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: Community Housing Support Services: BOSS provides the Projects for Assistance in Transition from Homelessness (PATH) outreach and referral services. Shelter Plus Care (S+C) case management services. CalAim Housing and community supports services. HRC/West Oakland Access Points, Coordinated Entry Assessments referrals for primary healthcare, substance use, mental health, benefits, 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 at Ursula Sherman Village (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 all 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 New Hope Reentry Campus and Women and Children?s Reentry Campus: provides services offers interim housing and onsite services for individuals returning home 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 groups. Child/family services: BOSS provides after school education and developmental support for the homeless kids at our Berkeley housing facility the Childrens 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. Re-entry Support Services: Case Management Help with assessing needs, setting goals and monitoring 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 referrals to 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 experienced the 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 related to housing including move-in costs, back rent, and utilities. Eligibility Eligible participants must be enrolled in our Warm Hand Off (WHO) program and be system impacted (been in prison at any time in their lives), have an income, and be in danger of losing permanent housing or have located new housing. Wellness Empowerment & Resiliency Campus (WERC): The Campus is located at 7200 Bancroft Avenue, Suite 275 in Oakland, CA with the intention to build innovative solutions to reverse institutional racism that has devastated Black and Brown communities in disinvested neighborhoods in Alameda County. This project is a comprehensive multidisciplinary integrated forensic model designed to meet the needs of our people where they are geographically, economically, culturally, emotionally, mentally, intellectually and physically delivered in the community with direct pathways to socioeconomic inclusion with housing, income, health, wellness; and civic engagement. CAREER TRAINING, EDUCATION & HOUSING CENTER, include the following services: Employment & Education Services, Job Readiness and Job Placement, Education & Career Pathways, Career Coaching, Education, GED/HiSet, Community College, CalFresh/Medi-Cal, Housing Services Interim Housing, Rental Assistance, Housing Navigation, Case Management, Care Coordination, and Critical Time Intervention. BEHAVIORAL HEALTH CENTER Psychosocial & Psychoeducational Services, Counseling (1:1 and Group), Mental Health and/or Substance Use, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Restorative Justice Circles, Domestic Violence Classes, Care Coordination. VIOLENCE INTERVETNION & PREVENTION CENTER: This innovative, highly collaborative, multi- strategy model is designed to address both the effects and root causes of violence in Oakland (third highest rate of violent crime in California) a violence reduction citywide alliance consisting of web of eight (8) organizations designed to strengthen the City of Oakland?s safety net with an multidisciplinary public health strategy that employs evidence-based programming selected to disrupt the transmission of violence utilizing three core programmatic domains ? individual, family and community, while addressing the complex needs of the people we serve with a trauma informed holistic approach. The collective addresses three strategies: Gun & Gang Violence - Violence Interruption that is designed to interrupt conflicts between groups and individuals, with a focus on reducing retaliatory violence whenever possible. Interrupters rely on their community credibility and knowledge of Oakland street violence to form relationships that allow them to intervene in volatile situations. Gender Based Violence - Commercial Sexual Exploitation Response includes advocacy, resources, drop-in centers, and emergency housing that provide a temporary safe place for survivors to stabilize as well as peer support, systems navigation, and outreach. Community Healing and Restoration - This strategy aims to lift up the wisdom of people closest to the violence and deepen their skills to promote healing through community-led outreach activities and events. Trauma Recovery Center (TRC): The Trauma Recovery Center (TRC) will provide an array of trauma informed services to survivors of interpersonal violence and traumatic loss with respectful, compassionate, and effective evidenced based practices combining assertive outreach, advocacy, mental health services, intensive case management and care coordination tailored for each individual. TRC staff meets each guest where they are geographically, economically, culturally, emotionally, mentally, intellectually and physically. We are here to serve adult survivors of physical assault, sexual assault, community violence, domestic violence, police brutality, and those who have lost a loved one to homicide. TRC guests have access to wraparound care that include: MENTAL HEALTH: Trauma Informed Mental Health/Substance Use, Intensive Case Management, Strengths-Based Clinical Case Management, Clinical Case Management Model, Brokerage Case Management Model, Individual and Group Psychotherapy, and Case management and Care Coordination (help with needs such as shelter/ housing, financial benefits, food and clothing, legal advocacy and linkage to medical care) and an array of supportive services. 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.