The Bi-Annual Alameda County Community Connect Summer Resource and Job Fair for the Unhoused was held Wednesday at the Oakland Coliseum, drawing nearly 800 guests and 72 vendors.
In addition to housing assistance, vendors provided coaching, haircuts, headshots, and resume assistance for employment readiness; medical and dental services; veterinary services; food; clothing; gift cards; and more.
It was supported by Alameda County Supervisor Nate Miley, the Alameda County Work Development Board, Alameda County Probation Department, Social Services Agency, Oakland-Alameda Coliseum, and the Oakland Private Industry Council.
Their shared goal was to help create pathways to self-sufficiency while shifting perceptions of Alameda County’s unhoused residents.
“Many individuals are eager to work, but face significant barriers,” said Rochelle Baxter-Green, a career development specialist at the Eastmont Self-Sufficiency Center and coordinator of the event. “Through collaboration, we can help remove those barriers and support lasting change,” she wrote in the invitation to event participants.
As seasonal challenges like colder weather and increased need approach, community support is especially important. This event serves as a central hub where attendees can access wraparound services, connect with employers, and take meaningful steps toward stability. The fair supporters also provided hygiene packs and shoes and socks, anticipating colder weather ahead.
In May, Oaklandside reported that Alameda County’s biennial Point in Time count had found a 13% drop in overall homelessness and an 18% drop in unsheltered homelessness since 2024, bringing the proportion of unhoused people outside to its lowest point in more than a decade. Despite Oakland’s 20% decrease in the number of unhoused, the city can be seen as the ‘epicenter’ of the crisis by accounting for more than half of the county’s unhoused individuals, despite representing just 22% of the population.
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