San Francisco to spend $19 million to operate 74-unit building for homeless

By Shirleen Guerra | The Center Square

The Center Square) – San Francisco is spending $19 million on expanding an agreement with a non-profit to run a homeless hotel for four years through 2026.

The total cost of the operation is $27.3 million.

The city and county of San Francisco had a resolution on Tuesday approving the first amendment to the contract between Five Keys Schools and Programs and the Department of Homelessness and Supportive Housing.

The city purchased 685 Ellis Street, which is a 74-unit building, in May 2022 so it can be used as housing for homeless people. The units would come with supportive services, and tenants would have their own units and leases.

The building has a lobby, community lounge, a commercial kitchen, office space, and a laundry room. Each unit has a private bathroom and kitchenette.

The 2022 point-in-time survey conducted on Feb. 23, 2022, shows the number of people experiencing homelessness in San Francisco was 7,754.

Read The Original Article on The Center Square Here

From Drugs and Jail to a Second Act Changing Lives

“I’m here to do whatever I can to help these women get back on their feet.”

Chalia Broudes is a big believer in second chances.

Growing up in Oakland, she was the eldest of six, and the go-to sibling helping her single mom and brothers and sisters navigate “difficult” circumstances.

Not one to dwell on her past, she briefly fills in her background with words like abuse, crystal meth, homelessness and living in squalor, burglary and jail. She says she is still healing from the blurry nine years she moved to Atlanta, then Texas and back to northern California.

It is a past Chalia, 34, wants to lock in a closet behind her. Today she is dedicated to focusing her energy and 24/7 work life on reaching out to help other women struggling with addiction, and who also are experiencing their second chances. She is committed to raising the voices of women who may have unwittingly gotten themselves mired in crime and other horrible situations, but who now are re-starting their lives.  

In September Chalia will be two years sober.

Today, she is an ambassador for Home Free, San Francisco-based trauma-informed reentry program for criminalized survivors of domestic violence and human trafficking. She’s also enrolled in Five Keys charter schools program, studying for her GED. College is next on her bucket list. Prior to Home Free, Chalia worked for Five Keys’ Navigation Centers for the unhoused.

At Home Free, Chalia helps women recently released from prison. For some, she will be helping them apply for social security IDs. For others, she’s the tech advisor for setting up an iPhone or new laptop. For others, she is the companion for women who have been imprisoned for decades on their first trek to a happy place they’ve only dreamed about for years: the grocery store.

Driven by her mission

Chalia is passionate about her mission: “I’m here to do whatever I can to help these women get back on their feet.”

She can empathize with their suffering and knows firsthand what it feels like to be trapped. She calls it “being free from our narrow place.”

“My narrow place was when I was on drugs,” says Chalia. “I did not ever think I was going to stop until I went to jail for five months then God had something different planned. He gave me a second chance then, and the narrow place started to open wide doors to a new life. Then the doors started to open like a domino effect.”

Bring hope and faith to the women of Home Free

For the women of Home Free, she is a godsend.

Karen Souder, a resident, says: “Chalia has been my rock here! The one I can totally trust and talk to no matter what the situation is. Her moral values and beliefs bring a feeling of home and love to me. She inspires me and lifts me up when I am feeling alone and discouraged. She enlightens Home Free with hope and faith and empowers us to keep going and improving ourselves. She is fair and honest and truly has a
good heart.”

These days, the simple things are what give her great pleasure.

“I love cooking, even cleaning and going to movies is my favorite,” Chalia says. “I’m very tapped into my spiritual side and know God has plans for me to help others. I love helping others and know that no matter what anyone has been through, they always deserve a second chance.”

Sometimes, she admits: I still struggle with believing in myself, having the courage to start something that is not finished and being good enough. Working with Five Keys helped and still helps me a lot. I have a great support team so I take it day by day.”

About Five Keys

Five Keys was founded in 2003 by the San Francisco Sheriff’s Department as the first
accredited charter high school in the nation to provide diploma programs for adults in county jails. Today Five Keys serves 30,000-plus Californians annually, spanning 14 counties in 25 county jails and over 120 teaching sites. In addition to schools,
Five Keys operates multiple homeless shelters, permanent supportive housing programs, transitional employment programs, reentry programs and housing for women suffering from immense injustice. Five Keys is a second chance employer. Our goal is to restore communities through education and other programs that respond to the students’ and community needs — which in turn creates safer communities. To visit or donate: www.fivekeyshomefree.org.

