Services offered at the Oakland Garden Street Center

Sep 8, 2017 | by Joyce Ng

Services & Programs offered at the Oakland Garden Street Center: 

• Emergency Family Shelter: The shelter hosts families for periods up to six months.
• Child Development Center: Weekday childcare and preschool is provided for children ages 18 months to 5 years.
• Worship & Counseling Services: Free Worship, fellowship, Sunday School, men’s, women’s, and 12-step recovery groups are offered on a weekly basis
• Christmas Gift Assistance: Parents receive assistance in providing new Christmas toys and clothing for children ages 12 and under.  IMPORTANT: Apply in late October.
• Emergency Food Support: Once-a-month daily provisions are available to families and individuals
• Emergency Home Utilities Support: PG & E subsidies of up to $300 are available to qualifying individuals
• Community Emergency Assistance: Short-term food and other supports are provided to victims and first responders in the event of community emergencies such as fire and earthquake.

Garden Street Emergency Family Shelter

The Garden Street Emergency Family Shelter hosts up to 16 families for periods up to six months. The Shelter has rooms accommodating families ranging in size from two to seven members.  Each family enjoys its own private, furnished room and bathroom, as well as the following free services:

• Daily breakfast, dinner, and snacks in the dining room. 
• Laundry facility
• Indoor and outdoor play areas
• Fitness center
• Three months’ preschool enrollment for children ages three to five, subject to space availability
• Weekly case management
• Private meeting space for optional meetings with outside social workers
• Optional Chapel services and child and adult ministry services.

To apply:

Families must provide proof of the following:

• Government identification of all family members (e.g., passport, birth certificate)
• Confirmation that adults, if not biological parents, are the legal custodians of their children
• TB test results showing no TB, conducted within the past 90 days

Upon Check-In to Live at the Shelter:

• Families must arrive during business hours: M-F 8am-6pm
• Adults must pass drug and alcohol screening.  If adults do not pass the screening, he/she can request re-testing, and re-apply after a 3 day waiting period.
• Adults will review their family finances with a Salvation Army case worker, who will help families develop practical plans for managing their finances during their time at the shelter.

For More Information: Call Renita Stewart at (510) 437-9437 to schedule a telephone screening and interview.

Corps Church and Spiritual Counseling Services:

Garden Street offers weekly church and other spiritual services:

            Sunday School:                                                                                                                             Sundays, 10:15am (all ages welcome)

            Worship Service:                                                                                                                           Sundays, 11:00am

            Men’s Ministry:                                                                                                                               Mondays, 6pm

            Women’s Ministry:                                                                                                                         Thursdays, 5pm

            Friday Night Live: worship service, women’s group, and 12-step recovery group meetings    Fridays, 6pm

Garden Street Emergency Food and Utilities Support:

Garden Street provides emergency support services to residents of Oakland, Berkeley, Alameda, San Leandro, and Piedmont residents. These include:

Emergency Food Program:

Individuals and families can pick up emergency food supplies once a month at the Garden Street center.  Pick-up hours are Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, between 11am-1pm. 

Individuals who have registered to participate in the Emergency Food Program may pick up, once a month, one bag of food for each household member.  Each bag contains enough food for three meals.  Typical foods provided include:

• Canned fruits and vegetables
• Dried rice and beans
• Pasta and spaghetti sauce
• Oatmeal, peanut butter, tuna
• Shelf-stable fresh milk
• Fresh items, including vegetables, eggs, juice, and bread on an ‘as available’ basis.

To Apply:

Call Patricia Whitley at (510) 437-9437 to schedule an appointment at Garden Street to apply for the Emergency Food program. 

At your first appointment, applicants must bring valid identification (California-issued driver’s license/ID card; passport or Green Card) for all adults in the household, birth certificates for all children in the household, household income verification, and proof of address with name and address (e.g., rental agreement, PG&E or water bill, etc.). 

