When members of the Richmond City Council return from their summer recess on September 13, they are expected to vote on a $400,000 budget item to provide housing for families experiencing homelessness. If it passes, the funding will allow a project started by members of Rubicon’s Participant Advisory Board (PAB), in partnership with Tom Herriman, Housing First Coordinator for the Rotary Club of Richmond, to continue connecting unhoused residents with long-term rental units. Families that are chosen for the project receive furnished housing with one year of rent paid upfront; in addition, Rubicon and other community-based programs provide the housing recipients with social support, financial coaching, pro bono legal counsel, and employment assistance as needed.

Gail Thomas, Chairperson for the PAB, began working on the project because of her personal connection to unhoused individuals. “I still see friends out there that I know, that I’ve known for 50 years,” Thomas says. “I’ve watched three of them die living in the streets. And I just couldn’t take it anymore.”

Thomas has taken the lead on connecting with landlords who are willing to work with individuals experiencing homelessness. So far, she has identified seven landlords across Contra Costa and Alameda Counties to join the project. In addition to making the initial connections between landlords and unhoused families, Thomas maintains contact with all parties to ensure any issues that arise between them are resolved quickly and amicably. The remaining PAB members—Rena Barajas Moore, Darease Chrice, Ricardo Portley, Darcy Rose, Alex Thomas, and Taunita Trotter—all play key roles in the project by connecting with landlords and community members who are interested in supporting the cause.

According to Herriman, finding landlords who are open to housing those experiencing homelessness is one of the biggest challenges projects like this face. “It’s really, really difficult to persuade a landlord to accept a formerly homeless person,” Herriman says. “They have all the fears that are trumpeted in the press and on television, so it takes a lot of work to find the landlords. Gail has been amazing in her contacts to find landlords that are willing to accept homeless people, and that’s one reason this program has been successful.”

The project began at the end of 2021, when the PAB met to discuss the barriers to economic mobility that they frequently see among Rubicon participants. Alisha Semplar, Rubicon’s Community Connections Program Manager, works closely with the PAB and says housing is one of the key areas where people experiencing homelessness and incarceration continue to face significant barriers, regardless of their ability to pay.

“There have been several instances where I've worked with participants who are placed in great, career-focused employment, great jobs, great wages, but there's always that red tape that precludes them from being able to get into the housing that they need for themselves and their children,” Semplar says. “The fact that there isn't equity in terms of a process that helps those that need housing the most that can afford to house themselves and are trying to stabilize themselves, that's a continuous issue that I see in our community.”

Since January, eight families have been placed in housing, thanks in part to $120,000 in discretionary funding that Richmond Mayor Tom Butt allocated to the project. The goal is to place another 50-60 families in housing if the additional funding is approved.

“We have been working through all these supportive services to make sure that what Tom [Herriman] and all the other people who stood up and did for this project, what they’re willing to continue to do, won’t be in vain,” Gail Thomas says. “Our children won’t be back on the streets in a year.”

by Adriana Ponce-Matteucci

If your health is your wealth, then the best thing you can do is invest in your wellness. When it comes to wellness we can think of so many reasons why we don’t practice it on a regular basis. We tell ourselves that we don’t have time, energy, space, resources—and anything else we can think of—so we don’t make the time or effort. But the truth is that the benefits of practicing wellness outweigh our excuses. That’s why I believe in the power of a positive mindset. Positive thinking doesn't mean that you ignore life's less pleasant situations. It means that you approach life’s unpleasant or difficult moments in a more positive and productive way.

Researchers continue to explore the effects of positive thinking and optimism on health. Health benefits that positive thinking may provide are:

• Increased life span and stronger immune system
• Lower rates of depression, levels of distress, and pain
• Better psychological and physical well-being
• Better cardiovascular health and reduced risk of death from cardiovascular disease and stroke
• Reduced risk of death from cancer, respiratory conditions, and infections
• Better coping skills during hardships and times of stress

If you are someone who looks at the glass and says “It’s half empty,” you can learn to turn negative thinking into positive thinking and say “It’s half full.” The following are some tips for increasing your positive thoughts:  