Steve Good: From County Jail to the Classroom - Breaking Chains Through Education

Steve Good, the President and CEO of Five Keys Schools and Programs. From its start as a charter high school within a county jail, Steve has elevated Five Keys to a groundbreaking nonprofit, supporting over 25,000 at-risk and in-risk individuals across California. We delve into his journey of transforming Five Keys into a beacon of hope for those impacted by racism, poverty, trauma, and incarceration.

With Steve at the helm, Five Keys' growth has been unprecedented, culminating in numerous accolades, including the Hart Vision Charter School of the Year and the Innovations in American Government Award from Harvard University's Kennedy School of Governance.

Today, we explore the secrets behind this growth and Steve's unique approach to leadership. We also address a pressing issue - the lack of funding for correctional education programs, despite the astronomical amounts spent on incarceration. Steve shares his insights on this topic, as well as how Five Keys creates a successful learning environment for those who have struggled in traditional settings.

Watch the Interview on The Avenue of the Strongest by ArgoPrep Channel here

Home Free’s Tammy Johnson: The personification of hope, possibility and triumph against all odds.

It was a busy morning for Tammy Johnson (formerly Cooper Garvin). Since 5:30 a.m., she was hunkered down at her computer, racing the clock to schedule clinic appointments, navigate government websites to secure I.D.’s for several residents and wading through blocks of email requests from women seeking her support from behind bars. That afternoon, Tammy promised to drive Deborah, a 73-year-old woman and new Five Keys Home Free resident to Target and the DMV.

For Deborah, the trip to Target was a thrilling possibility, one of her first outings after being released from 43 years behind bars. Tammy was determined Deborah would fulfill a decades-delayed dream to push a shopping cart down the aisles of the mega store and buy Jean Nate’ perfume and plastic ice cube trays.

As the residential Program Director of Five Keys Home Free, a Treasure Island-based trauma-informed reentry program for criminalized survivors of domestic violence and human trafficking, Tammy is on a mission every day. She says she’s determined “to let the women let themselves be free in the world.”

Nothing was going to stop her from fulfilling Deborah’s Target trek.

“I told her ‘hey girl, I don’t even know if they still sell Jean Nate’ and plastic ice cube trays are pretty old school,” said Tammy. “It’s all about bringing a little happiness to bring these women up. It can be a trip to the grocery store or for some it’s eating a favorite food. But at a deeper level it’s all about coaching them through re-entry.”

Tammy is more than just a shot in the arm for the women of Home Free. She has walked in their shoes.

Survivors and Friends: Susan Bustamante (31 years inside), now Home Free Re-entry Coach, Tammy Johnson, and Brandi Taliano, (28 years inside), now Five Keys Housing Services Site Director

Like Deborah and the other women, Tammy spent decades (28 years) in prison unjustly sentenced as an LWOP (Life Without the Possibility of Parole). Tammy was sex trafficked at age 14 and was imprisoned for 28 years for being in the car while her pimp murdered a client. Her sentence was commuted in 2018 and she was hired by Home Free as its reentry coach in February of 2021.

Her embodied experience and fierce determination to move forward with her life is combined with a commitment to reach backward to accompany other women on their journey. Her dedication speaks volumes about the second chance mission of Home Free. The six two-bedroom unit apartment complex is California’s first transitional residential facility for criminalized survivors of domestic violence, and human trafficking.  

“As soon as I met Tammy, I was blown away by her quiet strength and self-determination, her prideful spirit, her hopefulness and how she owned her humanity, which is such a paradox to the horrific injustice she has experienced,” says Sunny Schwartz, founder of Five Keys. She met Tammy for the first time during a visit to the Central California Women’s Facility in Chowchilla, CA. “Her leadership is instrumental to Home Free. She can talk about not giving up and her determination to keep growing as a person and leader are amazing.”

Steve Good, Five Keys President and CEO, Susan Bustamante, Tammy Johnson, and Sunny Schwartz, Five Keys Founder and Home Free Co-Founder

“She is the personification of hope, possibility, and triumph against all odds. Her personal struggle and determination to thrive every day comes to life through her commitment to the women of Home Free,” said Sunny.

In her role, Tammy helps Deborah and the other women residents of Home Free transition back into their new lives. She also counsels other women as they prepare for their upcoming release from the prison system after years or even decades of incarceration.

When they get out, Tammy is there to wipe away their tears. Her heart swells when she expresses gratitude for Home Free and the opportunity to help guide and walk alongside women whose lives have been locked up.

“The greatest gift I can give them is telling them to just let themselves be free, to let their freedom soak in,” said Tammy. She’s at Home Free daily from 5:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. and on call 24/7. At Home Free, we really strive to make the women feel like they are at home.”

