Our Vision
EBALDC is dedicated to providing low-income individuals and families within our properties and the greater community with services and education to generate income and wealth building opportunities through our Neighborhood & Economic Development (NED) programs. Providing critical social services, community engagement opportunities, and promoting financial prosperity is part of EBALDC’s vision to address the social conditions impacting residents’ health and wellbeing in our target neighborhoods. Questions about NED? Please contact nedadmin@ebaldc.org.
Resident Services
Resident Services programs coordinate culturally relevant, on-site services at EBALDC’s family and senior residential developments including individual counseling, connection to public benefits, senior services, computer training, ESL, wellness services, and referral services. Resident Services staff also work closely with our Property Management team to ensure that EBALDC residents stay housed through housing stability support services.
Check out the 2023 Book of Poems and Essays from our seniors at Lion Creek Crossings!
Community Building & Organizing
Resident organizing and leadership development facilitates the engagement of residents in their own communities. We support both EBALDC property residents and partners who live in our neighborhoods through leadership trainings, individual guidance, and facilitation of neighborhood councils. In particular, our Resident Leadership Council brings together a group of dedicated EBALDC residents develop tools for community change efforts and to advise EBALDC’s Board of Directors.
Financial & Workforce Services
EBALDC assists families and individuals to stabilize their financial situations and develop asset-building tools. We work with a variety of partners, including the United Way of the Bay Area, as the lead agency for the SparkPoint Oakland Center. The SparkPoint model integrates financial coaching with workforce development and education outcomes to generate long-term financial success. Financial services through SparkPoint Oakland include:
Financial Counseling & Coaching: One-on-one assistance with budgeting, saving, goal setting, debt reduction, and improving credit based on the clients’ specific needs and circumstances. We often include incentive-based products, such as matched savings accounts, to encourage positive savings habits.
As of September, 28, 2020, SparkPoint Oakland has moved to 1230 Harrison Street, Oakland, CA 94612.
Income Support Services: Support for seeking and gaining employment, maintaining public benefits, and receiving tax returns that supplement incomes. We work with local workforce partners, such as the West Oakland Jobs Resource Center, to bolster these efforts. Our IRS-backed Volunteer Income Tax Assistance program (VITA) is an important and highly impactful poverty-alleviation tool, paired with a Savings Initiative that encourages clients to save a portion of their refund. Since 2003, EBALDC helped to return more than $14 million in federal and state refunds to the community.
Youth Programs
Lion’s Pride, a unique out-of-school program based at EBALDC’s largest housing development, Lion Creek Crossings in Havenscourt, works with the local public schools to align their curriculum with school-day learning. We utilize STEAM-based practices to ensure youth receive well-rounded learning opportunities, bridging the education gap. We have been expanding the award-winning Lion’s Pride model to other EBALDC sites as well.
Read the latest Lion’s Pride Newsletter: LP Newsletter – WinterSpring 2022
