Housing Opportunities

Need urgent help with housing?

• If you’re in Alameda County: start by calling 2-1-1 (or 1-800-799-7233) or visit a Housing Resource Center for immediate assistance for people experiencing homelessness.
  • Call 2-1-1 Coordinated Entry Services
  • Visit (in-person) a Housing Resource Center (click for directory)
  • Contact AIDS Housing Information Project for help with housing navigation for people living with HIV (PLWH) in Alameda County.
• In you’re in Contra Costa County:
  • Call 2-1-1 Contra Costa and/or check out the Shelter/Housing directory webpage.
  • Contact Hope Solutions for help with housing navigation for PLWH in Contra Costa County.

Where to find available housing opportunities in the East Bay:

• Openhouse: affordable and low-income housing opportunities for seniors, PLWH and adults with disabilities, updated the first week of each month.
  • Click here  to go to the Openhouse website
  • Scroll down
  • Under “Current Affordable Housing Lists”
  • Click on: “Bay Area Housing Opportunity List” for listings in Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, San Francisco, San Mateo, and Santa Clara Counties.
• SAHA: Satellite Affordable Housing Associates provides affordable housing throughout the Bay Area.
• Bay Area Legal Aid can help folks avoid the background check barrier to housing.
• The Home Stretch Fund can cover move-in costs and furnishings for residents of Alameda County who receive Medi-Cal and are homeless or are at imminent risk of becoming homeless.
• Our Place is a low-barrier drop-in clinic through Lifelong/EBCRP located at 2577 San Pablo Avenue in Oakland for people with substance use, homelessness and/or mental health issues. Case managers and mental health therapists are on-site. Our Place offers shower services, laundry, phone charging, group and individual counseling – both online and in person.

Additional opportunities that require case manager or provider referral:

• Cardea’s Alameda County Ryan White Emergency Financial Assistance (EFA) Program supports Ryan White clients living in Alameda County with emergency financial assistance paying late rent and sometimes current month’s rent. The website is only for case managers to utilize. 
• Community Cabins: Email Tomika Perkins, tperkins@operationdignity.org. This is for Operation Dignity sites only: Mandela North, Mandela South, and Northgate. Use a HIPAA-compliant encrypted email method and include the patient name, DOB, and phone number (if available).

Guidance on using the Openhouse listings from Judy Eliachar of AHIP:

Updated November 17, 2021

• Pay close attention to closing dates. For example, in the November 2021 Alameda County listings, both buildings on page 1 (Blake at Berkeley & Foon Lok West) closed their wait lists on November 1.
• How to identify housing set aside for PLWH and other priority populations: Some buildings will specify preferences for veterans, homeless people, survivors of domestic violence, etc. Sometimes HOPWA units and corresponding preferences for PLWH are referred to as “special needs” to protect resident confidentiality.
• Clarifications on specific listings from November 2021:
  • Allen Temple Manor, on Alameda County page 6, is mischaracterized as requiring that an applicant be 62 or older. The Manor, which contains HOPWA units, rents to people with disabilities who are over 18, with priority going to PLWH who live in Alameda County.
  • Aurora, on Alameda County page 3, is being filled by permanent supportive housing matches from the County Coordinated Entry System. Despite what the listing says, if a person isn’t already on the CES by-name list and permanent supportive housing list, they will not be able to apply for Aurora.
  • Villa Vasconcellos (seniors 55+) in Contra Costa County has a few HOPWA units though they do not mention them in their listing. 

Additional East Bay housing resources:

On October 28, 2021, we held a workshop on strengthening HIV linkages and housing for people experiencing homelessness and unstable housing in Alameda and Contra Costa Counties. Click here to watch a video of the workshop presentation. 

Please click on the links to download handouts and resources discussed during the workshop:

• Housing & HIV linkages slide handout (PDF)
• Case handout (PDF)
• 2021 Housing and HOPWA resource handout for Alameda and Contra Costa Counties (PDF)
• Strategies, resources and next steps shared during the workshop (PDF)