“Tammy was a person who did everything she could to educate herself and prepare for her release from prison,” said Sara Malone, who is mentoring Tammy in her role at Home Free. Sara is the former Chief of the Office of the Ombudsman, California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation who worked with Tammy when she was incarcerated. “But more significantly she was committed to helping other women. She was and still is always there for others, never putting herself first. It would have been so easy to give up, but she never did, and she inspires others to always have hope. She is committed to helping others make their lives better.”

These days, Tammy also is enjoying life as a new wife to her husband, Demian, who she met working at one of Five Keys SAFE Navigation centers for unhoused persons (prior to joining Home Free). Her goal is to “laugh, to always laugh.”

Mrs. and Mr. Demien Johnson at their wedding at Home Free

“We go to a lot of comedy clubs because we both just love laughing together,” says Tammy. “Our dream is to go to Paris. And my dream for Five Keys Home Free is that we keep getting bigger so we can offer the promise of freedom to other women who are in prison and longing to be in the world.”

Tammy Johnson

Dignity Village Grand Opening Celebration Set for May 3

The City of Alameda is hosting a grand opening celebration at Dignity Village on Wednesday, May 3 at 10 a.m. – and the public is invited. Dignity Village, a two-story, 47-unit Interim Supportive Housing project at 2350 Fifth St., will provide shelter for individuals experiencing homelessness or chronic homelessness. The grand opening celebration will be at the site; please RSVP online.

Dignity Village groundbreaking ceremony, Oct 25, 2022. Photo Maurice Ramirez.

Dignity Village will be capable of serving up to 61 individuals, with five units specifically set aside for homeless youth aged between 18 to 24. Each unit measures 138 square feet and is equipped with a private, ensuite bathroom. Dignity Village will also contain additional community buildings, including a dining space, meeting rooms, private offices for support services staff, and storage for resident belongings.

People in need of housing will be referred by the Homeless Management Information System, managed by Alameda County Health Care Services Agency’s Office of Homeless Care and Coordination Coordinated Entry Program. During the initial housing placement, Alameda’s unhoused residents will be given priority.

Bird’s-eye view of the plan for Dignity Village. Image Dignity Moves.

The City led the effort to develop Dignity Village, partnering with nonprofit developer DignityMoves and onsite service provider and property manager Five Keys Schools and Programs. The City was awarded a $12.3 million grant from the State’s Homekey Program to build Dignity Village, and $2.35 million from Alameda County to cover five years of operating services.

Read The Original Post on Alameda Post →

Criminalized Survivors of Domestic Violence and Human Trafficking Gather to Celebrate Passover Themes of Liberation, Resilience and Triumph

SAN FRANCISCO, CA, April 11, 2023 – Twenty-five women residents, staff and supporters of the Five Keys Home Free community recently gathered to share a Passover Seder and dinner, affirming they are strong and resilient people and to share their reality — their own tyranny and freedom — as women unjustly sentenced to long term prison sentences including Life Without the Possibility of Parole, life in prison. Now free and living in California’s first transitional residential facility for criminalized survivors of domestic violence, they celebrate freedom and their second chance at life.

WATCH THE VIDEO

Sunny Schwartz, Debby Hamolsky, Kathryn Spiak, Karen Levine, Ellen Friedman, and Laura Troiani

The meal was inspired by the Passover’s spiritual message that there is the potential to break out of the enslavements of the past and to evolve with redemption, compassion and triumph.

Tiffany Holmes, Delia Ginorio, Delia Mendoza, Jennifer Trayers, Kathryn Spiak, Chalia Broudes, Debby Hamolsky, Ellen Friedman, Tammy Johnson, Demien Johnson, Susan Bustamante, Laura Troiani

“Like the Jews who were freed from slavery, tonight we celebrate your liberation from tyranny and patriarchy and are so honored and happy to be here with you,” said Karen Levine, a social justice activist, long time staff of the SF Sheriff’s Department and the Veteran’s Administration. “Mitzrayim which means the narrow place is the story of Passover — the leaving of the narrow place of slavery in Egypt, and of suffering. It is understood both literally and through the personal stories of coming to freedom, kind of like a 10 by 8 cell.”  For the women of Home Free, Karen now facilitates WomanAlive, a 52-week violence prevention course for women survivors of violence — a re-education program which helps with intimacy, communicatio skills and violence prevention.

Susan Bustamante, who spent 31 years in prison as an LWOP (lifer) before her sentence was commuted, and other women shared a rich snapshot of honesty about where they have been and where they are now. Like the Israelites liberation from slavery in ancient Egypt, the womens’ lived experiences are tales of faith and community and triumph over adversity.

