Building Futures with Women and Children is recognized as one of the most innovative agencies serving homeless and battered women and children in the San Francisco and Bay Area. Building Futures was originally created as an overnight winter relief shelter in a church in 1986. In 1988, the organization incorporated as a non-profit organization and completed its renovation of its 30–bed emergency shelter in San Leandro. Since then, Building Futures has evolved into an agency that provides a full continuum of emergency and support services to Alameda County’s most at–risk families, namely, battered women and their children who are concurrently dealing with issues of homelessness, substance abuse, and/or mental illness. Building Futures does not refuse services to any woman because her problems are too difficult or her chances for achieving self–sufficiency too slim.

The San Leandro Shelter offers 24–hour staffing and client services for 32 women and children. Along with food and shelter, staff provides case management, resources, referrals, advocacy, and household items for residents moving beyond shelter.

The Sister Me Home Safe House opened in 1996 as a 9–bed shelter and program for survivors of domestic violence. It remains the only program in Alameda County to serve battered women with substance abuse issues who have not had thirty days clean and sober. In July 2000, Building Futures moved into a newly purchased and renovated building that increased the capacity to 20 beds.

The Midway Shelter is the City of Alameda’s only homeless shelter. Building Futures renovated and opened Midway in January 2001. The 25–bed shelter offers the same services as the San Leandro Shelter, and is supported by the Alameda Homeless Network, an umbrella organization of community partners.

Bessie Coleman Court (BCC) Located at the former Alameda Naval Air Station, BCC provides 22 units of transitional and 30 units of permanent housing for shelter and safe house graduates. BCC opened its doors in the Spring of 2002.

Emergency Shelter Services: Trained staff at the three sites provide 24–hour access to 75 emergency beds as well as meals, showers, transportation, clothing, laundry, and first–aid supplies.

Children's Program: All three shelter sites and BCC offer individual and family counseling, child case management, tutoring for children, and parenting support and education groups for mothers. Family night—an evening that helps to facilitate and support healthy interactions between mothers and children—occurs weekly at each site. Additionally, each site has evening programs that provide a safe, structured environment for children to gain skills and have fun.

Support Services: Case management at all sites includes counseling, employment and housing assistance, money and time management, benefits advocacy, and follow up care.

Crisis Line: Certified volunteers and staff answer 24–hour, toll-free hotline (1–866–A–WAY–OUT) providing crisis counseling, intakes for all three shelters, and outside referrals and resources.

Community Outreach and Education: Building Futures conducts court advocacy and follow-up services for women seeking domestic violence (DV) restraining orders in court; Building Futures provides confidential mailing addresses for DV survivors to use in place of their actual home, work, and school addresses; and conducts free and confidential DV support groups for women in the community.

DV Counselor Training: Building Futures offers a training course several times a year to community members to earn a 40-hour Domestic Violence Counselor certificate. If interested contact the Outreach Manager at 510.357.0205 x. 110.