Abode

At Abode, we strongly urge the Fremont City Council to reject a key policy change tonight, when it will vote whether to expand its ban on “camping and storage of personal property on public land,” according to the city staff report. Council members also will vote to create an “explicit enforcement authority for abatement of personal property left on public property for 24 hours.” These rule changes might sound benign but their results will be quite harmful. Simply put, the new law will make it easier for authorities to sweep encampments of people experiencing homelessness, which will harm – not help – our community. At Abode, we condemn this proposal, which is ineffective and cruel. It fails to provide actual solutions to the issue. In reality, the solution to homelessness is a home – not inadequate proposals such as the one being considered by the City Council. Today, we call on Fremont’s leaders to continue to work on the real solution – providing homes – so that someone experiencing homelessness today will soon have a dignified place to live. Garbage and debris get swept. In a truly civilized society, human beings are not. In a just society that reflects the best values of Fremont and the San Francisco Bay Area, human beings are treated with compassion and care – no matter what struggles they’re facing. We are calling for council members tonight to reject the citywide camping ban on public property and lead with an intelligent, clear-eyed vision for the future that is compassionate and effective. Read more: https://lnkd.in/ejrZWAZg

Abode Services joined St. James’ Episcopal Church and Tri-City Interfaith Council as co-hosts of their 11th annual Candlelight Vigil, which was held Monday evening at the church in Fremont. More than 60 people attended the somber #interfaith ceremony that memorialized individuals who have passed away this year while experiencing homelessness. The Dec. 2 #vigil also featured a call to action to help those in need. The Reverend Lori Walton, Rector of St. James’ Episcopal Church, served as emcee. Other speakers representing various religious #faiths included Reshma Inamdar, president of Tri-City Interfaith Council and board member of Abode Services and Abode Property Management; as well as leaders representing the Sikh, Christian, Muslim, Hindu, Jewish, and Buddhist faiths. "Far too many of our neighbors suffer on our streets because they lack the most basic needs," Walton said. "This vigil is about raising awareness about our responsibility, individually and civically, to care for and recognize the humanity of all our neighbors. This is just one small step towards creating the type of compassionate, supportive society in which we all deserve to live." The names of people who passed away while experiencing #homelessness last year in Alameda and Santa Clara counties were read by Darrian White, chair of Abode Services Board of Directors, and Katie Fantin, Abode Services’ vice president of programs in Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, and San Mateo counties. The candlelight vigil ended with a call to action from Vivian Wan, Abode Services’ chief executive officer. "In times like these, when there are rough waters ahead, I call upon our leaders to remind us that we must sustain hope and use our circle of influence to encourage dignity and forge solutions that really end homelessness, not just empty actions that shuffle our fellow humans around," Wan said. "Let’s all imagine a world where everyone can find safe and affordable housing in their community, realizing that we all are better off when we do so."

We are so proud to have joined Burbank Housing and other community partners earlier this week to celebrate the grand opening of Heritage House and Valle Verde Apartments - two new affordable housing communities in Napa. Heritage House is a former assisted living facility that has been converted into 66 affordable apartments consisting of 58 studios and 8 one-bedroom units. Valle Verde Apartments is a new construction of 24 multifamily apartments consisting of 12 one-bedroom units, 6 two-bedroom units, and 6 three-bedroom units on a parcel next to Heritage House. The property is owned by Heritage House Partners L.P., a partnership that includes Burbank Housing and Abode Housing Development, one of Abode's family of agencies. "We are proud to join our community partners to celebrate the grand opening of Heritage House and Valle Verde Apartments, which will help address the region’s affordable housing shortage," said Abode Services CEO Vivian Wan. "The nexus of housing and wraparound services plays a crucial role in our mission to find sustainable solutions to homelessness and at Abode Housing Development and Abode Services, we're thrilled to add more homes and supportive services to the Napa community." #endhomelessness #supportivehousing #HousingFirst #affordablehousing #sustainablesolutions

Prop 5 gives local voters the power to address affordable #housing and public #infrastructure needs in their #communities. That’s why we proudly support Yes On Prop 5. Will you join us? Learn more about this important initiative at YesOnProp5.org. #YesOnProp5 #affordablehousing

We are very pleased to announce that Andy Madeira, a seasoned Bay Area community leader, is the newest member of the Abode Housing Development Board of Directors. To learn more about the #AbodeHousingDevelopment board and its members, please visit our website at https://lnkd.in/et7GF7s3.

We were thrilled on Friday to to host the grand opening for Depot Community Apartments, a new housing development that provides 125 affordable homes in Hayward. The ceremony was co-emceed by Abode Housing Development CEO Louis Chicoine and Abode Services CEO Vivian Wan. "Housing is the solution to homelessness, and adding these much-needed homes to the Bay Area is an example of how the region could tackle our housing affordability crisis," Wan said. "We are so excited about this new development because its construction reflects Abode’s commitment to providing sustainable solutions to homelessness." The grand opening’s other scheduled speakers included Ari Beliak, President and CEO of Merritt Community Capital Corporation; Lucy Lopez, President and CEO of Hayward Chamber of Commerce; Alameda County Supervisor Elisa Marquez; Assemblymember Liz Ortega; Astrid Scott, Policy Analyst for the Office of Senator Aisha Wahab; and Marty White, Executive Director in Commercial Banking at Chase. The Hayward development provides permanent supportive housing for formerly homeless individuals and other Alameda County residents who need affordable housing. Abode Services provides on-site services for residents. Abode Housing Development has partnered on this site with Alameda County Health Care Services Agency, The Bay’s Future Fund, Cahill Contractors, California Debt Limit Allocation Committee, California Department of Housing and Community Development, California Tax Credit Allocation Committee, Capital Impact Partners, Chase, City of Hayward, The Corporation for Supportive Housing, County of Alameda, Horizon Services, Lowney Architecture, and Merritt Community Capital Corporation.

