Berkeley Men's Shelter Reviews

I was told she don't deal with the public like that when I went I was turned down fast.

New management has ruined this once very decent shelter.

Was assaulted by another client at the shelter. He broke a heavy ceramic plate on my arm causing lacerations. He then brandished a box cutter style knife and attempted to stab me. Police came and arrested the client. Upon returning to the shelter the following evening I was informed that because I was a party to the assault that I would be receiving a punishment of 3 nights out on the street. This was the third time that I have been threatened by the same individual over a period of two months. This person is chronically in a state of intoxication at the shelter. Each time I was sure to make sure that the management was made aware of these threats. Only after the second threat did I receive a response which was an assurance that it would be taken care of. Clearly whatever action was taken was insufficient. This has been a trend I have noticed with how the management deals with assaults/conflicts. Regardless of whether the incident involved wrongdoing on both sides both parties are always punished. This is an inappropriate abuse of power in the subset of cases in which one party is the victim and doesn t reciprocate any of the violence. To treat a population of individuals that have been so disenfranchised socioeconomically it seems all the more unjust to inflict additional harm on individuals in this population. This policy is unjust. Unfortunately without representation by some form of independent omsbundsman these policies of least effort will continue the pattern of abuse on this increasingly growing and voiceless minority.

EDIT: A manager admitted that she looked through clients belongings by opening their closed rubber tote.

I was sent here from a safehouse for women for domestic violence there is a older black woman with long braided cornrows dark complexion over weight whose here she's very very mean she was so heartless and nasty towards me and manipulative to agencies ive reached out to trying to gey help cause i could not stay she kept saying she doesn't want to stay here when they told me flat-out I could not stay there cuz I had too much stuff and I had to get rid of it and that they could not be accommodated or my disability needs I will not ever come here and not only that this is not a place for women fleeing domestic violence they give you a Bin and tell you to throw your stuff in there they do not even have lockers and they are not trauma-informed the way that this woman talk to me was so disrespectful saying to me girl no one wants to touch youre stuff but then you're telling me I have too much stuff and I can only have small bin of my things