RDA Agmt 2008 BFWC - Laserfiche WebLink

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EXHIBIT A SCOPE OF SERVICES Project Open Doors Project Description and Background: Building Futures with Women and Children (BFWC) houses homeless and abused women and their children in San Leandro and Alameda. BFWC operates two emergency homeless shelters, one domestic violence safe house, and 52 units of supportive housing. At all of our sites, BFWC offers case management, therapeutic services, and children's programming. Building Futures also provides supportive services to 12 families who are "graduates" of our programs who now live in their own apartments. Each year, BFWC houses about 875 women and children, many of whom have never known stability, safety, or had access to resources that would help them rebuild their lives. Our case management services "meet women where they are" and help them move forward. All of the women we serve in our shelters are extremely low-income and homeless. 70% are survivors of domestic abuse. 40% have histories of substance abuse, and 25% are seriously mentally ill. At all of BFWC's sites, BFWC aims to provide and instill a sense of community among the women and children we serve. At Bessie Coleman Court ("BCC"), BFWC's 52-unit supportive housing program on the former Alameda Naval Air Station, clients are either housed in permanent units or in transitional units, where they can live for up to two years. For the last two years, Building Futures has been involved in two regional initiatives that advance the mission of ending homelessness. During 2005 and 2006, the Charles & Helen Schwab Foundation's Shifting Gears Initiative brought together a select group of nine Bay Area homeless organizations to develop and implement "Housing First" approaches to serving homeless families. This national, evidence- based approach focuses on creating permanent housing as the primary solution to ending homelessness. Simultaneously, Building Futures played a major leadership role in the development of Alameda County's plan to end homelessness. The plan, known as Everyone Home, focuses on the creation of 15,000 permanent, supportive housing units in Alameda County over the next 15 years. This historic initiative has been adopted by the Alameda County Board of Supervisors and most of the local cities. Building Futures will continue to play a leadership role in the implementation of the plan's goals. Industry Change -Supportive Housing The field of homeless services is changing, and policy makers are looking to end homelessness, no longer merely to "manage it" through emergency shelters alone. The development of affordable housing, with supportive services to help residents stabilize and build new and lasting communities, is the cornerstone of this change. BFWC's participation in Shifting Gears and Everyone Home convinced its Board of Directors Consulting Services Agreement between February 20, 2008 Redevelopment Agency of San Leandro and BFWC--Exhibit A Page 1 of 3