2016-2017 Trainings

Oakland Unite offered a comprehensive training and technical assistance plan to its network of grantees in the 2016 - 2017 grant year. Below is a list of trainings that were provided for Management and Direct Service Personnel during this time.


Date: November 15th-16th, 2016
Location: Oakland City Hall

Trainer: Sangita Kumar, Be the Change

Course Description

Coaching is a process to empower individuals to gain greater awareness of their choices, set goals, and cultivate strong connections to others.  This training will offer Oakland Unite practitioners (street outreach workers, counselors, employment advisors, violence prevention specialists, case managers, program managers, etc.) a two-day intensive on coaching essentials. In this session practitioners will learn strategies to empower clients to design a life in alignment with core values fueled by their dreams and visions.

In this workshop participants will:

  • Distinguish when and where coaching is the ideal intervention

  • Establish a Coaching “Stance”

  • Learn strategies to support clients to identify who they are, at their essence, by naming core values

  • Practice coaching techniques to build skills in abstract thinking, perspective taking, and creative problem solving

  • Support clients to hold a vision for their future that they believe in and care about.


Date: November 30th, 2016

Location: 150 Frank Ogawa Plaza                                           2nd floor-Classroom 2  Oakland, CA

Time: Lunch will be served from 12:30-1:00pm, Training will take place from 1:00pm-5:00pm

Trainer: Rita Sever, Supervision Matters

Course Description

The number one reason people leave their jobs is because of their supervisor.  This interactive workshop will teach three key practices that will enhance your supervision skills, lower turnover, and produce more effective results. The three keys are deceptively simple but produce extraordinary results. 

Key One: Relationships-The foundation of all good supervision.  Learn the why and how of building relationships with those you supervise and the danger areas to avoid.    

Key Two: Clear Expectations-This key will save time and trouble.  Learn how to be clear about expectations from day one and beyond.     

Key Three: Effective Feedback-This key ties it all together.  Learn how to address what is working and what is not working. 


Date: December 12, 2016

Location:  Preservation Parkway- Nile Hall                                   668 13th Street Oakland, CA 94612

Time: Lunch will be served from 12:00-12:30pm, Training will take place from 12:30pm-4:00pm

Trainer: Jeannie Little, Center for Harm Reduction Therapy

Course Description:

Harm reduction is a radical new way of understanding substance use and working with people who use drugs. It is practical and compassionate - it saves lives and does not punish people for what they choose to put in their bodies. Harm reduction counseling was developed to work with people with multiple interacting problems. It facilitates staff to work closely with people who actively use drugs, making it easier to influence positive change.


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Date: January 26, 2017 from 12:00-4:30PM
Location: City of Oakland, 150 Frank H. Ogawa Plaza, Second Floor, Classroom 1, Oakland, CA

Trainer: Rita Sever, Supervision Matters

Course Description: This training gives front line managers the awareness and tools they need to respond to compliance and issues where and when they first show up.  Topics include wage and hour issues, leaves of absence, accommodation, discrimination and harassment.   Boundaries between peer professionals and their clients can be complicated and confusing.  While we expect staff to build strong relationships with their clients, we also expect them to hold ethical and professional boundaries.  We will look at boundaries, the issues, the dangers and best practices for helping staff hold this tension in a healthy and productive way that does not damage their work. 


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Date: February 9, 2017
Location: Oakland City Hall, 1 Frank H. Ogawa Plaza, Hearing Room 3, Oakland, CA

Trainer: Beverly Kyer

Course Description
Oakland Unite providers are witnesses at the front lines of violence in Oakland's communities-- which means that we are often coping with violence committed against our clients or their families and communities. This can trigger, traumatize, or burnout our valuable staff members doing important front line work. This training provides Managers with tools and techniques for helping their staff manage stress, vicarious trauma, and compassion fatigue. This training encourages Managers to understand staff's and their own vulnerabilities and recognize the warning signs of secondary and vicarious stress. Managers will be provided with strategies to promote a trauma-informed work environment and support the maintenance of professional and personal well-being of its valued staff through planned and intentional self-care.


Date: February 22, 2017

Location:  Oakland TBD

Time: Lunch will be served from 12:00-12:30pm, Training will take place from 12:30pm-4:30pm

Trainer: Jeannie Little, Center for Harm Reduction Therapy

Course Description:

This training builds on the harm reduction approach and skills introduced in the Oakland Unite training that was held on December 15, 2016. In part 1 of the harm reduction training, attendees learned about the origins of harm reduction, drug use as a medicating behavior, co-occurring disorders, trauma and substance use, and the "drug, set, setting" assessment tool that allows the provider and client to understand all aspects of a person's relationship with drugs.

In this part 2 training, attendees will:

  • Practice using the Drug, Set, Setting assessment tool individually and in small groups to develop a comprehensive understanding of individual clients

  • Discuss the Stages of Change and Readiness models. Apply those models to clients

  • Use both models to develop a realistic care/service/treatment plan

  • Self-reflect on their ability to incorporate harm reduction and its specific tools into their practices, as well as the obstacles to integrating harm reduction.


Date: April 26, 2017 from 12:00 - 4:30PM
Location: 1204 Preservation Park Way, Oakland, CA 94612 (Room: Robinson Classroom A)

Trainer: Jeannie Little, Center for Harm Reduction Therapy

Course Description:

Harm reduction is a radical new way of understanding substance use and working with people who use drugs. It is practical and compassionate - it saves lives and does not punish people for what they choose to put in their bodies. Harm reduction counseling was developed to work with people with multiple interacting problems. It facilitates staff to work closely with people who actively use drugs, making it easier to influence positive change. Program Managers will learn more about what practices they can put in place to support their teams in working with clients who use substances, with a particular focus on marijuana use. Oakland Unite has provided a two-part series on harm reduction for direct service staff this year; Program Managers or Executive Directors whose staff have participated in these trainings are highly encouraged to register and attend.


Eventbrite - Surviving Compassion Fatigue: Help For Those Who Help Others

Date: July 13, 2017 from 12:00-4:30PM
Location: Oakland City Hall, 1 Frank H. Ogawa Plaza, Hearing Room 3, Oakland, CA 94612

Trainer: Beverly Kyer

Course Description

Oakland Unite direct service staff are witnesses at the front lines of violence in Oakland's communities-- which means that we are often coping with violence committed against our clients or their families and communities. This can trigger, traumatize, or burnout workers on the front lines. This training provides case managers, life coaches, employment providers, violence interrupters, street outreach workers, and other Oakland Unite front line staff with tools and techniques to manage stress, vicarious trauma, and compassion fatigue. This training will help staff understand the impact of this work on the mind and body, and help you recognize the warning signs of secondary and vicarious stress. The training will provide you with strategies for maintaining your professional and personal well-being through planned and intentional self-care.

Lunch will be provided at 12pm. The training will begin promptly at 12:30pm.

Questions? Contact Kristina Bedrossian, Bright Research Group, 510-238-9948 or kristina@brightresearchgroup.com.