Building Opportunities for Self-Sufficiency (BOSS)

10/14/2026

EARLY VOTING IS KEY!!

The deadline to register to vote in California's November 3 general election is Monday, October 19. If you've moved, changed your name or never registered, now is the time. Missed the deadline?

You can still register and vote in person at any vote center through Election Day. Decisions on this ballot shape housing, health care and public safety across Alameda County. Your voice belongs in them.

Check your registration or register in minutes at registertovote.ca.gov

10/13/2026

LOVE LIFE WEEK

Love Life. Oakland's official motto honors 16-year-old Lo'Eshe Lacy and calls on every one of us to value each life in our community. This Love Life Week, BOSS stands with the families, violence interrupters and neighbors who do this work every day.

Who in your life helps keep our community safe and whole? Tag them below.

Find Love Life Week events across the city visit: https://www.lovelifefoundation.org/about-1

10/06/2026

Councilmember At Large, Rowena Brown 2nd Annual Community Engagement Tour is back this October — bringing conversations, resources, and civic engagement directly into Oakland neighborhoods and community spaces. (RSVP link in their BIO)

10/2 — First Friday Edition w/ East Bay Young Democrats & Urban Strategies Council
10/10 — Lake Merritt Farmers Market w/ Charlene Wang
10/16 — City Hall to East Oakland w/ Kevin Jenkins Ken Houston ‘Son of Oakland’ Black Cultural Zone BWOPA Oakland/Berkeley Chapter
10/30 — Let’s Talk Housing + More w/ EBALDC

Swipe for details + come out and be in community!

10/02/2026

Nonviolence is more than the absence of violence. It is the work of creating communities where people have the safety, stability, resources, and opportunities they need to thrive.

At BOSS, we see that work every day—in healing spaces for survivors, violence intervention, safe housing, reentry support, advocacy, and the relationships built by people who continue showing up for one another.

On the International Day of Non-Violence, we honor those working to interrupt cycles of violence and address the conditions that allow them to continue. We also recognize the survivors, families, community leaders, mentors, advocates, and neighbors who are building something different.

Safer communities are built together, through healing, opportunity, accountability, and hope.

Today and every day, BOSS stands with our community in building pathways toward peace.

Learn more and stand with us: self-sufficiency.org

10/01/2026

THIS STORY ISN’T OVER.

Today, the San Francisco Chronicle published an opinion piece about the future of pretrial services in Alameda County, and the community-based model BOSS has helped deliver since February.

But this story is bigger than BOSS.

It's about what happens when someone awaiting trial needs somewhere to live: treatment, transportation, benefits and someone who can help navigate what comes next.

In the program’s first four months, the Alameda County Superior Court reported:

503 people assigned to case managers
186 unhoused participants connected to housing
191 enrolled in substance-use treatment
204 enrolled in public-benefit assistance

The Court also reported the rearrest rate among the moderate-risk population studied tracking at 18%, compared with 43% before the expanded program.

Current funding is scheduled to end December 31. The conversation about what happens next continues.

So will we.

HOW CAN YOU SUPPORT? WE’LL LET YOU KNOW.

For now: read the story. Share it. Follow BOSS. Stay informed.

When there’s an opportunity for our community to show up, you’ll hear it from us.

🔗 Read the latest:

A San Francisco Chronicle opinion piece is bringing new attention to Alameda County’s Pretrial Expansion Program and BOSS’s role in providing community-based support. As Alameda County considers what comes next, early program results and San Francisco’s experience raise important questions abo...

09/30/2026

Backpacks Packed. Summer Memories Made. 🎒💦

We closed out our summer events series this weekend with yard games, great food, and a water slide that kept the kids coming back for another turn.

Every child also went home with a new backpack filled with school supplies, ready for the first day back.

For children staying in shelter with their families, these moments are about more than having fun. They create consistency, connection, and memories of a summer when there were adults around them making sure childhood still had room for joy.

Thank you to the volunteers, program managers, mentors, housing navigators, staff, and community members who helped make this summer special.

Keep the joy going: self-sufficiency.org/donate

09/29/2026

WE WANT YOU IN THE ROOM: BREAKING BARRIERS 4.0

What happens when returning citizens, system-impacted people, crime survivors, community leaders, service providers, advocates, business owners, elected officials and system leaders come together in the same room?

On Wednesday, October 21, BOSS returns to Merritt College for Breaking Barriers 4.0: Mobilizing to Protect & Advance Progress, our biennial convening bringing lived experience, community expertise and system perspectives together.

This year, we'll explore developments and next steps across reentry, Community Violence Intervention (CVI), Trauma Recovery Centers and Clean Slate expungement.

We're also excited to welcome presenters from BWOPA (Black Women Organized for Political Action), the League of Women Voters, Californians for Safety and Justice, and Street Scholars, alongside BOSS and other community and system partners.

And the afternoon goes beyond conversation. Attendees can connect with on-site expungement services, voter education and voter registration.

Whether you have experienced these systems personally, work within them, employ people returning home, provide services, advocate in your community or simply want to better understand the issues, there is a place for you in the room.

📅 Wednesday, October 21, 2026
⏰ 2:00–5:00 PM
📍 Merritt College | Huey P. Newton/Bobby Seale Student Lounge, Building R
12500 Campus Drive, Oakland

Join the conversation. RSVP for Breaking Barriers 4.0 → bit.ly/breakingbarriers40

Sponsorship opportunities are also available for organizations and businesses interested in supporting the convening. https://www.self-sufficiency.org/breaking-barriers-sponsor

09/22/2026

Community isn't defined by a neighborhood or a building. It's created through the choices people make every day to care for one another.

We see it when volunteers prepare meals, organize supplies, teach classes, mentor participants, plant gardens, or simply welcome someone with kindness during a difficult season of life.

Those moments may seem small, but together they strengthen families, neighborhoods, and the communities we all call home.

Thank you to everyone who continues showing up alongside BOSS.

If you're ready to join them, we'd love to meet you.

Become a Community Builder.

self-sufficiency.org/volunteer

09/22/2026

FINANCIAL HELP AFTER GUN VIOLENCE

The impact of gun violence can continue long after the immediate crisis. Families may suddenly face essential expenses while trying to recover, stay safe, and figure out what comes next.

The BOSS Victim Financial Assistance Program provides short-term financial support to eligible people affected by gun violence. Assistance is based on verified need, eligibility and available funding and cannot replace insurance or other benefits.

A qualifying gun violence incident must have occurred on or after January 1, 2026, and all program eligibility requirements must be met before assistance can be approved.

If you or an immediate family member has been directly affected by gun violence, review the full eligibility requirements and get connected → https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSem1izOTcUWb2VgEwDtRhpnVLtZ1Phai4mKTZxa2FxlZeoWqw/viewform

09/18/2026

HEALING HAPPENS HERE

For people affected by gun or group violence, healing can begin with having somewhere to show up, talk and know someone is ready to listen.

BOSS Healing Circles continue every Wednesday through September 30 at The WERC, creating a supportive space for healing, connection and wellness with BOSS clinicians.

Eligible participants affected by gun or group violence may also receive a $50 gift card while funding is available.

Know someone who could use this space? Share this post or connect them with BOSS → https://www.self-sufficiency.org/victim-finanical-support

📍 The WERC | 7200 Bancroft Ave., Suite 275, Oakland