“Through all the horrific abuse, I found myself hating, which I hated. It was a horrible place to be and a narrow space I didn’t belong … and this led to prison,”said Bustamante. “My healing came gradually and with my sheer will I grew enough to then get commuted, paroled, and become the advocate I am today.” Bustamante was hired by Home Free last year and is now a re-entry coach who also picks up the women

(many in Los Angeles) when they are released from prison and drives them to Home Free.

Home Free was created by Five Keys, a statewide nonprofit that provides education, vocational training, therapeutic programs, and housing for incarcerated people and the newly released. The majority of people at Home Free were originally sentenced to Life in Prison Without Parole as a result of defending their lives against domestic violence abusers. Because of a loophole in the law that has since been corrected through pioneering legislation, the survivors could not have evidence of past abuse included in their trials. The first of its kind in California, the complex of five two-bedroom apartments is the result of years of advocacy by survivors of intimate-partner violence, and organizations working with them.

The seder is just one of the many events, celebrations and gatherings that the Home Free community creates for the survivors living there and their extended community. The evening was filled with abundant homemade, traditional seder foods – from Karpas (parsley) and Baytzah (roasted egg), both symbolizing spring and rebirth to Charoset, to symbolize the mortar that the Israelite slaves used to make bricks. There was also poignant sharing and singing the ancient Hebrew song, Dayenu, a seder tradition that means “it would have been enough for us,” along with laughter and tears.

“It was a sacred evening,” said Sunny Schwartz, founder of Five Keys Home Free, a transitional housing complex on Treasure Island, which creates a vibrant, dignified, and safe home, a place that says “you are worthy.” Sunny invited longtime friends, Debby Hamolsky, Karen Levine, and Ellen Friedman to envision and revise the Haggadah and to help her cook up the meal and brought the seder home to Home Free, creating a parallel celebration of freedom. All the foods bring the story alive including traditional brisket, matzo ball soup with egg noodles, roasted carrots, mashed potatoes with not just a dash but a main ingredient of love.

Gilda Serrano, Ella, Sunny and Lauren Schwartz

From the blue plates and yellow flowers to an orange symbolizing the Jewish LGBTQ community, the table settings also told a powerful story. Dr. Susannah Hershel, the Eli M. Black Distinguished Professor of Jewish Studies at Dartmouth College, initiated the idea of the orange in the 1980s. She shared the custom with her own guests, and it quickly spread to other homes, and so the orange was said to represent the inclusion of women in the Jewish ritual life.

Since 2020, 17 women have lived at Home Free. Four more women are expected this year in the coming months and 100 more women are waiting inside to come Home Free.

 

About Five Keys

Five Keys was founded in 2003 by the San Francisco Sheriff’s Department as the first
accredited charter high school in the nation to provide diploma programs for adults in county jails. Today Five Keys serves 30,000-plus Californians annually, spanning 14 counties in 25 county jails and over 120 teaching sites. In addition to schools,
Five Keys operates multiple homeless shelters, permanent supportive housing programs, transitional employment programs, reentry programs and housing for women suffering from immense injustice. Five Keys is a second chance employer. Our goal is to restore communities through education and other programs that respond to the students’ and community needs — which in turn creates safer communities. To visit or donate: www.fivekeyshomefree.org.

 

Media Contact: Sunny Schwartz (415) 819-7070

DIGNITY VILLAGE GRAND OPENING SET FOR MAY 3

Wednesday, March 22, 2023
Alameda Sun | Staff Reports

Courtesy Swinerton -- The Dignity Village supportive housing development will be ready for residents to move in after more than a year of planning and construction.

Dignity Village, the 47-unit interim supportive housing program, will host a Grand Opening event on Wednesday, May 3, at 10 am at the site, located at 2350 5th St. DignityMoves will be the project developer, the project developer, will begin moving people into the housing development sometime in April.

The plan to build a development for unhoused residents began more than a year ago. The Dignity Village concept were introduced at the Nov.16, 2021 City Council meeting, according to Alameda Mayor Marilyn Ezzy Ashcraft. The City of Alameda reported on Feb. 10, 2022, it had applied for a Project Homekey Round 2 grant to receive funding to build an interim housing development for the city’s unhoused community (“https://alamedasun.com/news/city-submits-grant-application-build-develop...,” Feb. 15, 2022).

In August 2021, when there was inclination a second round of Project Homekey would be offered, the city sent out a request for proposal to local entities seeking a developer, property manager and service provider for the development. After receiving several responses, the city opted to hire DignityMoves and Five Keys Schools and Programs as partners in the project. DignityMoves is the project developer and Five Keys handles operational services.

Read The Original Post →