3 West Berkeley nonprofits expand help with jobs and housing, thanks, in part, to Bayer

Three Berkeley nonprofits are working to increase economic resilience in West Berkeley thanks to financial support from Bayer Corp.

Two of them, Dorothy Day House and Rebuilding Together East Bay Network, have partnered on a project to provide housing and workforce development opportunities to some of the community’s most vulnerable residents. A third, the Multicultural Institute, has ramped up its efforts in assisting day laborers, domestic workers and other low-income adults with job placement and training. So far, the projects have delivered services to hundreds of residents who were experiencing homelessness or navigating employment hurdles.

Bayer provided each project with about $70,000 between 2023 and 2025. The funding is the result of a development agreement extension the company signed with the city of Berkeley in 2022.

Over 30 years, Bayer will invest more than $33 million to support the Berkeley community. Area nonprofits focused on climate action, health equity or economic resilience can apply for some of that funding. A committee of local leaders and Bayer employees select award recipients every three years. 

“At Bayer, we believe that building strong, resilient communities requires collective effort and meaningful investment,” said Tina Self, who heads Bayer’s West Berkeley biopharmaceutical development and manufacturing campus. “We’re proud to support the work of these organizations and their efforts to create lasting opportunities for housing stability, workforce development and economic empowerment.”

Economic resilience requires a foundation of safety, stability and health — Dorothy Day House and Rebuilding Together East Bay Network are working together to help vulnerable residents create that foundation.

This is a challenging goal, particularly as the nation’s fentanyl crisis continues, and even more so as winter weather sets in. But so far, the Bayer-funded project has seen some big wins: Dorothy Day House said it is serving an additional 100-plus people per day since winning the Bayer funding award, while continuing to provide shelter to more than 150 people at its Berkeley shelters.

The organizations’ joint efforts in West Berkeley to provide access to food, clothing and workforce development opportunities for underserved people have been their project’s biggest accomplishment, said Robbi Montoya, executive director of Dorothy Day House. 

“Many individuals in this specific area do not have the ability to come to our facility in downtown Berkeley,” Montoya said. By going to them in West Berkeley, “we successfully bridged critical service gaps, ensuring more equitable access to resources for the community’s most vulnerable populations.”

Partnerships with other community-based organizations have been critical to that effort and other successes, she added. By working together, the organizations have connected people with income and general assistance, health and addiction services, workforce training and more to address the root causes of instability and create pathways to economic empowerment. 

Working together has also enhanced collaboration among local service providers, creating a more integrated and responsive support network for the community, Montoya said. Through consistency and collaboration, she said, they’re building trust in the community. 

The organizations plan to expand their efforts in 2025 to serve even more residents. This includes launching new workforce development initiatives, increasing access to emergency food and clothing resources and introducing sustainable programs that address systemic challenges such as housing instability and job insecurity. 

Multicultural Institute expands

The Multicultural Institute is focusing its Bayer-funded project on another cornerstone of economic resilience: helping people achieve consistent employment. To do this, the organization has expanded its services for West Berkeley day laborers and domestic workers, including job placement assistance, training programs, vocational skill support, as well as health and legal assistance where needed. It provides all of its services in both English and Spanish, including a GED exam preparation program and entrepreneurship courses.

“We are really excited to enhance our economic development work, including our fair wage initiatives and making sure that individuals are connected to permanent and fair-wage jobs,” said Mirna Cervantes, the organization’s executive director. “We’re also providing direct and indirect pathways to better quality jobs and support for launching or strengthening a business.”

Much of the Multicultural Institute’s outreach is through in-person contact, often among day laborers seeking work along Hearst Street in Berkeley. Reaching older community members has been more challenging, so the organization has added regular phone calls to check in with individuals and assess their needs. 

Many of the training programs focus on safety skills that are relevant to jobs commonly performed by day laborers and domestic workers. This includes information on OSHA safety compliance for construction work, eco-friendly and safe cleaning products, and caregiving skills.

“We also focus on wellness,” Cervantes said. “We want to make sure that everyone we serve has access to health referrals and screenings, COVID testing, and vaccinations. We really think about the whole person, so we offer weekly food distribution at our three locations as well as bikes, personal protective equipment, clothing and anything the person might need.”

This coming year may be an especially challenging one, Cervantes said, due to the change in federal administrations and escalating political rhetoric targeting the communities her organization serves. She said they plan to be proactive and flexible through it all while continuing to address economic and social barriers.