• Check yourself. Periodically during the day, stop and evaluate what you're thinking. If you find that your thoughts are mainly negative, try to find a way to put a positive spin on them.
• Practice positive self-talk. Start by following one simple rule: Don't say anything to yourself that you wouldn't say to a loved one. Be gentle and encouraging with yourself. If a negative thought enters your mind, evaluate it rationally and respond with affirmations of what is good about you. Think about things you're thankful for in your life
• Be open to humor. Give yourself permission to smile or laugh, especially during difficult times. Seek humor in everyday happenings. When you can laugh at life, you feel less stressed.
• Follow a healthy lifestyle. Aim to exercise for about 30 minutes on most days of the week. You can also break it up into 5- or 10-minute chunks of time during the day. Exercise can positively affect mood and reduce stress. Follow a healthy diet to fuel your mind and body. Get enough sleep. And learn techniques to manage stress.
• Surround yourself with positive people. Make sure those in your life are positive, supportive people you can depend on to give helpful advice and feedback. Negative people may increase your stress level and make you doubt your ability to manage stress in healthy ways.

Wellness is a priority and not a privilege because when you finally realize you have put it off for too long, it’s usually too late. Also, at Rubicon we believe in the importance of wellness so much that it is a pillar of our model. When we tell others to take their breaks and not work 12 hours a day, we ask our staff to lead by example and do the same. Wellness or self-care is a universal need, and putting yourself first is not selfish. Focusing on all eight dimensions of wellness—physical, spiritual, social, intellectual, emotional, environmental, occupational, and financial—will help you improve the quality of your life, your health, and potentially extend your lifespan. Wellness is something we should practice every day. If you take the time to practice one wellness act a day, it might help keep the doctor away.  

What role does a county play in creating equitable systems? How can counties support harm reduction for those who experience direct or systemic violence? What should the top priorities be when it comes to advancing equity? These are the questions that the Contra Costa County Office of Racial Equity and Social Justice (ORESJ) Committee is trying to answer.

“The county or the government…I can't say that they are responsible for every racial harm in the book,” says Donté Blue, a member of the ORESJ Committee and Chief Program Officer for Rubicon Programs. “But when you break it down, they've had a primary central space and place in creating a racialized society, racialized neighborhoods, racialized schools, etc. So when issues come up, the way in which they respond to the issue at times feels racialized. In order to change that narrative, you have to take this anti-racist stance. It's not going to be good enough just to say ‘I don't discriminate.’ You actually have to go out and act in an anti-racist way. So it’s important for people to see that in this office, in order to see that they have people in government that are actually approaching the work with that lens.”

In November 2020, Contra Costa County approved the creation of the ORESJ in an effort to address equity concerns in areas where the County might have influence. The office is one of many across the country that is being developed in response to community demand for governmental action against systemic injustices. Since the ORESJ’s approval, committee members have been working with communities throughout Contra Costa County during the planning process to learn more about what residents want and need from the office. Community-based organizations, including Rubicon Programs, have held dozens of listening sessions in a variety of languages and modalities to gain deeper insights that will inform how the office takes shape.

“The one thing that really stands out in this work is getting the community input first and using that to drive the proposal around the structure and priorities of the office,” says Kimi Barnes, an ORESJ Committee member and Special Projects Manager for Rubicon Programs. “This is unique from what we see nationally, in the sense of the amount of inclusion. Giving community voice and insight into the process, it seems our group slogan has become ‘We’re moving at the speed of trust.’”

The next phase of the planning process begins this month at four Community Café sessions, where county residents will hear and discuss the data collected from all of the listening sessions and community surveys. The discussions will shape the report and recommendations that will go to the Board of Supervisors for approval later this year.

If you live or work in Contra Costa County, you can register to attend any or all of the Community Cafés by clicking the links below.

• July 12, 5:30-8:00 pm:  East County Focus [Pittsburg, Antioch, Oakley, Brentwood, Bay Point, Discovery Bay, Byron, Bethel Island]. Register here.
• July 14, 5:30-8:00 pm:  Central County Focus [Concord, Pleasant Hill, Lafayette, Moraga, Walnut Creek, Clayton, Orinda, Martinez, Pacheco, Briones, Rossmoor]. Register here.
• July 25, 5:30-8:00 pm:  South County Focus [San Ramon, Danville, Alamo, Blackhawk]. Register here.
• July 27, 5:30-8:00 pm: West County Focus [Richmond, El Cerrito, Pinole, San Pablo, Hercules, North Richmond, El Sobrante, Rodeo, East Richmond Heights, Crockett]. Register here.

As part of our commitment to employee well-being and development, Rubicon encourages staff to connect with and support one another in meaningful ways. One avenue through which employees can create and strengthen connections at Rubicon is Employee Resource Groups, or ERGs.

