Program areas at BOSS
BOSS provides housing and comprehensive support services to homeless, disabled, and very low-income families and individuals, to help them build new skills, overcome urgent health problems and other crises, and achieve stable income and permanent housing in the community. To achieve this goal, BOSS provides the following programs: Housing Navigation: BOSS provides the Projects for Assistance in Transition from Homelessness (PATH) outreach services, Screening and diagnostic treatment, Habilitation and rehabilitation, Community mental health, Substance use treatment, Referrals for primary healthcare, job training, educational services, and housing. Income Services: BOSS helps people secure public benefits they are eligible for (General Assistance, Social Security/Disability benefits, unemployment, veterans benefits, CalFresh, Covered California enrollments). BOSS shelters have computer labs where people can learn and practice software modules, to increase job skills, and work on resumes. BOSS provides Representative Payee services to individuals referred by Social Security as needing help to manage their funds. Emergency Shelters: BOSS provides emergency shelter to single adults in Berkeley (Harrison House, 50 beds); and shelter to families (Harrison House, 48 beds); and Hayward (South County Homeless Project, 24 beds, serving severe and persistent mentally ill). Meals, showers, laundry, storage, and help connecting people to housing search resources is provided in BOSS shelters. Interim Housing: The program provides property management and access to case management, life skills classes, a small computer lab, peer support groups. Safe Haven Casa Maria: BOSS operates an Interim Housing facility in partnership with community partners providing housing, SSI/SSDI benefits, and navigation services. The Casa Maria Safe Haven project is comprised of 17 units serving a high need high risk population. RV Safe Parking: BOSS provides 40 spaces for individuals to park their RVs. These individuals also receive services that include case management and housing navigation. Independent Supported Living (ISL): BOSS operates four permanent supportive housing facilities?Pacheco Court (Hayward, 10 units, Adults); McKinley House (Berkeley, 7 units, Adults), Rosa Parks House (11 units, Adults), and South County Sober Housing (Hayward 15 units, Transitional Age Youth), Cesar Chavez (San Leandro, 2 units and program space services disabled individuals). BOSS Reentry Housing Network Hope Reentry Campus: provides services Hope Reentry Campus offers interim housing and onsite services for individuals returning from incarceration to reintegrate into the community, transition into stable housing, reunify with family, and attain pro-social relationships. Services include personalized case management, life skills classes, peer support groupsRe-entry Support Services: Case Management Help with assessing needs, setting goals andmonitoring progress, accessing needed resources, and staying focused and motivated. Drop-Ins &Referrals Drop-in hours for anyone in need get information and assistance, including needed referralsto programs and services. Outreach/Engagement Active community outreach to encourage participation in services and help people stay involved. Peer Support Coaching from others who have experiencedthe same struggles ? sharing lessons and celebrating success. The Rental Assistance Program (RA)serves system-impacted individuals with one-time assistance to help with financial needs relatedto housing including move-in costs, back rent, and utilities. Eligibility Eligible participants mustbe enrolled in our Warm Hand Off (WHO) program and be system impacted (been in prison atany time in their lives), have an income, and be in danger of losing permanent housing or havelocated new housing. Neighborhood Impact Hubs: The West Oakland Neighborhood Impact Hub, located at 2811Adeline Street, is one of three BOSS Neighborhood Impact Hubs with intentional innovativesolutions to reverse the institutional racism that has devastated Black and Brown communities indisinvested neighborhoods in Deep East, West and Downtown Oakland, CA. The DowntownNeighborhood Impact Hub is the current home to our CTEC program, which will expand to ourEast and West Oakland Neighborhood Impact Hubs in the future. CTEC provides a wealth ofresources that includes education, job training, and employment services for anyone with barriersto employment, including those who have been impacted by the justice system. CTEC providesfree case management, career and computer training, GED classes, mentorship and peer support,links to outside service providers, transportation assistance, college enrollmentassistance/guidance and much more. CTEC has relationships with second-chance employers whohire individuals with criminal backgrounds. CTEC partners include Five Keys Schools andPrograms, Peralta Community College District (Berkeley City College, College of Alameda,Laney College, Merritt College), and Cypress Mandela Training Center. The East OaklandNeighborhood Impact Hub, located at 9006 MacArthur Blvd, is one of three BOSS NeighborhoodImpact Hubs with intentional innovative solutions to reverse the institutional racism that hasdevastated Black and Brown communities in disinvested neighborhoods in Deep East, West andDowntown Oakland, CA. Violence Prevention Services: BOSS, in partnership with sub-grantee Youth Alive! (YA!),as aprovision of receiving Measure Z funding from the City in the Street Outreach, shall reduce street andretaliatory violence for transitional age youth and young adults (ages 16-35 year old?s) throughinterrupting and mediating violent/potentially violent conflicts, providing general outreach to potentialactive shooters or their networks by conducting walks, social events, community events and intensiveoutreach to high risk clients in agreed-upon target areas in West Oakland.Employment Services: BOSS operates a countywide Career Training and Employment Center and provides services necessary for justice involved individuals to achieve living wage employment through training, coaching, skill development, job development, job placement support job readiness assessments, training in soft skills development, training for the work environment, incentivized performance, job search assistance, including resume preparation, application completion, interviewing techniques, job retention and educational support/enhancement services. Child/family services: BOSS provides after school education and developmental support for the homeless kids at our Berkeley housing facility ? the Children?s Learning Center. BOSS also connects families with therapy to recovery from trauma and provides counseling and education to help parents stay engaged in their kids learning when they move into housing of their own. Social Justice/Civic engagement: The BOSS Social Justice Collective does important work toward increasing social justice locally, statewide, and nationally, in four core areas: leadership development, advocacy/organizing, community education, and coalition-building. The BOSS Social Justice Fellowship (SJF) encourages greater participation in civic and political processes by people with criminal records.