The Latest News from BOSS
Facing Challenges with Passion and Determination
By Ed Buchanan, LMFT Melissa Dempsey is a Pacheco court resident and has been connected to BOSS for nine years. She’s the proud mother of five children. Melissa has faced and overcome many challenges in her life such as homelessness, various substance use addictions...
Congratulations Innovations Graduates!
OAKLAND, CA – On the evening of February 6th at the Eastside Arts Alliance, BOSS staff and staff from partnering agencies gathered to celebrate the achievement of seven special graduates – citizens returning from incarceration who have completed the pilot BOSS Social...
A Visit to McKinley House – Permanent Supportive Housing in the Heart of Berkeley
On a brisk afternoon in November of 2019, Marketing Intern Max Frincke (myself) and Government and Public Relations Manager Greg Magofña went to McKinley House in Downtown Berkeley to talk Paris Anderson about what McKinley House, a 7-unit building that recently...
New Laws in 2020
Following are some new laws taking effect this year that relate to BOSS’s work and the very low income people we serve. Many of these laws attest to the power of civic engagement, and were the subject of statewide organizing, advocacy and public education to help get...
Community Conversation and Call to Action
FREMONT, CA – On the evening of Thursday, January 23rd, BOSS staff gathered with other community-based service providers and neighbors for a Community Conversation and Call to Action, to talk about making our schools and communities safe. Hosted at Fremont High...
A Holiday Season Full of Joy and Giving
BOSS was founded in 1971 by a group of volunteers from Berkeley’s Jewish community who saw the need to reach out to and support to an emerging homeless population, and this same sense of community and selflessness still exists today. Every year, we work in partnership...
Transformation: Lawan’s Story
Lewan Kaar (not her real name) first came to BOSS in November 2015. After eight years of homelessness and waiting four years to be approved for subsidized housing, she had finally found and moved into her own home, and needed help managing her funds. Warm and...
Workplace Education & Development Training
As a means to pull people out of deep poverty, BOSS is developing an innovative business model, documenting our hiring practices for people with non-traditional backgrounds (i.e. no college degree, veterans, formerly incarcerated, etc.) with the understanding that...
Habitot Donates Gingerbread House to BOSS Kids
Back in August of this year, BOSS received a very special inquiry and invitation from the wonderful local children’s hands-on discovery museum, Habitot: “In December, here at Habitot Children's Museum we build a giant real-baked gingerbread house and have...