BACS does it again, adding nearly 100 permanent supportive housing units in Alameda County for unhoused neighbors

In Oakland and Berkeley, 89 neighbors – currently living on the street or in emergency housing – will soon have permanent, private, and dignified housing thanks to two Homekey awards for BACS projects: Golden Bear Homes and Piedmont Place.

“Today, right now, you have neighbors on the street. Community members who are not different, they are just not housed. And thanks to this historic investment, there will be 89 fewer neighbors who are outdoors instead of indoors,” said Jamie Almanza, MBA, BACS CEO. “The BACS magic is blended housing and supportive services, rooted in expertise built across 70 years of doing whatever it takes to solve seemingly impossible problems.”

Golden Bear Homes is located in the vibrant and well-connected West Berkeley neighborhood, a short distance to the North Berkeley BART Station, downtown Berkeley, University of California at Berkeley and many neighborhood amenities, services and employment opportunities.

Piedmont Place is located between the Piedmont Avenue and Uptown neighborhoods of Oakland, a short distance from Grand Lake, Kaiser Permanente Oakland, and the MacArthur BART station, as well as BACS’ Towne House Wellness & Housing Hub on Oakland Ave and our headquarters on 40th Street.

This is the result of community advocates making their voices heard at neighborhood gatherings and city council meetings; of individual neighbors signing up to donate and volunteer before the sites even open; of Governor Newsom’s leadership in creating and funding the Homekey initiative; of California taxpayers for making such bold initiatives possible; and of local Oakland and Berkeley leadership for making this dream come true. See the full story and property/program details here. 

Home in a Basket

Think global, act local! Thanks to Turner Construction Company, 17 people getting out of homelessness are going to get beautiful welcome baskets when they move into their new homes.

Employees from Turner Construction collected household items during the month of May and donated 17 complete Home in a Baskets! A “Home in a Basket” is and starter kit for individuals who are moving into housing. They are a great way to get involved, teach kids about volunteering and community, and make a direct difference.

If you would like to learn more about our home in a basket program, please visit our website at https://bayareacs.org/ways-to-give/ , Thank you again to the staff at Turner Construction Company.

Success Story

Housing Resource Center Grand Opening in Berkeley

BACS is excited to announce the expansion of our North County Housing Resource Center (NC-HRC) in Berkeley. BACS’ NC-HRC coordinates all county resources to connect high-needs individuals with housing.

Our goal is to end homelessness, permanently, in our community. Our site has access to housing education, individual housing counseling, legal workshops, and other resources in collaboration with the county in an effort to help individuals who need housing support.

Please stop by our newly expanded office or give our information to anybody in the area who needs help! We are located at 2809 Telegraph Avenue, Suite 202, Berkeley, CA 94705. Open Monday to Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

New Board Member Joins BACS

BACS is excited to welcome Scott Verges as the newest director on our Board of Directors!

Scott Verges is the Executive Vice President and General Counsel of TMG Partners, a San Francisco based real estate development company. Scott has been a California real estate lawyer and developer for the past 42 years. Scott earned his JD at the University of California, Berkeley’s BoaIt Hall, where he was one of the editors of the California Law Review. Scott is proud to bring this real estate, housing, and legal expertise to help unhoused and precariously housed BACS community members.

Scott is a former adjunct professor of Real Estate and Business Law in the MBA program at Mills College and the former Vice-Chair of the Alameda County Health Foundation. Scott has published two books (University of California Press) and numerous articles on a variety of real estate and finance subjects, including real estate finance and real estate acquisitions. He is a member of many real estate associations and the former editor of the California Real Property Journal. Scott’s interests include fishing, hiking, and film (he has produced 6 award winning films on a variety of subjects). Scott brings a strong community connection to this role. Welcome, Scott!

2020-2021 Annual Report

This year, BACS provided services to 14,699 neighbors experiencing behavioral health challenges, housing insecurity and/or homelessness, and other complex needs. As an historical agency celebrating our 68th anniversary, it is our founding commitment to do “whatever it takes” to meet the needs of our community. This Annual Report, and our work every single day, is dedicated to the people we serve.

