Health & Joy for Homeless Families with Pets in Salinas

December 20, 2021

A pet is family, no matter where you live – including for families experiencing homelessness. Last week, Bay Area Community Services (BACS) and BirchBark Foundation (BBF) announced a new partnership to provide veterinary care, support services, and supplies to the pets of people on their way from homelessness to housing at the SHARE Center.

The partnership kicked off with at event at the SHARE Center, building a “tree of hope” decorated with words of love and meaning made by people impacted by their pets and all people who have needed hope during challenging times. Peace of Mind Dog Rescue and SPCA Monterey County also joined the event to honor the partnership and the supports they will offer such as kennel and behavior training, volunteers doing veterinary appointment transport, and the joint veterinary care with BBF through Peace of Mind Dog Rescue’s Harry and Jaynne Boand Clinic.

[Read more…]

Media Advisory: Pets And Their Families Getting Help On The Way To Housing

December 14, 2021

Two Local Non-Profits Team Up to Promote Health & Joy for Homeless Families with Pets

SALINAS, CA, December 2021 – A pet is family, no matter where you live – including for families experiencing homelessness. Today, Bay Area Community Services (BACS) and BirchBark Foundation (BBF) announced a new partnership to provide veterinary care, support services, and supplies to the pets of people on their way from homelessness to housing at the SHARE Center.

This pilot program honors the human-animal bond, while doing “whatever it takes” to uplift local unhoused families and help them stabilize. This bond is just as critical, if not more so, to people without stable housing. Thanks to this partnership, dogs, cats, and other pets are getting the love and care they need so that they, in turn, can provide support and stability to their human families.

The SHARE Center, located in Salinas, is a signature BACS “housing fast” program. BACS’ Housing Fast Programs fill the gap between homelessness and housing by getting people off the streets and into temporary housing.

“Everybody deserves health and housing,” said Nora Daly, BACS development director, “and in order for BACS to create housing opportunities that last, we take into account the whole person, the whole family structure – including pets. Pets can help make us happier, safer, and less isolated. This program is already bringing joy.”

With a mission of protecting and honoring the human animal bond, BirchBark brings its three programs to the pet families of SHARE, and has customized additional services through collaboration with Peace of Mind Dog Rescue and SPCA Monterey County. On a daily basis, BBF provides financial assistance for life-compromising animal crises, pet loss and grief support counseling, and a robust education program to empower people to be the best caregivers of their furry animal family members.

“We know that the bond with our animals can be one of the most important relationships in our lives. BirchBark is thrilled to provide all three of our programs to SHARE families, and also take it a step further to fund animal wellness exams upon arrival at SHARE to ensure a pet and their family are getting the best start to success possible. No matter the circumstances in someone’s life, animals are family and need to be protected as such. We want to help empower the pet families of SHARE on their journey to permanent housing,” stated Michelle Frampton, BBF executive director.

The partnership kicked off today with at event at the SHARE Center, building a “tree of hope” decorated with words of love and meaning made by people impacted by their pets and all people who have needed hope during challenging times. Peace of Mind Dog Rescue and SPCA Monterey County also joined the event to honor the partnership and the supports they will offer such as kennel and behavior training, volunteers doing veterinary appointment transport, and the joint veterinary care with BBF through Peace of Mind Dog Rescue’s Harry and Jaynne Boand Clinic.

Would you give up your beloved pet if you lost your housing, especially if you thought you would be able to get new housing soon? As of the most recent Monterey County Point in Time Count, in 2019, 23%[1] of community members without housing qualified as “chronically homeless[2]” – meaning that for 77%, they are “between homes” and the situation is more temporary. Pets provide companionship, mental health benefits, and can be a safety measure for people who are living on the streets.

Between five and ten percent of unhoused community members have pets, and too often, families including pets are discriminated against, judged, and excluded because of their animal companions. The SHARE Center is extremely low barrier, meaning clients can come with their pets, partners, or families, and mental health challenges / low income / other complex needs are not a barrier to coming indoors. Once a person moves in to the SHARE Center, we hold a determined focus on getting people housed, while breaking down the other barriers that hold people back by providing mental health support, employment / benefits support, and more. Our Housing Navigators work with clients on an individualized basis to help clients end their own cycle of being unhoused and help them find permanent, sustainable housing. Our team will then work with them for 6 months afterwards to ensure they remain stably housed.

The SHARE Center is a beautiful and spacious location, including a reception, waiting room, staff spaces, health clinic, counseling offices, library, a commercial kitchen, a multipurpose room, pet kennels, outdoor dining area, children’s play areas, and bedrooms, and private family spaces, with space for 125 people. There are currently 13 pets on-site.

