A Year In Reflection from our CEO, David A Harris On June 15, 2017, Urban Strategies Council celebrated its new CEO, David A. Harris with a reflection on his first year at the Council. Our iconic founder, Angela Glover Blackwell, led a conversation with David and we wanted to share some highlights from his vision [...]
Thoughts on the Unnatural Occurrence of Cheap Housing First posted on Shelterforce online/print. CDCs and affordable housing developers have an opportunity to prevent displacement, preserve affordability, and improve the habitability of neglected housing. An under-maintained apartment building in Oakland, California. Photo courtesy of Steve King The term NOAH, or “naturally occurring affordable housing,” [...]
In this episode of "Beyond the Headlines," ABC7s Ama Daetz sits down with local black leaders to talk about important issues affecting our local communities. The interview includes our CEO along with Sheryl Evans Davis of the SF Human Rights Commission, and Professor Zahrah Farmer of Laney College.
How We Create Opportunities For Youth In May, delegates from Urban Strategies Council attended the Aspen Institute’s Opportunity Youth Incentive Fund Convening in Boston, Massachusetts. At the Council, we’ve been focused on opportunity youth (people aged 18-24 who are disconnected from school and work) for the past few years. This interview with our CEO David [...]
Learning from Boston, in the spring One of the things I’ve grown to appreciate, is the value that each of us has in the lives of each other. Shortly before our trip to Boston to meet with other Opportunity Youth partners, I began to express to colleagues, family, and friends that I would be going [...]
Victories in Probation Terms, Jobs and Funds for Justice The Justice Reinvestment Coalition of Alameda County (JRC) is continuing to achieve real wins for justice and opportunity in our county. The changes brought about by this coalition are critical in establishing just policies that ensure formerly incarcerated people have a chance to thrive, get quality [...]
We, together with our partners, work with low income, working families to ensure they can have educational, housing and career opportunities. We seek a society where all people have these opportunities and we break down barriers to their success when we find them. We don't normally delve into technical nor federal issues, but there is [...]
Our newest report finds that demographic change has been so rapid in San Leandro, CA, that perceptions of community needs have not kept up with these shifts. Created for the City of San Leandro’s Recreation and Human Services Department, our report provides an analysis of human service gaps in the city. Human services help vulnerable [...]
As our federal government attempts to strip insurance coverage form millions of Americans, this issue is very real in the Bay Area. Recently released data from a partnership between RWJF and the CDC have given us a new view into this critical issue. They make all their survey data at census tract level which is [...]
Boys of color in Oakland begin life and enter school facing a set of health and education challenges far greater than their female and White peers, according to our new report produced for Oakland Starting Smart and Strong. Amongst the 19 early health and education indicators we analyzed, the greatest disparities are between boys of [...]
