Abode

We strongly object to the recent Supreme Court decision on the case of City of Grants Pass, Oregon v. Gloria Johnson – a #ruling that will make it easier for authorities to punish people for experiencing homelessness, even when there is no adequate #shelter.   The Court’s June 28 decision runs counter to our deeply held belief that this nation’s laws and policies should protect the most vulnerable people in our community – not threaten them.   At Abode, our stance is clear: Homelessness is not a crime, it is a crisis – one that is a result of #systemic failures that have produced fewer than 24 affordable units for every 100 people who need them.   Criminalizing homelessness is wrong – in every way. It is cruel, ineffective, costly, and it creates unnecessary barriers to fighting poverty. Arresting or fining people who don’t have a home worsens cycles of #homelessness and makes it more difficult to find solutions.   We respectfully but wholeheartedly condemn the Supreme Court’s ruling on the case of City of Grants Pass, Oregon v. Gloria Johnson.   Cruelty and craven policies do nothing to solve #poverty and homelessness.   The solution to homelessness is housing, not handcuffs. #HousingFirst #HousingEndsHomelessness #HousingNotHandcuffs

We are proud once again to celebrate Juneteenth – a federal holiday held each June 19 to commemorate the ending of slavery. The holiday’s name combines the words "June" and "nineteenth" – the day in 1865 when 250,000 slaves in Texas were declared free, nearly two and a half years after the Emancipation Proclamation was signed by Abraham Lincoln.  It remains a significant moment in American history. Nearly 160 years later, our nation is still confronting urgent issues of racial #injustice that exist across our society – from health care and education to the criminal justice system and #housing. In California, African Americans are five times more likely than white people to experience #homelessness. This is reflected in who we serve at Abode. In the communities where Abode works, people identifying as Black, African American or African represent 1 to 11 percent of the general population per the U.S. Census, but represent up to 48 percent of who we serve. Racism and #discriminatory #policies and practices continue to persist. A critical part of our work is to reflect on and address the challenges of racism and #exclusion that we see in our housing work. We encourage each of you to read Abode’s pledge of anti-racism on our website at abode.org. Our pledge acknowledges that #homelessness is inextricably linked to structural #racism, as people of color have historically been denied many of the housing and financial resources afforded to white people.  This #Juneteenth, we aim to explore the history and achievements of the African American #community in order to increase our collective understanding of our country’s past and current issues around housing #inequality – and how we continue our work to solve this problem. In that spirit, we observe Juneteenth to support and salute African American employees at Abode, who comprise 17 percent of our workforce along with the more than 4,000 African American participants or residents of our programs and housing sites. Please join us in proudly celebrating Juneteenth.

We want to share an excellent article that was co-authored by Ryan Keen, Ph.D., and Marilyn Winkleby, MPH, Ph.D., and recently published in The New England Journal of Medicine. Winkleby, Professor of Medicine, emerita at the Stanford Prevention Research Center and a former Bay Area Furniture Bank board member, so adeptly describes the implications of City of Grants Pass, Oregon v. Gloria Johnson – a case the Supreme Court will decide later this month. Winkleby and Keen wrote: "Criminalization is among the least effective and most expensive approaches to addressing homelessness. … Enabling the criminalization of homelessness could have disastrous consequences for individual and population health." We are grateful to work with such talented and passionate board members and staff – past and present – who live our values of promoting dignity and evidence-based practices. You can read the entire article – published in the May 29, 2024 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine – in the below attachment.

June, of course, is Pride Month – and Abode is proud to continue its tradition of celebrating this important observance of LGBTQIA+ rights. Our agency will never waver in our belief that all people deserve to be treated with respect and kindness, and that everyone warrants equal treatment no matter their #gender #identity or #sexuality. Each June, we proudly change our logo to represent the Rainbow Flag and show our solidarity to the #LGBTQIA+ community. More importantly, we offer a daily environment that is safe and encourages our staff to be who they are – as they provide the same reassurances to our clients.     LGBTQIA+ individuals are overrepresented in the #homeless population, as discrimination, abuse, and #harassment often prevent participants from finding support #services or #shelter space. Studies show that LGBTQIA+ youth are 120 percent more likely to experience homelessness than non-LGBTQIA+ youth. Twenty percent of those in the LGBTQIA+ community experienced #homelessness before the age of 18. And 68 percent of #homeless #youth had a history of family rejection, according to a survey of homeless service providers. However, Abode remains committed to fighting for equal rights and against #discrimination, working to protect all communities and offer solidarity and support to our LGBTQIA+ friends and colleagues. Abode works with people who are already marginalized by society, and we are dedicated to offering compassion and support to all whose human rights are ignored – or threatened. Next year, we will open our first permanent #supportive #housing site that specifically serves Transgender and Gender Non-Conforming and Intersex (TGNCI+) young people ages 18-29 years old. We will provide property management #services and partner with a youth-specific service provider for social services. The 42-unit building is located in South of Market Area (SOMA) in San Francisco. Please join us in celebrating #Pride Month all throughout June.