This was a year of profound struggle; and yet, the BACS Community – all of you who will read our report – stepped up to the plate. Donors, community members, staff, board, volunteers, and advocates. We are extremely grateful for the generosity of all our donors, and the support of our volunteers and community partners – our work is made possible thanks to you.

Play Structure Ribbon Cutting for Kids without Housing at the SHARE Center

Kids living at the SHARE Center now have access to a play structure, provided by the community and built by volunteers, where they can get exercise and play outdoors!

Thank you to Supervisor Luis Alejo, who led the fundraising efforts and coordinated volunteers; to the donors who contributed to the play structure including Comcast; to the Monterey-Santa Cruz Building Trades Council for volunteering to assemble the play structure; and to the kids at SHARE for filling the space with joy and laughter – see the video here!

Our society makes it too easy to think of people without housing as a problem, and to consider the bare minimum that should be provided. At the SHARE Center, we have a determined focus on housing, but we also work to uplift every person who lives with us on their journey to housing. We help the “whole person,” and getting to play and exercise in the fresh air definitely helps the whole person.

BACS is going to keep doing “whatever it takes” to help each of these kids’ families find housing, but in the meantime, we are grateful to the active and engaged Salinas community for literally building joy for these kids.

Sacramento / CORE Expansion

BACS is very excited to share that we are expanding our impact in Sacramento County with two new CORE programs!  Our two CORE programs will each include a Wellness Center and an outpatient mental health program.

BACS opened the our first Wellness Center (WC) in the Bay Area in 1969, Towne House. For decades, our four WCs have been hubs of behavioral health, housing, employment, and community-building services. We serve thousands of people who need outpatient behavioral health support.

Our goal is to provide timely, flexible, low barrier services that reduce unnecessary contact with emergency health or justice systems, promote housing stability, strengthen community integration, and support transitions to lower levels of care. We are so excited to create these community centers, and look forward to inviting all our Sacramento neighbors to visit.

If you are interested in joining our growing Sacramento team, visit our website to learn about our benefits, our mission, and the open opportunities. 

Fremont Housing Navigation Center

Felix was born in Texas, but moved to the Bay Area years ago. He lived in several cites in the Bay Area, but Fremont was always his favorite because of the climate, the people, the food, and how walkable it is. Felix worked as a bank auditor, and was engaged. When his fiancée called off the engagement and ended their relationship, it destabilized him financially and emotionally, and he soon lost his job. Essentially, his personal safety net vanished, and his savings were not enough to keep him housed. He did not have a car, so he fell into street homelessness pretty quickly.

You can help thousands of people like Felix by donating today!

Graduates from Culinary School Start Fresh

Congratulations to the three BACS partners who graduated from the St. Vincent de Paul “Kitchen of Champions” Culinary Training program, and to our expert Employment Coordinators who made this possible! This specialized program provides in-depth training across nine weeks to prepare students for wide-ranging culinary employment opportunities. These three partners are part of our Housing Fast program, and are ready to start fresh and achieve lasting stability for themselves – including housing, employment, and community support. Cooking for others helps build self-confidence and meaningful connections, and we look forward to supporting these partners in their new careers!

SHARE Center Christmas Joy

The first ever Christmas at the SHARE Center in Salinas was a festive event, with visits from was a festive time at the SHARE Center in Salinas! Supervisor Alejo and Mayor Craig helped with fundraising (raising more than $5,000), getting backpacks and school supplies, toys for the kids, and gifts for all the adults at the SHARE Center – plus the Salinas Fire Department brought two Santas (one from the north pole, one from the south pole) to hand out the toys! In addition, a new play structure has been purchased from the raised funds, which will be installed by volunteers from the Monterey/Santa Cruz Building & Construction Trades Council in the next month.

Special thanks to sponsors Comcast, General Motors, and the American Beverage Association, plus to the Hawaiian Women’s Association for donating the pizza party, and to all the people who donated gifts to make this holiday memorable! BACS is continuing our work to get every individual and family into stable housing, because everyone deserves quality housing.

