The Unity Council

Children and Family Services –

For more than 50 years, The Unity Council’s Head Start and Early Head Start program has provided East Bay families high-quality early childhood education and holistic services for families. Serving more than 700 infants and young children (ages 0 – 5 years old) throughout Oakland and Concord, our early child-development play-based curriculum is offered both full-time and part-time and is designed to meet each child’s full potential, vital for school readiness and starting an upward educational trajectory.

Our programs’ focus on parent engagement, advocacy, and wellness is core in the success of each child. With more than eight languages offered to our families, our diverse and highly-skilled staff makes every effort to engage children and their parents in the language(s) spoken at home. In addition, our parent-led board meets monthly and provides training as well as resources so parents can continue their child’s education in the comfort of their own home. Children and their parents are paired and assessed by Family Advocates, who will connect them to extensive community resources available to them. Our inclusive model of services delivered to our children and their families strengthens their unit and the communities in which they live.

Center-Based and Home-Based Care

Depending on the needs of our families, location, and availability, we conveniently offer children both center-based and home-based care.

Center-based programs for young infants – 5 years old offer full-time and part-time services at one of our seven locations throughout Oakland or Concord. Each Center offers a variety of schedules to meet family needs.

Home-based services include home visits and socialization experiences for pregnant mothers, newborns and preschoolers. Home visits help to build a strong relationship between staff and families. Parents and staff develop an educational plan together for the child’s week, and staff supports the parents in obtaining their own goals and accessing community resources. Home-based services include weekly playgroups with other children and families enrolled in the program at one of our Centers.

All programs offer educational and early childhood development services, health and nutrition education, advocacy, social services and assistance with community resources.

The Unity Council’s Fruitvale Neighborhood Career Center, located in our Community Resource Center, provides free financial and career coaching to people looking for a job, developing new job skills, or learning about how to have better financial management. Services are provided in five languages: English, Lao, Spanish, Thai, and Vietnamese. Our Career & Financial Coaches make sure that each client gets access to the services, knowledge, and training they need to find permanent employment quickly.

Referral services and On-The-Job-Trainings are offered from an extensive network of partnerships with local educational institutions and local businesses. All services are linguistically and culturally available and take place at a central location with easy access to staff, transportation and community resources. Auxiliary aids and services are available upon request to individuals with disabilities.

The Unity Council’s Fruitvale Neighborhood Career Center provides:

Job search assistance
Job application assistance
Cover Letter and Resume Writing Workshops
Job Readiness and Computer Skills Workshops
Free access to Computer Lab, printer, and fax for career related activities
One-on-One employment counseling (for qualified job-seekers)
Financial coaching for improved credit and savings
For Employers, the Career Center offers assistance with recruitment, pre-screening of candidates, and on-site interviews from a large pool of qualified potential candidates. We can host your on-site recruitment event to help you reach out to a diverse workforce.

The Latino Men & Boys (LMB) and the Latina Mentoring & Achievement (LMA) program are school-based, culturally-rooted programs located in selected schools in the Oakland Unified School District. LMA is the expansion of the successful Latino Men and Boys (LMB) program, nationally recognized by The Obama Foundation.

The programs work with Latinx youth ages 12-18 and their families and schools to improve outcomes in mental and physical health, education, and career planning. The program significantly increases graduation rates for Latinx youth in Oakland schools and promotes healthy lifestyles, academic focus and leadership development. The program is available for male-identified, female-identified, and non-binary youth. If you attend one of the schools listed, ask for the LMA or LMB mentor at your school.

Latino Men & Boys
Since 2010, we have partnered with Oakland schools to host a cohort of 20-25 students daily using the Joven Noble Curriculum and we are now in 8 middle schools and high schools in Oakland.

Latina Mentoring & Achievement
In 2019, The Unity Council expanded the Latino Men & Boys (LMB) program to include female-identified youth and non-binary youth. The expansion of the program implemented an extended curriculum rooted in restorative justice and social-emotional learning (SEL), students are taught to challenge gender roles and stereotypes, participate in career exploration opportunities, and strengthen their relationship with their community. The program is now in 2 high schools in Oakland.

The Fruitvale Business Improvement District (BID) physically and economically revitalizes the commercial corridors of International Boulevard, Fruitvale Avenue, and Foothill Boulevard. The BID is comprised of and works directly with over 350 locally owned businesses and property owners. We work to create clean and safe streets, offer community building activities and attractions, and build business skills among our small business owners to support sustainable growth. These ongoing services result in increased economic activity, a lowered perception of crime, and a greater sense of pride in the community.

The BID program started in 1996, and since that time has completed over 200 façade improvements, decorated dozens of public trash cans with mosaic art throughout the neighborhood, worked with the City of Oakland for street and asphalt improvements, offered business assistance for local merchants, and continues to coordinate daily sidewalk cleaning, and seasonal tree and flower planting.girl scouts beautifying fruitvale

The BID team serves as a liaison with the City of Oakland, reporting safety hazards that otherwise would go unchecked and unrepaired. We also report and address blight, and organize full neighborhood cleanups, park clean ups, and creek restoration in conjunction with the City and other community groups.

The Fruitvale-San Antonio Senior Center addresses the cultural and linguistic needs of the community’s increasingly diverse elderly population by providing services in Cambodian, Spanish, and English. Over 45 seniors visit the Center every day, and each year we serve a total of 1,000 seniors age 50 and up, many of whom are mono-lingual and at risk of cultural and social isolation. Our staff is dedicated to promoting healthy and on-going social, educational and physical development for seniors on a daily basis by a rich array of activities.

Centrally located in an ADA accessible space at the Fruitvale Village, right outside of the Fruitvale BART station and an AC Transit hub, the Senior Center is equipped with a full service kitchen, community rooms, small computer lab, game room, and the offices of on-site social service staff. We offer free transportation from a client’s Oakland home to the Center, and back again.

The Senior Center staff members are culturally and linguistically matched to the clients and can assist with referrals to other community services. For more information about the senior services and activities, please contact us.

Seniors can get a nutritious hot lunch every day at the center, provided by Spectrum Community Services, for a suggested donation of $3.75 for seniors and $5.00 for non-seniors.