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About Building Opportunities for Self-Sufficiency

Location:

1918 University Ave. 4th Fl., Berkeley, CA 94704, US

Mission Statement

The MISSION of BOSS is to help homeless, poor, and disabled people achieve health and self-sufficiency, and to fight against the root causes of poverty and homelessness. BOSS develops solutions to mass homelessness, mass incarceration and community violence and is dedicated to the inclusion of people marginalized by addiction, trauma, criminality, incarceration, poverty, racism, sexism, homelessness and violence. Our CORE VALUES are: SYSTEMIC CHANGE (addressing the root causes of inequity); INCLUSION (creating a sense of love, respect, safety and belonging, and hiring people with lived experience at all levels); INNOVATION (using both traditional and non-traditional evidence-based, culturally relevant approaches); COLLABORATION (maximizing impact by combining strengths and resources with allies); and EMPOWERMENT (empowering people to self-identify their needs and goals, and developing new leaders from impacted communities).

Description

BOSS is a nonprofit social justice organization that is committed to ending mass homelessness, mass incarceration and community violence: we help people achieve health, housing, safety, stability, and full socioeconomic inclusion no matter what barriers they face. BOSS operates programs across Alameda County, California - from shelter and housing to education, training and employment programs to violence prevention/intervention and community healing to health and mental health initiatives. BOSS believes that those closest to the problem are closest to the solution: over 50% of staff (80% in reentry programs) have lived experience and are expert peer mentors and agents of change. Our programs are divided into three core strategies:

HOUSING SECURITY: Emergency shelters, permanent housing facilities, rental assistance, housing search/placement support, and housing retention support.
WELLNESS & EMPOWERMENT: Multidisciplinary services for individuals and families (primarily people of color) impacted by systemic inequity including incarceration and criminal justice system involvement - health/mental services and trauma response, violence prevention/intervention and neighborhood outreach, education, training and employment services, safe neighborhood events, and more.
SOCIAL JUSTICE: Changing the root causes of inequity through collaborative advocacy/organizing, leadership development, civic engagement and voter education.