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ENDING HOMELESSNESS…WITH HOUSING
At Building Futures, we believe everyone deserves a place to call home. We are a Housing First agency. This means our top priority across the breadth of all our services is linking our clients with housing. Here are the three stories of three recently housed through our rapid re-housing program:
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When Linda came to live at Bessie Coleman Court, she had been homeless for over a year, having relapsed into drug use to cope with domestic violence and the loss of her daughter to cancer. At "BCC," Linda received housing, rent assistance, referrals to job training, support for quitting drugs, and a community of friends among her neighbors. Today, Linda is happily employed as a distributor of medical smocks. She also volunteers at the Alameda Food Bank. Located at Alameda Point, Bessie Coleman Court provides 52 units of permanent supportive housing for disabled, high needs survivors of domestic violence.
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Stasha was pregnant when her partner broke up with her. Sleeping on friends' couches and floors with a newborn was the toughest experience she'd ever faced—until she ended up living in her car. With no job, no support, and no home, her future looked hopeless. Our Family Front Door program connected her with shelter, where we helped her enroll in school, job training, and public benefits. Soon, we linked Stasha and her son with housing. The Family Front Door is a collaboration between Building Futures, East Oakland Community Project, and the City of Oakland's Human Services Dept. This coordinated system assesses and prioritizes homeless families for interventions including shelter, interim housing, rapid re-housing, and permanent supportive housing.
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Patricia is a disabled senior who worked for decades in San Leandro. Just before the Great Recession hit, she refinanced her home. By 2010, her health issues had become serious and she couldn't begin to afford the loan payment. Thus began a six-year period of homelessness. Patricia survived by sleeping in her car in a drugstore parking lot. Her life changed when our street outreach team enrolled her in our Welcome Home San Leandro program. Patricia says the services she received at Building Futures "took me from the depths of despair to the height of happiness. Having this little apartment is like a miracle." Funded by Alameda County Housing and Community Development and the City of San Leandro, Welcome Home San Leandro provides permanent housing and supportive services for disabled, chronically homeless individuals. |
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Building Futures’
Circle of Strength
Your recurring donations ease the burden of a larger one time gift on your budget with manageable gifts on a convenient schedule, and allows Building Futures the benefits of a reliable funding source. As a Circle of Strength member, you help ensure that every day is an opportunity
to end homelessness and domestic violence for an individual or family in crisis.
Please join Circle of Strength members like Sandee Menge, who was among the original donors. Inspired by her mother’s volunteer service as a San Leandro Shelter Dinner Cook, Sandee’s compassion and positivity encourage and empower her own grandchildren to make a difference.
Sandee explains, “This cause was dear to my mother’s heart, and now it is dear
to mine. I will never stop giving to you.
I don’t have much, but compared to the
ladies who come to the shelter
for help, I am wealthy.”
Circle of Strength members go beyond helping individuals and families in need today to invest in creating a community where everyone has a safe place to call home. You can learn more about Building Futures’ Circle of Strength by contacting Patricia Bidar, Development and Communications Director,
at 510-357-0205, ext. 204.
Pictured: Sandee Menge
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