Abode Housing Development was proud to join community partners and stakeholders recently to celebrate the grand opening of Kifer Senior Apartments — an affordable housing development that is adding 80 new homes for #seniors in the city of Santa Clara. Regina Celestin Williams, Executive Director of SV at Home, was the May 8 ceremony’s emcee. The event’s speakers included Santa Clara Mayor Lisa Gillmor; Preston Prince, Executive Director of the Housing Authority of the County of Santa Clara; Consuelo Hernandez, AICP, Director, Santa Clara County Office of Supportive Housing; James Vossoughi, Executive Director, Community Development Banking at Chase; Chad Bojorquez, Chief Program Officer of Destination: Home; Louis Chicoine, CEO of Abode Housing Development & Abode Property Management; and others. "It’s been said that the true measure of a society is found in how it treats its most vulnerable members," Chicoine said. "If true, the Kifer site is a symbol of Santa Clara’s strength because it provides housing and services to seniors and veterans, some of our community’s most vulnerable people." Kifer Senior Apartments provides 80 units of housing that is affordable to low-income senior households. The six-story building sits on a half-acre property at 3333 Kifer Road in the city of Santa Clara. The #housing #development is a combination of 30 studio apartments, 45 one-bedroom units, 4 two-bedroom units, and an on-site manager unit. More than half of the units are reserved for seniors experiencing #homelessness and eight apartments are set aside for senior #veterans experiencing homelessness. Abode Housing Development has partnered on this site with the City of Santa Clara; County of Santa Clara; Destination: Home; Housing Trust Silicon Valley; California Department of Housing & Community Development; Housing for a Healthy California Program; Housing Authority of the County of Santa Clara; U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs; Santa Clara County Office of Supportive Housing; California Tax Credit Allocation Committee; California Debt Limit Allocation Committee; Enterprise Community Investment, Inc.; Chase; Capital One; Comerica Bank; GLO Architecture; Johnstone Moyer, Inc.; and The John Stewart Company. "We’re excited to add much-needed units of affordable housing at this development,” Chicoine said. "It will strengthen Santa Clara County and help reduce homelessness in this region." #HousingEndsHomelessness #HousingFirst #AffordableHousingMonth

We are pleased to announce that David Luu, a seasoned leader in Bay Area financial services, is the newest member of the Abode Housing Development Board of Directors! To learn more about the #Abode #Housing #Development board and its members, please visit our website at https://lnkd.in/et7GF7s3

Abode is proudly observing Earth Day today. The ecology-themed day matches Abode’s commitment to preserving the environment, as people experiencing homelessness are disproportionately affected by ecological problems and severe weather conditions. Climate change poses an increasingly perilous threat to those who are living without a home, making our mission of ending homelessness more crucial than ever. Join us this Earth Day in recognizing the vital importance of solving ecological issues and mitigating climate change to improve the environment and better protect our community’s most vulnerable populations. “Homelessness and the climate crisis are inextricably connected as environmental impacts weigh most heavily on the most vulnerable in our communities,” said Vivian Wan, CEO of Abode Services. “We are proud to observe Earth Day, as it mirrors our values and our mission of finding sustainable solutions for homelessness.”

We applaud Abode Services board member Claudine S. for her excellent column in The Progressive Magazine, in which she explains that ending #homelessness is possible if "we prioritize human worth and respect while pursuing practical solutions." She also wrote: “#Dignity is a core aspect of #humanity, not a conditional privilege. A person’s identity, extending far beyond their lack of #shelter, is shaped by their dreams, experiences, and untapped potential. Recognizing this and approaching individuals with #respect when discussing #housing solutions is crucial in helping people overcome #homelessness.” You can read the entire column here:  https://lnkd.in/e4Z-tQGR

Abode Housing Development was pleased to join community partners for a recent groundbreaking ceremony at Eucalyptus Grove – an affordable housing development in San Mateo County. Jack Burlison, director at CRP Affordable Housing & Community Development, served as emcee for the ceremony at the Burlingame housing site. The March 28 event’s speakers included Louis Chicoine, CEO of Abode Housing Development and Abode Property Management; Burlingame Vice-Mayor Emily Beach; San Mateo County Supervisor Dave Pine; Geeta Rao of Enterprise Community Partners; Kevin Graves of CalVet; and Paul Salib, CEO of CRP Affordable Housing & Community Development. Eucalyptus Grove will provide 69 new affordable housing units on a 0.36-acre property near San Francisco International Airport. The site will have seven studios, 21 one-bedroom apartments, 21 two-bedrooms units, and 20 three-bedroom homes. Twenty-five percent of the units will be set aside for formerly homeless veterans. It is located a block from the Millbrae BART and Caltrain stations. The John Stewart Company will manage the property. Abode Services, one of Abode’s family of agencies, will provide on-site services to residents. "We are very excited to to celebrate the groundbreaking of another affordable housing development, as it will help address the region’s housing shortage crisis and make this community stronger," Chicoine said. "We also are pleased that this site will help military veterans, some of whom will gain a home at Eucalyptus Grove." Abode Housing Development has partnered on this site with CRP Affordable Housing & Community Development, California Debt Limit Allocation Committee, California Housing and Community Development, California Department of Veterans Affairs (CalVet), County of San Mateo Department of Housing, City of Burlingame, Federal Home Loan Bank, and California Tax Credit Allocation Committee.

A message from Abode Services CEO Vivian Wan and Abode Housing Development and Abode Property Management CEO Louis Chicoine Remembering Doug Ford It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of Doug Ford. Doug was a supporter of our work, a contributor to our success, a believer in social justice - he was a good, good man, and an even better friend to many of us. He was a longtime advocate for supportive housing who channeled his expertise and passion for fighting poverty to craft a lauded, enduring career dedicated to helping those in need. His many contributions included serving as Abode Services board president, and as a board member for its maximum number of terms. Doug also joined Louis in co-founding the organization now known as Abode Housing Development, the area’s first anti-poverty housing developer and an agency that developed the housing site named after Ford - aptly named Doug Ford Community Apartments. Today we lost a housing warrior.