Help clearing criminal records, obtaining government identification and finding stable housing were among the services provided Nov. 6 at the latest Clean Slate Day.
The Heart of Richmond Park at Macdonald Avenue and Harbour Way was the epicenter of the event held to help people who have recently gotten out of prison or who have gotten caught in the criminal justice system. Clean Slate Day is a joint effort of the Contra Costa Public Defender’s Office and the Reentry Success Center.
OAKLAND, Calif. - A formerly incarcerated man has been selected to sit on the Oakland Police Commission, the third such appointment of its kind.
Rudy Howell, 53, now replaces outgoing commissioner Jose Dorado and will join six other members on the civilian committee, which is vested with the power of overseeing the police department's policies and practices to make sure it meets the national standards of constitutional policing. The commission can also determine what police misconduct to investigate and recommend discipline.
Video: Anuncian una feria de trabajo en San Lorenzo el 5 de octubre en donde se darán asesorías para armar tu CV y otros recursos
Interesados podrán asistir a una feria de trabajo en San Lorenzo el 5 de octubre. La representante Diane Jesús nos habla sobre las oportunidades que podrán encontrar los asistentes...
On a recent Saturday, 19 worker bees from Reentry Success Center’s Men’s Group arrived at the Community Green Space at Harbour Way & Macdonald Avenue ready for some serious spring cleaning. Teaming up to cut weeds, rake leaves and remove trash, the group managed to collect an eye-popping 65 bags of debris and two yards of bulky waste in just under three hours.
Recently named CEO of the San Francisco Bay Area’s Rubicon Programs, Carole Dorham-Kelly, MS ’03, PhD ’05, (who goes by “DC”) credits her time as a Counseling Psychology student with helping to develop her holistic approach to helping others. With the support of mentors in the program as well other students of color in her cohort, she was able to realize her dream of serving communities striving to overcome systemic barriers to success. DC says of the program, “the teachings, mentoring, and sisterhood I experienced there really set me up for success.”
We offer what I like to call ‘whole-person support,’” said Dr. Carole “DC” Dorham-Kelly, Rubicon’s CEO. “You are addressing barriers to mobility and you’re meeting each person where they are. The key to success is having a flexible program that has the capacity to be responsive to certain needs.”
“Part of what makes this program special is that it is the embodiment of a philosophy, a philosophy of redemption and restoration,” said Robert Rogers, an aide to Gioia. “All of us believe that past obstacles are just that, in the past. They aren’t barriers; they are opportunities — opportunities to better our neighborhoods and our families.
For over 40 years, Rubicon has served East Bay residents with the goal of ending poverty. The program offers life coaching and financial and legal resources to the formerly incarcerated and parents of families living under the poverty line. The group brings in up to 20 new participants every two weeks at its Richmond site. They also have sites in Oakland, Antioch and Hayward.
Sometimes, you endeavor to accomplish one small goal, and it snowballs into a life-changing event. As the Rolling Stones once said, “you can’t always get what you want, but sometimes you get what you need.” In Drummond’s case, he – a Rubicon participant from the first cohort under its new program model – got both. Just one year ago, someone told him that Rubicon could reinstate his suspended license, and help him get his life in order, find a job and build a career.
In government, good intentions frequently have unintended consequences. Unfortunately, many of these unintended consequences can have irreversible impacts, costing lives, chilling innovation and disintegrating community institutions that have reliably served our neighbors for decades. That’s the case with AB 1250. This legislation has a purportedly noble goal: to protect employment security for public employees. But in actuality, it constructs an elaborate system that locks out the nonprofits and medical specialists that ensure that some of our community’s most vulnerable residents receive care.