Caring Like a BOSS: Oakland Org Tackles Homelessness at Its Source

Bo Tefu | Impact Alameda

About 50 years ago, a group of Alameda County volunteers founded Building Opportunities for Self-Sufficiency (BOSS).  The organization was created, the non-profit’s leaders say, responding to federal government policies that deinstitutionalized people with mental illnesses, removing them from state-run institutions where they had been receiving critical treatment for their disabilities.

“Our mission is to help homeless, poor, and disabled people achieve self-sufficiency and fight against the root causes of poverty and homelessness,” said BOSS executive director Donald Frazier.

“We develop solutions to mass homelessness, mass incarceration, and community violence. We’re dedicated to the inclusion of people marginalized by addiction, trauma, incarceration, poverty, racism, sexism, homelessness, and violence,” said Frazier.

The programs offered at BOSS focus on four areas of service, including housing security, criminal justice reentry, neighborhood safety for violence prevention, and social justice initiatives.

After the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the nonprofit partnered with 16 grassroots organizations to address racial and economic inequalities in Oakland. The pandemic inspired BOSS to remodel its programs by incubating small businesses and grassroots organizations.

BOSS leaders say they believe the closure of California’s state hospitals in the 1960’s led to the release of thousands of mentally ill individuals, resulting in a high number of homeless people with severe mental illnesses. The volunteers started street outreach initiatives and advocated for crisis intervention to address mass homelessness and mass incarceration among people with severe mental illness. Community leaders at BOSS implemented housing and reentry programs in addition to mental health services to support Black and Brown communities in Alameda County.  Since its founding, the nonprofit has invested over $7 million annually in the homeless community to help individuals become self-sufficient through sustainable housing and employment opportunities.

BOSS executive director Donald Frazier chairs a meeting with stakeholders.

Community leaders at BOSS revamped the organization’s programs through policy solutions in collaboration with local governments in Alameda County. Prior to the pandemic, advocates at BOSS went out into various communities to conduct environmental assessments and engage with people in underserved populations. The nonprofit created the Social Justice Collective Fellowship program to tackle issues affecting predominantly Black and Brown communities. The program provides leadership training to 10 fellows selected each year from local communities in Alameda County.

Frazier’s 30 years of experience in the nonprofit sector honed his skill for influencing social change through public policy.

“My passion is to change the narrative and have a different point of view. Most of it can be done through legislative policy. It’s really about developing policy solutions to create a way out of poverty for the people impacted the most by it,” said Frazier.

“Poverty is one of those issues that is detrimental to the soul. We develop solutions to deal with those issues around creating reinvestment in poverty-stricken communities to give individuals, families, and communities infrastructure to live economically and physically healthy lives,” he said.

The COVID-19 pandemic exposed the economic and political inequality that affects Black and Brown people in low-income communities. The disruption it brought about was heightened by political tensions springing from incidents of police brutality and graphic accounts of immigrant children being locked in cages at the start of the pandemic.

“When COVID hit, it uncovered the inequity that’s always been there. When tragedy happens, the inequities are laid bare every time. It was nothing new, but it exposed it to the point where everybody had to say, ‘look, at these inequitable conditions,’” said Frazier.

Social advocates at BOSS are working closely with the Racial Disparities Task Force created by the City of Oakland to address health disparities through healthcare programs in ethnic communities. The nonprofit is leading an initiative with various health centers and clinics to offer medical and social services to vulnerable populations. The programs cater to various populations in low-income communities including homeless people, elders, and families dealing with domestic violence.

The organization also plans to expand its longstanding programs that offer services related to education, job readiness and employment, as well as housing support.