We are excited to announce that Olivia Yu, a Bay Area business leader, is the newest member of the Abode Services Board of Directors. To learn more about the #Abode #Services board and its members, please visit our website at https://lnkd.in/et7GF7s3.

At Abode, we are concerned that Governor Gavin Newsom’s executive order today regarding the removal of #homeless encampments will fail to reach its goals and yield negative results for those who simply need a home. We believe today’s announcement is a call to action for our state and local leaders to redouble our efforts to end homelessness. Our stance on the issue of sweeping #encampments is clear: • #Homelessness is not a crime, it is a crisis – one that is a result of systemic failures that have produced fewer than 24 affordable units for every 100 people who need them. • In the Bay Area, some would have to earn as much as $78 per hour to afford a modest, two-bedroom apartment. (For low-wage workers, that would mean working up to five full-time minimum-wage jobs.) • We believe this nation’s laws should protect the most vulnerable people in our community – not threaten them. • Criminalizing homelessness is wrong. It is cruel, ineffective, and costly. • It worsens cycles of homelessness and makes it more difficult to find real #solutions. That is why we condemned the June 28 Supreme Court ruling on Grants Pass v. Johnson, which makes it easier for authorities to punish people for experiencing homelessness, even when there is no adequate shelter. Instead of punishing those in need, we would like to use today’s announcement as an opportunity for a call to action. Newsom himself called on local governments to house people and provide services. It is our hope that state officials and local governments will do just that – find and fund #sustainable housing solutions. As a region, we long ago moved away from the tepid goal of merely “managing homelessness.” Instead, we must keep taking steps to actually end the problem. We must urge leaders – nationally and locally – to accept the idea that just moving people around isn’t going to solve #homelessness. Sweeping an #encampment is no solution, if the individuals living there have nowhere to go. The solution to homelessness is #housing. Today, we call on local leaders to continue to work on that real solution, so that someone experiencing homelessness today will soon have a dignified place to live. #SustainableSolutions #HousingFirst #HousingEndsHomelessness

We strongly object to the recent Supreme Court decision on the case of City of Grants Pass, Oregon v. Gloria Johnson – a #ruling that will make it easier for authorities to punish people for experiencing homelessness, even when there is no adequate #shelter.   The Court’s June 28 decision runs counter to our deeply held belief that this nation’s laws and policies should protect the most vulnerable people in our community – not threaten them.   At Abode, our stance is clear: Homelessness is not a crime, it is a crisis – one that is a result of #systemic failures that have produced fewer than 24 affordable units for every 100 people who need them.   Criminalizing homelessness is wrong – in every way. It is cruel, ineffective, costly, and it creates unnecessary barriers to fighting poverty. Arresting or fining people who don’t have a home worsens cycles of #homelessness and makes it more difficult to find solutions.   We respectfully but wholeheartedly condemn the Supreme Court’s ruling on the case of City of Grants Pass, Oregon v. Gloria Johnson.   Cruelty and craven policies do nothing to solve #poverty and homelessness.   The solution to homelessness is housing, not handcuffs. #HousingFirst #HousingEndsHomelessness #HousingNotHandcuffs

We are proud once again to celebrate Juneteenth – a federal holiday held each June 19 to commemorate the ending of slavery. The holiday’s name combines the words "June" and "nineteenth" – the day in 1865 when 250,000 slaves in Texas were declared free, nearly two and a half years after the Emancipation Proclamation was signed by Abraham Lincoln.  It remains a significant moment in American history. Nearly 160 years later, our nation is still confronting urgent issues of racial #injustice that exist across our society – from health care and education to the criminal justice system and #housing. In California, African Americans are five times more likely than white people to experience #homelessness. This is reflected in who we serve at Abode. In the communities where Abode works, people identifying as Black, African American or African represent 1 to 11 percent of the general population per the U.S. Census, but represent up to 48 percent of who we serve. Racism and #discriminatory #policies and practices continue to persist. A critical part of our work is to reflect on and address the challenges of racism and #exclusion that we see in our housing work. We encourage each of you to read Abode’s pledge of anti-racism on our website at abode.org. Our pledge acknowledges that #homelessness is inextricably linked to structural #racism, as people of color have historically been denied many of the housing and financial resources afforded to white people.  This #Juneteenth, we aim to explore the history and achievements of the African American #community in order to increase our collective understanding of our country’s past and current issues around housing #inequality – and how we continue our work to solve this problem. In that spirit, we observe Juneteenth to support and salute African American employees at Abode, who comprise 17 percent of our workforce along with the more than 4,000 African American participants or residents of our programs and housing sites. Please join us in proudly celebrating Juneteenth.