile outreach and crisis intervention services to youth age 16-24, is planning an artistic revitalization project for one of Towne House’s many welcoming spaces!

Volunteers will be creating a mural or another large-scale design project, and making the space perfect for youth to chill, get focused, and accomplish their goals.

If you are interested in helping with this project, call the HIP main line at 510-593-5629.

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? The community has asked us to provide more services than ever, based on need. In 2016, help us make this possible!

Donate

Donate to BACS online by clicking here, or via mail to 629 Oakland Ave, Oakland, CA 94612.

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.