Community Needs
According to the East Bay Community Assessment: 2008 Update, in 2006:
- Twenty-four percent of East Bay households earned "less than 200 percent of the official federal poverty level, an income considered
insufficient to afford the cost of basic needs" notwithstanding the region’s relatively high income per capita; - The majority of residents pay more than 30 percent of their income on housing;
- More than 30,000 people experience homelessness in Alameda and Contra Costa counties each year;
- More than 4,500 adults are on parole in the East Bay;
- High-school graduation rates have fallen in 79 percent of East Bay school districts since 2002, with English learners and socio-economically disadvantaged students performing well below other students.
These rates indicate the hardships faced by many low-income individuals and families in the Bay Area. For most, employment provides a predictable path toward self-sufficiency. However, for people with one or more high barriers to employment, poverty and the risks thereof are chronic. The number of people facing these barriers is significant and increasing.