Google Partnership Announcement

An illustration of four housing complexes in the Bay Area with a car and a bike in front of them. One of the buildings is under construction.

BACS is so excited to share that we are partnering with Google to prevent homelessness before it starts for 100 Oakland households – and working with UCSF to run a longitudinal study to determine the effect of cash assistance on housing stability, while also measuring the potential reduction of racial disparities in those who become homeless.

Through this partnership, we are demonstrating:

homelessness can be prevented before it starts
preventing homelessness is cost-effective
non-profits can rapidly implement innovative pilot programs
BACS data practices are consistent with validated longitudinal studies

Thank you to Google for putting funding, data, and support directly into the Bay Area community of your headquarters!

CORE Wellness Center Launch

Announcing a new resource for Sacramento community members – our CORE Wellness Centers are now open!

Every door is the right door when you come to us, so people who need assistance with housing, employment, behavioral health, food, healthcare, community-building, and more are all welcomed and will find the support they need at our neighborhood hubs.

BACS Wellness Centers are a hub for support for individuals with behavioral health challenges, who want to manage their symptoms and move forward with their lives in healthy and positive ways. Our first Wellness Center, Towne House, opened in 1969 in Oakland.

Come visit us at Sycamore Wellness Center (9333 Tech Center Drive, Suite 100, Sacramento, 95826) and Cedar Wellness Center (4600 47th Street, Suite 111, Sacramento 95824) today. Willow Wellness Center coming soon.

BACS Solutions in the News

Almost everyone agrees that homelessness is an emergency – an urgent crisis that needs to be addressed for the health of our community. So what if we really invested in treating it like one?

Keep Oakland Housed was founded in 2018 with the idea that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, and 3.5 years of data show that it is cheaper to prevent homelessness before it starts.

San Francisco Chronicle‘s Fixing Our City podcast takes a look. Listen today, and get involved in the solution by donating to keep your neighbors housed!

KidsBikeLane and Workday Build Bikes for Kids Exiting Homelessness

Thank you Kids Bike Lane and Workday for all your work in assembling all the bicycles for the community! We are excited to see the smiling faces of the kids who will be receiving these gifts. Cycling is important not only for getting around and being eco-friendly but also for developing a child’s balance and motor skills – and a vital skill and opportunity that kids experiencing homelessness sometimes miss out on because of bicycle affordability. Thank you again for your hard work!

Annual Staff Appreciation BBQ Returns

After 3 years, BACS held its Annual Staff Appreciation BBQ at Lake Chabot Regional Park. This was an overdue appreciation for all the hard work our teams have put in these past few years. BACS did not shutter during COVID, we stayed open and engaged in the community! After what felt like a lifetime, we were once again reunited as a team and celebrated the hard work we have done over the past few years.

“It was so much fun!!! The games, children playing, pets, dancing, food, prizes, recognition, and most of all the LAUGHTER that filled the air. Seeing Staff that has been around for 5yrs and more and meeting new staff was wonderful. COVID had us on shut down but we did WHATEVER IT TAKES to make this happen. We needed this REUNION!! To the new staff, we welcome you to the BACS Family.” – Gail Clough, HCS Supervisor.

Keep Oakland Housed

This month, BACS launched a historic new program to address the housing crisis in Oakland – by preventing homelessness before it starts. Keep Oakland Housed (KOH) will prevent Oaklanders from losing their housing through emergency financial assistance, supportive services, and legal representation.

At BACS, we receive a thousand or more calls each month from people who are on the brink of losing their housing. KOH means that BACS can answer these calls and say YES, we can help you.

KOH is a partnership between BACS, EBCLC, and Catholic Charities of the East Bay, funded by The San Francisco Foundation and Kaiser Permanente, in partnership with the City of Oakland.

If you need help, visit us online here. If you want to sustain this initiative, make a donation today!

Honoring Patrick, Peer Lead at Towne House

Towne House

BACS’ Towne House Wellness Center team wants to celebrate Patrick, Peer Lead at the wellness center. Patrick is often the first person a visitor or member to Towne House sees.

His Towne House team says “Patrick is a pure pleasure to work with. Patrick’s calm and warm demeanor is always welcomed by staff and participants a like. Any task that he is asked to complete, or assist with is done with a positive attitude and smile. We here at Towne House truly appreciate you Patrick, and we just want to say thank you!”

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.

Oakland ADC Program Anniversary

BACS is delighted to celebrate the anniversary of our Oakland Adult Day Center! This Memory Care program started in 1987 in Oakland, and for 21 years has been a space where elders with memory disorders can connect with others, socialize, and participate in guided activities. Our services offer respite for caregivers and families.

Thank you to everyone who makes our programs special — caregivers, staff, and the participants who come every day!

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.

Connections August/September 2022