About Bay Area Community Services

Bay Area Community Services (BACS) breaks the mental health, housing, and community barriers that hold people back. BACS’ mission is to uplift under-served individuals and their families by doing “whatever it takes.” BACS helps people experiencing homelessness, housing insecurity, or behavioral health challenges, while balancing other complications like health needs, substance use, generational trauma, incarceration, poverty, and more. Since its founding in 1953, BACS has steadily grown throughout Northern and Central California, integrating nearly seven decades of behavioral health expertise with our Housing First philosophy to meet the rising needs of communities. To learn more, go to www.bayareacs.org

About BirchBark Foundation

BirchBark Foundation’s mission is to protect and honor the human-animal bond by providing financial assistance to vulnerable families faced with unaffordable medical expenses to save the life of a pet and with support of all families through education and pet loss and grief counseling programs. BirchBark serves as a unique piece of the safety net in Monterey, Santa Cruz, and San Benito Counties by acknowledging the multi-layered importance of relationships with pets. The organization strives to provide stability to animals, their humans, and the veterinary professionals who make up the teams of their 30 veterinary partners on the Central Coast.

To learn more, go to www.birchbarkfoundation.org

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[1] https://www.co.monterey.ca.us/home/showdocument?id=81207

[2] Defined as an individual with one or more disabling conditions or a family with a head of household with a disabling condition who: » Has been continuously homeless for 1 year or more and/or; » Has experienced 4 or more episodes of homelessness within the past 3 years.

BACS Connections September 2021

September 16, 2021

Oakland A’s give BACS Social Justice Grant Award

The Oakland A’s Community Fund awarded BACS the $10,000 Social Justice grant award! This grant will support our social justice, neighborhood-oriented approach to mental health & homelessness services. As part of the award, we got to invite a big group of staff, people we serve, and their families/natural supports to attend the September 8th game against the White Sox. We loved being there for the home team win!

Girl Scout Gold Award Powers the Community

At the start of the pandemic, many public locations closed their doors – which meant that for people without housing, it was suddenly a huge challenge to keep their phones charged. Without a phone, it’s hard to apply for jobs, make medical appointments, look for an apartment, and access services and public health info.

A small team of ambassador girl scouts and high schoolers banded together and designed a project to provide more charging solutions to the unhoused across Fremont and the Bay Area. This project, led by girl scout Aparna Singh, placed a combination of permanent and portable charging solutions at BACS and other community organizations’ sites, to make using devices and gaining crucial information a bit more accessible to all. These charging solutions will allow people to have access to their devices even years after the pandemic has come to a close. BACS is so impressed with this Gold Star Girl Scout project – it’s a solar, eco-friendly design with practical and compassionate applications!

Breaking the Cycle of Homelessness

Health, Housing, and Integrated Services (HHIS) is helping the people served by Project Roomkey motels into permanent housing, rather than falling back to homelessness. With BACS support, more than 210 people have moved into permanent housing so far!

HHIS is a signature BACS “whatever it takes” program. We uplift the “whole person” by breaking the mental health, housing, and other barriers that hold people back. This community-based program helps high-acuity individuals on their unique journey to stabilize their housing and behavioral health needs across the 8 domains of wellness. BACS helps partners by coordinating subsidies and federal funding, provides and links with intensive case management, building natural communities of support around partners, helping clients locate quality housing and submit applications then negotiate and understand lease agreements, and help with long-term housing retention.

Beauty’s Bagels Feeds Thousands

The Temescal neighbor of our headquarters has been baking a way out of poverty since the pandemic started – donating more than 3,200 bagels to BACS! Whenever those delicious treats arrive, we are so excited to be able to offer a tasty local bagel to our partners experiencing homelessness, behavioral health challenges, and other complications when they visit our sites for services. The bagels are a big pick-me-up, and partners have shared that it feels like the neighborhood has their back.

CARF Awards BACS Highest Accreditation

CARF, the Commission on the Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities, visited BACS a few months ago for an intensive survey of our sites, services, and outcomes.

CARF International is an independent, nonprofit accreditor of health and human services. Typically done in-person, the 2021 survey was conducted virtually, and touched every aspect of BACS’ service delivery. Beyond the “point in time” that the survey captures, accreditation is an ongoing process, signaling to the public that a service provider is committed to continuously improving services, encouraging feedback, and serving the community. Seeking this level of accreditation is voluntary for organizations like BACS, but we take quality improvement seriously and are always looking to improve our services.

Representative Ro Khanna Visits Fremont

Last month, Fremont resident and CA-17th District Representative Ro Khanna visited our Fremont Housing Navigation Center! Fremont Mayor Lily Mei and members of the Fremont City Council joined BACS staff in giving a tour of the location and sharing the impacts of this rapid re-housing intervention. The site opened in October 2020, modeled after our other sites which have collectively housed more than 1,500 people!

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…]

Simplifying the System of Care in Sacramento

August 5, 2021

The mental health system of care can be complicated – which is why BACS has started the Sacramento Crisis Navigation Program (CNP). We are supporting community members with behavioral health needs who are in the middle of a crisis, at the emergency room, by being side-by-side to help them navigate available resources to find ongoing services and stability.

Some of the people we serve may have been through this cycle before (from emergency room to a referral to ongoing behavioral health services), but without the warm handoff and individualized coordination they slipped through the cracks. [Read more…]