Ending Youth Homelessness in
Alameda County
ALL IN Alameda County is working to ensure young people are leaders in developing strategies to prevent and in youth homelessness in Alameda County. We are excited to share that the Alameda County Youth Action Board (YAB) was launched in November 2020!
In partnership with Covenant House California and with generous support from Blue Shield of California, the YAB provides young people with lived experience of housing insecurity and homelessness with leadership and policy-making opportunities.
YAB members provide their time and expertise towards projects that will have an impact on the County’s ability to implement youth-driven solutions, better understand the scope of youth homelessness and the needs of our systems, and better direct resources and future funding opportunities towards solutions that will prevent and end youth homelessness in our County. Thanks to Blue Shield’s generous support, these young leaders are compensated for their work to impact local homelessness policies.
ALL IN's March 17, 2021 Steering Committee meeting will feature additional updates on the ending youth homelessness work. Click here for the agenda and teleconferencing guidelines.
 Updates on the Youth Action Board’s Programs
Since its launch, the YAB has recruited ten young leaders and established a peer mentorship program to support member participation through one-on-one support. To date, YAB members have established their vision and mission statements, identified and formed working groups, and have received trainings on topics such as the County’s homelessness system, policy and legislative processes, and personal development.
YAB members have provided essential input and leadership on the development of a pilot program poised to increase youth-specific resources for the City of Oakland, as well as the development of a Peer Navigation Fellowship Program which would increase meaningful employment pathways for youth with lived experience, provide essential navigation services for young people experiencing housing insecurity, and increase capacity of youth serving organizations to identify and serve insecurely housed youth. ALL IN is actively recruiting for more youth members, particularly youth outside of Oakland. We are also seeking partnership around identifying for our young leaders to engage in projects or work in related youth-serving fields. Please contact Hannah Moore if you are interested in learning more about the YAB.
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Ending Youth Homelessness Collaborative
In addition to the YAB, ALL IN holds a quarterly convening with a broad group of youth homelessness providers and other stakeholders. The Ending Youth Homelessness Collaborative members meet to discuss our system needs and opportunities, and identify actionable solutions and strategic investments that can help ensure youth homelessness in Alameda County is brief, one-time, and rare.
Meetings are designed to foster increased collaboration across youth-serving systems, engage providers and other stakeholders in identifying key systems needs and opportunities, as well as provide support and information sharing on key topics relating to federal and state policy, youth services, the County’s homeless response system, and youth leadership. For more information and to join our Ending Youth Homelessness Collaborative mailing list, contact Jessica Blakemore.
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Introducing Gabriela Rueda
As the Neighborhood Strategies Coordinator with ALL IN Alameda County, Gabriela is responsible for providing project support and management to multiple neighborhood-based initiatives in the San Antonio/Fruitvale areas of Oakland. She is helping build and maintain meaningful connections between each ongoing neighborhood level project and ALL IN and ensuring that they have the proper resources they need to advance their work. In partnership with lead CBOs, Gabriela offers day-to-day project oversight and logistics support, identifies and troubleshoots emerging issues and develops long-term strategies for sustainability.
Having moved to the Bay Area in 2010 from Los Angeles, she received her B.A. in Legal Studies from the University of California, Berkeley focused on youths’ rights and restorative justice. For the past nine years she has helped mentor and tutor children K-12 both in Los Angeles and Oakland and continues to advocate for children most marginalized. Prior to her work with ALL IN, she worked with Oakland Trybe helping provide meals and household necessities to families in-need and/or affected by COVID-19. She is very passionate and eager to continue giving back to the community that welcomed her in all those years ago and even more now as we navigate through such a difficult time. When at home, Gabriela spends her time playing with her three dogs, cooking, or watching all of her favorite shows.
Email Gabriela
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THE CONVERSATION:
Between Us, About Us
THE CONVERSATION offers 50 videos featuring a coalition of Black doctors, nurses, and researchers to answer COVID-19 vaccine questions, dispel misinformation, and address the specific concerns and questions from the Black community.