BACS opens Contra Costa’s Newest Hub for Housing & Services

BACS is excited to announce the grand opening of Delta Landing in Pittsburg, providing low-barrier, interim housing services focused on rapidly transitioning participants into permanent housing with intensive aftercare supports – doing “whatever it takes” to help them stabilize and remain in their housing. Delta Landing is a 172-unit interim housing site in BACS’ signature “Housing Fast” model, and opened in December 2021.

BACS has housed over 3,000 people through this model, which we have honed over the past 11 years and demonstrated a consistently lower recidivism rate (falling back to homelessness) than national and local averages for this model. Generally, achieving permanent housing does not require a lifetime permanent subsidy.

The Delta Landing site has been transformed into a state-of-the-art interim housing site, with onsite physical and behavioral healthcare, case management services for employment and housing assistance, and other services to support our clients as they work towards housing. BACS Delta Landing will provide respite, wraparound, housing placement services, and employment support to the Contra Costa Community experiencing homelessness.

State Homekey Innovation Award

In a state-wide honor, BACS received the Homekey Innovation Award for our bold 2020 housing initiative, Project Reclamation. Project Reclamation is our unique, neighborhood-oriented approach to ending homelessness. Each individual has their own bedroom. Each home is a micro-community, often in the neighborhoods where residents grew up, that residents can feel proud of – with ongoing supportive services.

This award “acknowledges your bold action and commitment to solving the housing and homelessness crisis that is impacting our state.” In 2020, the State of California set aside funds to create permanent housing. BACS was awarded $10 million to buy houses, and with additional partnership from Crankstart, added 142 units to BACS’ unique housing co-living model – which we started in 1973 and now serves more than 200 people.

Sacramento Crisis Navigation Success

The Sacramento Crisis Navigation Program (CNP) opened its doors in June 2021 and quickly built a reputation for providing flexible, community-based services. CNP utilizes peer staff to support community members discharging from Emergency Departments and Psychiatric Facilities. CNP staff provide a “whatever-it-takes approach” to engage members, increase readiness for services, and advocate for needed services and resources.

This past November, CNP received a referral for a community member who was in need of services but had some distrust of providers due to past experiences. The community member struggled with ongoing mental health symptoms, substance use, and chronic homelessness. CNP staff continued to work to build rapport, set boundaries, provide incentives, and utilize creative interventions. Over the next few months, this member successfully linked to a high level mental health program and moved into a transitional housing program. At the time of discharge, the member reported two weeks sobriety and reported he was excited for the prospect of having a future and thankful to be receiving mental health services.

Art Piece: Social Justice, COVID, and Fire

BACS is from, by, and for the community – and we are inspired every day to push beyond the barriers that hold our community back, which means confronting our reality face-on.

Fiona Ruddy, talented artist and program manager of BACS’ LIFT program, made this beautiful work of art, inspired by the harsh realities of the last few years. This piece is on display at BACS headquarters, Thunder Road, in Oakland. Its beauty and power inspires staff and partners as they walk through our halls.

Health and wellness do not happen in a vacuum – art is healing. Housing is healing. Truth is healing. We strive to treat ‘the whole person’ no matter what their needs are. BACS’ Registered Art Therapists do important work helping the people we serve process and grow from their challenges, and continue their journey of wellness and recovery.

Tipping Point Breakfast

In 2021, BACS completed the first year of our partnership with Tipping Point Community (TPC), who provide strategic investments in non-profits proven to make a difference. It was a tremendous honor, as a first-time grantee, to additionally be chosen as a featured grantee at the annual Tipping Point Breakfast! CEO Jamie Almanza and Property Manager Terrell Hegler joined to share our neighborhood-oriented approach to ending homelessness. Sam Cobbs, CEO of Tipping Point Community, introduced them saying “On the surface, BACS is a housing provider, a really good one, but when you dig deeper, housing is just a tool they use to transform the communities they serve.” 

Tipping Point fights poverty in the Bay Area, through targeted investments and capacity-building support. Since 2005, Tipping Point has invested nearly $300 million in housing, early childhood, education, and employment solutions – strengthening our community’s safety net. We look forward to further partnership with TPC!

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!