The Impact of Homelessness

With a focus on our community in East Oakland, EOCP is the first line of defense for people experiencing homelessness. EOCP knows what is at stake. We provide comprehensive and dignified services for what each person needs right now — we create a space of belonging and consistent support while they move towards realizing their long-term aspirations and growth.

Our residential and community-based services support each person’s move into a new chapter of life, even beyond a permanent housing placement. EOCP pairs each person with dedicated staff who support them with training in life and financial skills, connections to mental health and medical counseling, play and academic activities for youth, and nourishing meals.

At EOCP, we recognize that homelessness especially impacts those who have been historically neglected by our economic, political, and social ecosystems.

People experience homelessness due to unaffordable housing costs, low-wage jobs and job insecurity, disproportionate health impacts due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and precarious access to the benefits which enable people to thrive and grow.

Many of the individuals and families served by EOCP need urgent spaces of safety or accommodation due to violence, mental or physical disability, lack of support after leaving foster care, or when they are discharged from an institution (e.g. hospital, jail) with no available resources to obtain housing.

Families with children in Oakland are the future of our community. And yet, those who experience homelessness face acute and limiting impacts on their health and development, educational growth, and economic stability.

Individual single adults experiencing homelessness are often more likely to live in parks or on the streets, and for longer or more frequent periods. This limits stable access to treat and prevent chronic health conditions, and puts them at risk for harmful encounters with public institutions such as hospitals, jails, and detention centers — as well as community violence and harm.

We do our work with a sense of belonging and dedication to our community, and know that we all thrive when our fellow. community members no longer experience harm due to homelessness.