Is Ruby’s Place conducting a Capital Campaign? 

After our very in-depth feasibility study in 2019, we learned that raising the amount of money we would need to build a brand new shelter was not going to happen with a capital campaign alone. Although we were disappointed by this, we have pivoted to look for other ways of paying for the cost of a new shelter which could include government funding, a partnership with a developer, or rehabbing a hotel.

Where is the new shelter? Is it being built yet? 

Since we now know that we alone will not be able to raise ALL the money we need for a new shelter, we have partnered with a developer to help us to examine options and bring a plan to life. This project is a top priority for us and, although progress is slow, we know we will be able to provide a newly updated facility for our clients in the near future.

Why have you stopped hosting in-person events?

Outside of COVID-19, which has obviously put a damper on any in-person events, we have looked at the amount of time and money in-person events cost our agency, and it's a lot! We have chosen to save the in-person events for special anniversaries, like our upcoming 50th! We will still continue to have smaller in-person events (when it's safe) and we are launching new virtual gatherings and tours program soon! 

Why would you expand your services to include all victims of crime when domestic violence and human trafficking victims still need so much help?

This is a great question and we want to clarify that our shelters, housing programs, outreach, and education programs will remain dedicated to victims of domestic violence (DV) and human trafficking (HT). This is at the core of what we do and that will not change. We are continuing to add more services for these victims and expand the programs we have. However, last year we were given the opportunity to add an additional program to our agency that would provide much-needed mental health services for our current DV and HT clients, as well as ALL victims of violent crimes.  We are currently staffing up that program and more information about the Southern Alameda County Trauma Recovery Center will be coming soon!

How has COVID-19 impacted your organization? 

It has been very difficult for our staff and clients, who have already been through so much, to weather a storm as big as this pandemic. Ruby's Place, however, loves a challenge!

We have decompressed our shelter so that clients and staff are spread out. In order to do this, some of our clients are living off-site in a safe location. We have secured the proper PPE for staff and clients to wear around each other and out in public, and even implemented new cleaning policies for disinfecting spaces on the hour in common areas. We are staying tightly connected with Alameda County Public Health and those leading the charge in handling COVID-19 in Alameda County.

Even with these precautions, we did experience an outbreak of COVID-19 in one of our shelters in the summer. We quickly got those that needed medical attention to the proper facilities, public health was able to place our clients in comfortable quarantine spaces, and we cleaned the shelter top to bottom.

We remain strong and proud that we have not lost staffing, funds nor reduced the number of clients we are serving. In fact, we are thrilled to let you know that our team has taken on expanding our programs and services offered to clients to help them weather this storm.