For more information, visit the Between Us, About Us website or the Greater than COVID YouTube video channel.
Alameda County Nutrition Services Social Media Contest!
The Alameda County Public Health Department will be awarding 48, $500 prizes to Oakland Youth ages 14-24 to aid the county in promoting our Healthy Living for Life campaign with creative social media posts.
Posts need to be related to at least one campaign area:
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Eat Well
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Drink Water
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Move More
The campaign areas include issues such as food as medicine, healthy retail, disease prevention (connect to COVID), and more. Submissions are due by April 30, 2021.
Click here for more information on how to participate in this contest.
Healthy Corner Stores in the Fruitvale
Earlier this month, Rancho Market and Produce in Oakland’s Fruitvale neighborhood received a new refrigerated display case for fresh California fruits and vegetables thanks to a grant from the California Department of Food and Agriculture. Rancho Market and Produce has been part of the Alameda County Nutrition Services’ Healthy Corner Stores program, which helps local corner stores provide healthy food options in their neighborhoods, for eight years and has been recognized by the USDA and Alameda County Nutrition Services for their commitment to providing healthy food!
As a part of the Healthy Corner Stores program, Rancho Market and Produce has made many changes, including moving soda to the back of the store and water to the front of the store, offering a free case of water for customers who spend $100 in groceries instead of a free case of soda, and has more than doubled the amount of produce available. This new display case will allow Rancho Market and Produce to provide even more fruit and vegetable options to their neighbors in the Fruitvale neighborhood.
The Healthy Corner Stores program is part of an ongoing effort to both support our local neighborhood businesses and improve access to healthy food for our communities of color. In many neighborhoods with a high percentage of people of color, there are significant barriers to accessing affordable fresh produce and unhealthy processed foods are often the only accessible options. The Healthy Corner Stores program furthers Alameda County’s Vision 2026 and ALL IN’s goals to end poverty and food insecurity, and support healthy, thriving communities.
Congratulations to Alex and Mohammed Almahen, owner and operators, of Rancho Market and Produce on this new display case! Thank you for your outstanding commitment to expanding healthy food choices in your neighborhood.
First 5 of Alameda County’s
Annual Report
First 5 Alameda County has released their 2019-2020 Annual Report. This online interactive report includes a number of maps, graphics, and other multimedia to encapsulate the incredible work First 5 did to respond to shifting community needs during the COVID-19 pandemic. Visit the annual report’s webpage to learn more about First 5’s ongoing work, including their 2021 policy agenda, to support young children, their families, and their caregivers.
Affordable Housing Open Waitlists in Alameda County
Hello Housing is now accepting applications for affordable homes in Livermore:
The online Pre-Application period is now open for brand new homes offered at Auburn Grove. The deadline to apply is 5PM on Monday, March 22nd. Sale prices for these homes are affordable to low-income households (80% AMI). Prices are $374,654 for a 3-bedroom and $412,182 for a 4-bedroom. Learn more about this opportunity here.
Greystar is now accepting applications for affordable rental units in Hayward:
The Mix at SoHay (29213 MISSION BLVD., HAYWARD, CA 94544): 20 new Below Market Rate (BMR) rental studio, 1- bedroom, and 2-bedroom units are available. The application period is now and applications for the waitlist must be submitted online by 5:00 PM on March 31, 2021.
Applications will be available for both digital online submission and download by PDF for paper submission in English, Traditional Chinese, Spanish, and Vietnamese. A lottery will be conducted for all applications received by the deadline. Learn more about this property and apply on the Alameda County Housing Portal here: https://housing.acgov.org/listings.
Upcoming Events
Steering Committee Meetings
ALL IN Steering Committee meetings are held on the third Wednesday of the month from 1:00 PM - 2:30 PM. During the COVID-19 pandemic, ALL IN Steering Committee meetings will be held over Zoom. Please check the Alameda County Board of Supervisors' Committee Calendar for the most up-to-date agendas and Zoom conference links.
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