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OP-ED: There’s Hope for Housing: Counselors Can Help You Afford a New Home – Or Keep the One You Have

Gov. Gavin Newsom’s 2020-2021 state budget provides $300 million to the California Housing Finance Agency (CalHFA) to help families all over the state. Some of you have been looking hard for a home but to no avail and others have been getting up and working hard every day but you still find yourself struggling with unstable or unaffordable housing.

Published

4 years ago

May 11, 2022

Oakland Post

LaNeice Jones

LaNiece Jones, Special to the Post News Group

California’s severe housing shortage — and the lack of available housing the average family can afford – did not begin with the COVID-19 pandemic.

But financial hardships Californians now face resulting from the global health crisis has only made our housing problems worse.

The average cost of a home in California is more than 80% higher than the rest of the country. And renters in our state pay, on average, 50% more each month than people in other states, according to the California Legislative Analyst’s office.

It would take building about 180,000 new homes a year in California to meet the state’s housing goal, but developers construct less than half of that number, around 70,000 units, annually.

Our housing problem seems unsolvable, but there is hope.

A new state program is assisting Californians facing eviction or foreclosure — or those who don’t stand a chance of affording a home that’s close to their jobs or family.

According to CalHFA, $50 million of the funds will support its housing counseling program, which is a critical aspect of the home-buying process.

More than 75 U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)-approved counseling agencies all over the state will provide free and confidential advice to Californians who are facing eviction or looking for a home.

Information about home buying, reverse mortgages, mortgage delinquency, rental housing, and homelessness programs are all offered by the counseling agencies.

So far, over 17,400 households have been served through the program.

1n 2012, a group of faith-leaders filed a lawsuit against the country’s largest home lenders to protect homebuyers and homeowners from exploitation in the housing market.

That case resulted in the National Mortgage Settlement (NMS) agreement, which allows certified counselors from the Department of Housing & Urban Development (HUD) help families secure and maintain quality and affordable housing.

That help could not come at a more critical time in our state. I encourage you to tap into this rare opportunity to get professional housing advice that will not cost you a cent.

Good, affordable housing is an integral part of the American dream. It’s central to our idea of who we are as a nation and how we view ourselves as citizens.

Your home is your health. It is your safety.

For additional information, reach out to the BWOPA Oakland/Berkeley Chapter, email staff@bwopa.org or call CalHFA at (877) 922-5432.

About the Author: LaNiece Jones, volunteer statewide executive director of Black Women Organized for Political Action (BWOPA) since 2000; she is a proud product of East Oakland, public schools and serves as executive director for Peralta Colleges Foundation raising much needed scholarship funds and resources for under-resourced community college students.

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Oakland Post: Week of February 25 – March 3, 2026

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of – February 25 – March 3, 2026

Published

1 week ago

March 1, 2026

Oakland Post

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Chase Oakland Community Center Hosts Alley-Oop Accelerator Building Community and Opportunity for Bay Area Entrepreneurs

Over the past three years, the Alley-Oop Accelerator has helped more than 20 Bay Area businesses grow, connect, and gain meaningful exposure. The program combines hands-on training, mentorship, and community-building to help participants navigate the legal, financial, and marketing challenges of small business ownership.

Published

2 weeks ago

February 21, 2026

Oakland Post

Bay Area entrepreneurs attend the Alley-Oop Accelerator, a small business incubation program at Chase Oakland Community Center. Photo by Carla Thomas.

By Carla Thomas

The Golden State Warriors and Chase bank hosted the third annual Alley-Oop Accelerator this month, an empowering eight-week program designed to help Bay Area entrepreneurs bring their visions for business to life.

The initiative kicked off on Feb. 12 at Chase’s Oakland Community Center on Broadway Street, welcoming 15 small business owners who joined a growing network of local innovators working to strengthen the region’s entrepreneurial ecosystem.

At its core, the accelerator is designed to create an ecosystem of collaboration, where local entrepreneurs can learn from one another while accessing the resources of a global financial institution.

“This is our third year in a row working with the Golden State Warriors on the Alley-Oop Accelerator,” said Jaime Garcia, executive director of Chase’s Coaching for Impact team for the West Division. “We’ve already had 20-plus businesses graduate from the program, and we have 15 enrolled this year. The biggest thing about the program is really the community that’s built amongst the business owners — plus the exposure they’re able to get through Chase and the Golden State Warriors.”

According to Garcia, several graduates have gone on to receive vendor contracts with the Warriors and have gained broader recognition through collaborations with JPMorgan Chase.

“A lot of what Chase is trying to do,” Garcia added, “is bring businesses together because what they’ve asked for is an ecosystem, a network where they can connect, grow, and thrive organically.”

This year’s Alley-Oop Accelerator reflects that vision through its comprehensive curriculum and emphasis on practical learning. Participants explore the full spectrum of business essentials including financial management, marketing strategy, and legal compliance, while also preparing for real-world experiences such as pop-up market events.

Each entrepreneur benefits from one-on-one mentoring sessions through Chase’s Coaching for Impact program, which provides complimentary, personalized business consulting.

Garcia described the impact this hands-on approach has had on local small business owners. He recalled one candlemaker, who, after participating in the program, was invited to provide candles as gifts at Chase events.

“We were able to help give that business exposure,” he explained. “But then our team also worked with them on how to access capital to buy inventory and manage operations once those orders started coming in. It’s about preparation. When a hiccup happens, are you ready to handle it?”

The Coaching for Impact initiative, which launched in 2020 in just four cities, has since expanded to 46 nationwide.

“Every business is different,” Garcia said. “That’s why personal coaching matters so much. It’s life-changing.”

Participants in the 2026 program will each receive a $2,500 stipend, funding that Garcia said can make an outsized difference. “It’s amazing what some people can do with just $2,500,” he noted. “It sounds small, but it goes a long way when you have a plan for how to use it.”

For Chase and the Warriors, the Alley-Oop Accelerator represents more than an educational initiative, it’s a pathway to empowerment and economic inclusion. The program continues to foster lasting relationships among the entrepreneurs who, as Garcia put it, “build each other up” through shared growth and opportunity.

“Starting a business is never easy, but with the right support, it becomes possible, and even exhilarating,” said Oscar Lopez, the senior business consultant for Chase in Oakland.