BOSS Is Breaking Housing Barriers in the East Bay, and Finland Took Notice

Rethinking Housing: As a Human Right

Housing is not a reward; it is a human right. Building Opportunities for Self-Sufficiency (BOSS) belief has shaped our work for over five decades. We were founded by people directly impacted by systems of exclusion, and today, we remain grounded in the same truth: real change starts by listening to those most affected and resourcing community-driven solutions that work.

Recently, BOSS was featured in a global housing series exploring how different regions respond to homelessness. Finland’s Housing First model was highlighted as a successful national approach. Here in the Bay Area, BOSS was included not because we’ve adopted someone else’s plan, but because for 54 years we’ve been creating and implementing our own. It’s working, and people are taking notice.

A Local Model Rooted in Dignity

Our work doesn’t start with policies or theories, but with people. With every key handed over, every family reunited, every resident supported, we’re building the kind of housing future our communities have long deserved.

The Step Up Supportive Housing Program in Berkeley is one example. In partnership with Panoramic Interests, this project includes 39 units of permanent housing designed for individuals who have faced chronic housing insecurity. On-site support services include mental health care, peer mentorship, housing navigation, and life skills training. The site isn’t transitional or temporary; it’s home.

Step Up Housing Program located at 1367 University Ave. in Berkeley, California.

This work reflects years of community collaboration, advocacy, and resilience. And it reminds us: when people are trusted with stability and supported in their healing, transformation follows.

This isn’t innovation for the sake of it, this is what works. We house people, and we support them. That’s how we end this crisis.

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Breaking Housing Barriers

The people who walk through our doors carry experiences that cannot be reduced to statistics. They are parents, artists, workers, students, neighbors. What changes when someone has stable housing? Everything.

We are dedicated to breaking housing barriers across Alameda County. We've seen the shift; people reconnecting with family, accessing health services, returning to school, preparing for job interviews, or simply finding rest. These moments of care, often quiet and unseen, are powerful indicators of what is possible when systems center the humanity of those they serve.

Meeting Challenges with Community

Of course, we face challenges. Limited funding. Local opposition. Slow-moving policies. Persistent stigma. But BOSS doesn’t work alone. We partner with grassroots groups, local governments, health providers, and housing developers to remove barriers and build new pathways. Together, we push for permanent solutions that reflect community needs and realities.

We’re often told the housing crisis is too big to fix. We’ve never believed that. Not when we’ve seen what’s possible: residents who were once unhoused now welcoming others home, neighborhoods transformed by shared investment, young people stepping into leadership after finding safety.

From Doubt to Opportunity: Tears of Joy and a New Beginning!

What We Need Now

If we want to end homelessness, we must support what works:

• Invest in permanent housing, not shelters that shuffle people from place to place

• Support models that provide services with housing, not after

• Trust and follow the leadership of impacted communities

Our communities deserve more than short-term fixes. They deserve homes, safety, and support. At BOSS, we are not waiting; we’re building. And we invite you to do the same.

Donate. Partner. Build with us.

Let’s make housing justice a reality, together.

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