Program participants need to apply and register only once.  Each time a participant visits to pick up food supplies, he/she must participate in an interview with a caseworker.

PG & E – Subsidies for Overdue Utility Bills:

Relief for Energy Assistance through Community Help (REACH) is a PG&E program run through The Salvation Army Garden Street Social Services that offers subsidies up to $300 to help pay overdue utility bills.  This program is available to:

• Individuals aged 21 and up who have received a 15-day or 48-hour shutoff notice
• Any individual aged 62 and up with a current utility bill.

If an overdue bill is larger than $300, Garden Street Social Services will suggest possible additional sources of assistance, but cannot guarantee the availability of additional funds.

To Apply:

Individuals must call Patricia Whitley at (510) 437-9437 to be pre-screened for program eligibility.  No walk-in inquiries are accepted. 

If an individual is qualified over the telephone, that individual then makes an appointment to provide the necessary documents and complete the required paperwork at Garden Street. 

Christmas Gift Assistance:

Garden Street offers Christmas gift assistance to families living in Oakland, Berkeley, Alameda, Emeryville and San Leandro.  This program benefits children from ages newborn to 12.  

Parents or other legal custodians are invited to request $50 worth of clothing and toys for each child. Gift bags will be scheduled for pick-up on December 21^st, 22^nd , or 23^rd, between 9am-3pm.

 Families qualify for this program using federal income guidelines.

Sign up for the Christmas assistance program from 9am-5pm on any of the following dates:

• October 23^rd, 24^th, 25^th, 26^th, 27^th, 30^th,  and 31^st
• November 1^st, 2^nd, and 3^rd

To apply:

Individuals must provide:

• Proof of income (paycheck stub, SSI, SDI, or Passport of Services)
• Proof of residence (a utility bill in Applicant’s name)
• Government Identification for all adults in the household
• Birth certificates for all children in the  household, ages 12 and under
• School identification or medical cards for any other children, ages 13-18
• Legal custodians who are not parents (e.g. grandparents, etc.) must bring documents showing that they are legal custodians of the children

Booth Memorial Child Development Center:

The Booth Memorial Child Development Center educates and cares for children ages 18 months - 5 years. Every Monday through Friday from 7:30am-5:30pm, twenty skilled, dedicated teachers care for their young students, developing the cognitive, social and emotional skills that will prepare the children to succeed in kindergarten and beyond. 

The center, usually fully enrolled, has four classrooms, serving a total of 60 children. Getting a place at the school is so prized that some parents submit applications before their children are even born.  The Center, highly rated by state accreditors, is notable not just for an excellent classroom environment, but for creating a ‘family feeling’ among its staff and the children and families it serves.  “What’s special about us is that we make everyone feel at home, and like they belong”, says Director Cheryl Murray.

The Center is available only to families whose household incomes qualify them for early childhood education assistance.  Monthly fees are calculated on a sliding scale and range from $42-$479 per child. 

Each family agrees to contribute an average of 2 hours of labor each month to help maintain the Center, and periodic weekend ‘helping’ sessions have become a companionable way for families to help the Center while getting to know the staff and each other.  Other ways in which the Center encourages a feeling of community include:

• Monthly, themed family nights such as the Black & White kids’ dance party and dinner, the American Cookout barbecue to celebrate July 4^th, and the Bubbles and Floats get together, which featured bubble blowing for the children and root beer and orange floats for all.
• A Clothing Exchange corner, where families can share gently worn clothes that their children have outgrown.
• Friday free fresh produce, provided by the Salvation Army shelter’s dining service
• An ‘open door’ policy that invites parents to drop in to observe or visit with their children anytime.

Volunteer Opportunities:

Volunteers are always needed at the Oakland Garden Street Center. To learn more about our volunteer opportunities click here or contact Vicki Stairs at (510)383-9300 ext. 1209, Vicki.Stairs@usw.salvationarmy.org