Appreciation to our frontline staff!

Dear Friends,

As we near the end of our 4th week of Sheltering-in-Place in the Bay Area, I want to take a moment to shout-out to EBALDC’s essential workers.  Our on-site Property Management teams, and Resident, Youth and Financial Services teams, are on the front lines, and even more essential during these challenging times.  

With 30 properties, our Property Management team has been hard at work to ensure that our residents live in a healthy and supportive environment:

• Two properties have 24-hour front desk clerks.  They have been critical to supporting residents to follow sheltering-in-place protocols.
• While always on top of cleanliness, our janitorial staff is putting even more effort to make sure public spaces, including elevators, stairs, and doorknobs, are constantly sanitized.
• Our Housing Acquisition Fund property managers have been working in overdrive to make sure our newest residents are supported and aware of resources available.

Our Resident and Financial Services teams have stepped up to meet the needs of our residents and community, despite having to practice physical distancing:

• In Chinatown, our staff provides in-depth in-language support over the phone to access their needs, to help residents navigate unemployment applications, and to search for food donations and delivery opportunities for our seniors.
• At Lion Creek Crossings, our staff quickly developed new protocols and made new connections for at-home food delivery that seeks to address the increased food security needs of our residents.
• Our Lion Creek Crossings staff also put together learning kits for students when they saw the need arise in our families, especially those without access to personal technology.
• Our Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) team pulled together a plan to re-open our tax preparation site so that our low-income clients can access their $1,200 stimulus.
• To address an increased need to offer financial services, our SparkPoint Oakland team has developed protocols and systems so they can continue to provide financial coaching to more people over the phone or through video chats. If you or a friend is in need of financial coaching, you can sign up here.

Last, but certainly not least, a shout out to those members of our administrative staff, who go into the office to retrieve our mail, ensure bills are paid, complete payroll, and manage logistics with our properties. 

In the midst of turbulence, I am humbled by the dedication of our staff, partners and allies to our residents and the communities we serve. They are the heroes of this pandemic. They display the selflessness and creativity required to re-think everything we do to keep all of us safe. The dedication of our team and the support we have for each other is one of the many reasons why EBALDC was recently named as one of the “Best Places to Work” in the country!

What we do here at EBALDC would also not be possible without your support, whether you donate directly to us, support our partners, or simply enjoy supporting small businesses at the Asian Resource Center, Swan’s Market, Avalon in Emeryville or one of our other sites.  THANK YOU.  

In Partnership,

Joshua Simon, CEO