Vanessa Ramos, Institutional Giving Manager for Rubicon Programs, joined an ERG almost immediately after she started working at the organization. “I joined the LGBTQ+ ERG in hopes to network and socialize with other like-minded individuals who share similar identities in order to create positive change,” Ramos says. “Being a part of an ERG is exciting because of the opportunity we have to raise awareness and educate our peers about social issues. By coming together as one ERG body we can have a powerful influence in the workplace.”

ERGs are “voluntary, employee-led groups whose aim is to foster a diverse, inclusive workplace aligned with the organizations they serve.” Xerox is credited with having the first ERG, the National Black Employee Caucus, which began in 1970; Hewlett Packard formed the first LGBTQIA+ ERG in 1978. Nationally, most organizations structure their ERGs by demographics, job function, or life stages.

Rubicon’s first ERGs formed in 2017, with the Black Rubies and the Aspiring Allies becoming the first official groups. Since then, four more ERGs have been created to give diverse groups of Rubicon staff a place to center their experiences. In total, the six ERGs at Rubicon and the experiences they center are:

• Black Rubies – Black and African American staff
• Aspiring Allies – white staff who strive for allyship with those whose identities are less privileged
• LGBTQIA++ – LGBTQIA+ staff
• Prim@s – (pronounces “primos”) Latinx staff
• Womxn’s Sisterhood – staff who identify as women
• AANHPI – Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander staff

CaT Bobino, Financial Coach for Rubicon Programs, believes it is important to provide a space for people of similar identity groups to come together and share their experiences, which she does as a member of the Black Rubies. “Over the years, Black people around the world have seen tragedies and triumphs,” Bobino says. “The Black Rubies is a place to have open discussions about our feelings, thoughts, and desires regarding what is happening to our people.”

The purpose of ERGs can be broad and is largely defined by the ERG members themselves. Some benefits that ERGs bring to individuals and organizations include:

• Networking and mentorship opportunities for employees who might not otherwise meet or work together
• Safe spaces to discuss concerns that directly affect ERG group members
• Improved retention, engagement, and job satisfaction rates when ERG members feel like their voices are heard
• Opportunities to influence organizational culture and practice
• Social connections with coworkers of similar interests or backgrounds

In addition to joining existing ERGs, Rubicon staff are encouraged to form new ERGs if they believe there is an unmet need for staff of a particular identity group. The newest ERG at Rubicon, the AANHPI ERG, was formed last month for this very reason. As Rubicon continues to grow, we’ll welcome the formation of more ERGs that center and uplift the experiences of our diverse staff.

“I think you’re on mute.”

Does that sound familiar? At Rubicon, and almost everywhere else, we have had to become accustomed to our Zoom reality over the past couple of years. Since the onset of COVID-19 in March of 2020, Rubicon has been offering its Foundations workshop series virtually over Zoom. In case you’re unfamiliar, the Foundations workshops are led by Rubicon coaches and aim to help build participants’ employment, financial, and wellness skills. However, in April of 2022, Rubicon offered its first “hybrid” Foundations cohort. In this hybrid model, some participants were invited into the office while others had the option to remain on Zoom. Workshop facilitators were also given the option of facilitating in the office or via Zoom. When it came time for her workshop, Rubicon Career Advisor Maya Garcia expressed her excitement for being able to finally facilitate in person: “This was my first in-person workshop since coming to Rubicon, and it was nice to be able to connect human to human. I feel like they say in the musical, Hamilton…we’re in the room where it happens!”

Participants seemed to be more engaged as well, including one of the in-office participants, Tyler, who explained that “there aren’t any distractions here compared to my house, which makes it much easier for me to focus.” The participants on Zoom also appeared to have an upgraded experience due to all of the participants being able to participate in lively discussions together. “There just seemed to be more energy in the room” said Maya, which led to more engaged discussions compared to when everyone is in their own space.

The hybrid workshops are a welcomed return to facilitating and connecting with participants person to person. At the same time, however, they present new challenges for both staff and participants. The hybrid model requires more technology running seamlessly to be able to include participants live and virtually, which can always pose problems (did you try hitting the refresh button?). Secondly, facilitators have the added challenge of engaging and paying attention to participants in dual spaces. Having multiple facilitators for each workshop is one method that Rubicon staff has found effective for handling this.

While there will certainly be a learning curve with the hybrid workshops, the return of in-person facilitation is an exciting development for Rubicon. Rubicon and its staff will continue to adapt and fine-tune our approach to the hybrid workshops to maximize the experience for our participants.