Crossroads is a compassionate emergency housing refuge for Alameda County’s homeless—men, women, families, and people living with HIV/AIDS. Located at 7515 International Blvd. in Oakland, Crossroads offers rooms to 125 people each night along with a continuum of care in a holistic approach to helping people who want to recover from a life of homelessness. Our services include case management, life skills training, health care connections, mental health and substance abuse counseling, housing referrals, and career counseling. Our staff is skilled in caring about the homeless and understanding the need for healing.

Newly opened in 2008, our move to Crossroads from a dilapidated warehouse occupied since 1990 is a major milestone for EOCP. The design by Kodama Diseño, Architects and Planners recognizes the special circumstances of homeless people seeking to regain their self-reliance. Crossroads is a refuge that resonates with dignity, good health, and hope in an environment where people can begin to reverse the trend of living on the streets. Shared areas are spacious for socializing, and the kitchen and dining room serve three full meals each day. Counseling space is easily accessible and provides privacy for our residents. Families live in a separate residential wing that holds five rooms (each with a private bathroom), a learning center, and a tot lot in a landscaped inner courtyard.

Crossroads also serves as a model for public facilities throughout the region and statewide. Indeed, it is the first shelter in the United States to be built from the ground up using green building technology. Solar panels defray the high energy costs of operating a large residential and service facility, and a state-of-the-art hydronic heating system, ceiling fans, and other innovations add to the building’s energy efficiency.

In addition to the architectural firm of Kodama Diseño, the development team included Oliver and Company, general contractor; Jonathan Austin, JSA Consulting Services, project manager; and Natalia López, organizational and fundraising consultant.

EOCP gratefully acknowledges the funders for Crossroads who believed in our vision of a compassionate emergency housing refuge:

• Alameda County Health Care Services Agency
• Alameda County Health Care Services Agency, Behavioral Health Care Services
• City of Oakland, Community Development Block Grant
• Evelyn and Walter Haas, Jr. Fund
• Federal Home Loan Bank, Affordable Housing Program
• HEDCO Foundation
• The San Francisco Foundation
• State of California, Emergency Housing Assistance Program
• StopWaste.org
• U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Housing Opportunities for Persons with AIDS (HOPWA)
• U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Housing Opportunities for Persons with AIDS (HOPWA), Special Projects of National Significance
• Washington Mutual Bank (financing)
• Y & H Soda Foundation

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