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The newly opened Basic Needs Center will centralize our UC Basic Needs Model into a single location. We are grateful for the multiple generations of ASUC executives who helped secure a five-year contract in the Martin Luther King Jr. Student Union. We are grateful for our UC Berkeley Basic Needs Security Committee that includes five campus divisions, the ASUC, the campus Graduate Assembly, the Alameda County Community Food Bank, Alameda County Social Services, the Berkeley Rent Stabilization Board, the East Bay Community Law Center, individual alumni and individual community members committed to improving the basic needs of our community.

As part of their year-long research for the project, López and Cruz interviewed seven Dreamers who attend UC Berkeley, all currently protected under an executive order signed June 15, 2012, by then-President Barack Obama, called Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals. The university has an entire department — the Undocumented Student Program, which is part of the Centers for Educational Equity and Excellence — devoted to the roughly 500 Dreamers currently enrolled. The program assists students with academic support, provides free legal aid by East Bay Community Law Center, and offers other resources to help obtain financial aid and scholarships.

“We are fortunate in the East Bay that we are home to organizations like the Sustainable Economies Law Center and the East Bay Community Law Center that are advancing policies at the local, state and national level that promote economic justice and inclusive economic development,” said Klein of Berkeley’s Office of Economic Development.

Lawyers like the East Bay Community Law Center’s Theresa Zhen, left, have supported a bill that would stop California from forcing defendants like Velia Dueñas, right, to pay court fees they can’t afford.

Following the lead of San Francisco County’s June 2018 decision and building on more than two years of advocacy on the part of the East Bay Community Law Center (EBCLC) and Debt Free Justice California coalition partners, Alameda County ceased the assessment and collection of fees for probation supervision, investigation reports, participation in the Sheriff’s Work Alternative Program, and many more fees that extract wealth from low-income communities of color. In past years, the average adult on probation in Alameda County has faced over $6,000 in fees. The new policy, along with the discharge of existing debt, will go into effect on January 4, 2019.

In introducing the bill, Skinner said she wanted to replicate the success of Keeping Oakland Housed, according to the press release.  Founded Oct. 15, Keeping Oakland Housed partners with Bay Area Community Services, Catholic Charities of the East Bay, and the East Bay Community Law Center to provide legal representation and financial assistance to Oakland residents.

EBCLC seeks a temporary Human Resources Coordinator to provide operational support to core HR functions for a minimum three (3) month period during an organizational transition.

EBCLC seeks a Director of Human Resources with the expertise to build out, define, and lead EBCLC’s HR efforts in support of a culturally diverse, equitable, and inclusive workplace.

EBCLC is seeking a new Executive Director.