Jim Smith, 81, also worked as a mail handler and served as vice president of the Berkeley Property Owners Association.
Berkeley Youth Alternatives
Posted inCommunity
Berkeley club partners with youth group for bowling fun
A BYA summer camper “bowls” to the target. Photo: Jim Corr By James Corr Lawn bowling is often (mistakenly) seen as a sport of ‘the older set.’ This summer, the Berkeley Lawn Bowling Club (BLBC) set out to counter that myth, joining forces with Berkeley Youth Alternatives (BYA) to offer coaching on the basics of lawn […]
Posted inCommunity, Schools
Elisha Davis: Determined to be great, on and off the court
Elisha Davis, a Berkeley High alum, is succeeding on the court and off at Arizona State. Photo: Sun Devil Athletics For a college student athlete, there is no season more important than your senior year. It’s the year when everything could soon be coming to an end: the long practices, the extra work on weekends, […]
Posted inCrime
Berkeley teen, recent grad, shot to death in Oakland
Ayana Dominguez (right) at a Berkeley Youth Alternatives (BYA) graduation program June 6 with her counselor Jamee Harris. Photo: BYA Ayana Dominguez (right) at a Berkeley Youth Alternatives (BYA) graduation program June 6 with her counselor Jamee Harris. Photo: BYA Ayana Dominguez, an aspiring hairstylist and 18-year-old recent graduate of Berkeley Technical Academy, was gunned down last week […]
Posted inCommunity
BOSS to honor Berkeley’s ‘Rising Stars’ on Thursday
Kyle Evans, a Rising Star honoree, plans to attend Brown University. His family was homeless for several years. Photo: BOSS Kyle Evans, a Rising Star honoree, plans to attend Brown University. His family was homeless for several years. Photo: BOSS A year ago, Kyle Evans and his family were sleeping in motel rooms and, at times, their car. Despite his circumstances, Evans focused on keeping […]
Posted inCommunity
Berkeley offers free summer lunches, snacks for youth
Photo: Reed Sandridge Berkeley is facilitating free lunches and snacks for under-18-year-olds this summer at locations across the city. In the Berkeley Unified School District, 42 percent of students receive free or reduced lunch during the school year, which is easily accessible when school is in session but can become difficult to find during the summer. […]
Posted inCommunity
Berkeley Youth Alternatives attracts statewide attention
The walls of the Berkeley Youth Alternatives building on Allston and Bonar are covered in murals by past students. Photo: Eden Teller When Kevin D. Williams first found himself at Berkeley Youth Alternatives, it was, he says, a “naked building.” His mother, Niculia Williams, now executive director of the nonprofit, which supports underserved youth, had […]
Posted inCrime
Berkeley residents tackle safety issues after shootings
More than 100 people gathered in southwest Berkeley Monday evening to discuss local crime. Photos: Tracey Taylor Two weeks after two multiple shootings rattled southwest Berkeley residents, more than a hundred neighbors gathered in the gym at Berkeley Youth Alternatives on Bonar Street on Monday evening, just a few yards away from the first shooting, […]
Posted inNosh
Field trip highlights programs in food-forward Berkeley
Berkeley’s alternative food programs and businesses in the spotlight on a food soverignty tour co-hosted by Bay Area Green Tours Saturday.
Posted inCity
Youth program to close after 18 years for lack of funds
BYA garden crew share a Thanksgiving meal. Left to right: Nahom Fasil, Kithorny Porter, Andranee Nabors, and Davion Barnes. Photo: Kim Allen. Update, 6:34pm: An earlier version of this story erroneously reported that the city had withdrawn funding this year for the garden program which is closing. The funding was in fact for the BYA’s […]
Posted inCity, Community
Berkeley youth program gets temporary reprieve
BYA youth maintain two city parks and work at BYA's own community garden. Photo: BYA A city-funded youth employment program which is facing the axe has had a temporary reprieve and will continue to operate over the summer. Berkeley Youth Alternatives provides minimum-wage positions for roughly 15 young people, aged 14-18, who work during the […]
Posted inNosh
Made in Berkeley: Dirt Dinners celebrate local food
Gardeners working at the Berkeley Youth Alternatives garden. Photo: BYA. It doesn’t get more locavore than this. On Sunday February 20, Berkeley restaurant eVe is partnering with the Berkeley Youth Alternatives garden to serve the first in a series of family-style “dirt dinners”. All the ingredients for the dirt dinners will be sourced straight from Berkeley […]