DOROTHY DAY HOUSE A NONPROFIT PUBLIC BENEFIT CORPORATION

Dorothy Day House (DDH) is a volunteer-based 501(c)3 non-profit organization that for over 30 years has provided meals, shelter, and employment for low income residents and people who experience homelessness in Berkeley, California.

Dorothy Day House's programs include our full-service Dorothy Day House Shelter (DDHS), the Berkeley Community Resource Center (BCRC), and the Berkeley Emergency Storm Shelter (BESS).

Dorothy Day House Shelter (DDHS) is a full-service, 24/7 shelter serving 55 men and women who are otherwise unhoused. Guests have access to showers, laundry, breakfasts, and nightly dinners. The shelter also has an internship program, to assist guests in getting work experience as they get back onto their feet.

The Berkeley Emergency Storm Shelter (BESS) operates from November to April each year and allows unhoused members of the Berkeley Community to stay safe and warm during our colder months, when the temperature is below 40 degrees, or when it rains. BESS is located at 2134 Martin Luther King Way. This year, due to the extraordinary circumstances of the COVID-19 pandemic, DDH has been asked by the City of Berkeley to operate the BESS as a 24/7 shelter – similar to the DDHS. Currently, there are 20 residents.

Our Berkeley Community Resource Center program (BCRC) provides our guests and community members access to showers, laundry, clothing, PPE, hot meals and grocery bags and long-term program-based assistance to ensure that we help our friends and neighbors get back on their feet – and stay there. Like the Dorothy Day Shelter, the BCRC is operated from our primary location in the Veteran’s Building at 1931 Center Street.

As our largest program, the Berkeley Community Resource Center, encompasses our meal programs, which serve over 90.000 meals per year, our outreach programs, and our daytime drop-in program, which gives the unhoused access to showers, laundry, and fresh clothing from our BCRC Closet. Our two outreach programs, the Mobile Outreach Service Team (MOST) and Street Partnership Outreach Team (SPOT) have a focus on reaching the estimated 2,000 people living in encampments that are not in reach of social service agencies. The people living in these encampments are assisted through this program with access to housing, mental health services and COVID-19 related testing and health service referrals. Our kitchen is staffed by 30 volunteers each day.

DDH works with multiple partners in addition to our regular volunteers, including: Bay Area Community Services (BACS), Lifelong Medical Clinic, HOTT – Berkeley Mental Health Team and the City of Berkeley to ensure that our programs are as efficient and effective as possible.