Season of Sharing :  Information for Staff

Season of Sharing is a private fund made available to Alameda County residents by the San Francisco Chronicle. It is to help with housing assistance and/or critical needs for those with a non-recurring critical need, who will be able to pay their rent, buy their food, and pay their bills after one-time assistance. The maximum grant is $2,000.

SOS is not an entitlement program. People who are clearly ineligible do not need to be referred. Grants are based not only on criteria being met, but also on merit and the greatest need, as more applications are received in any given month than there are funds.

Those eligible for assistance are: Families with children in crisis; Individuals over the age of 60 in crisis; and Individuals with disabilities in crisis who are currently residing in Alameda County for at least 6 continuous months who have not previously received SOS assistance.

The following are the steps necessary to initiate an online application. A clearance process is required to ensure that the household has not previously received assistance; assistance is once in a lifetime only. Please view instructions prior to starting the process.

If you would like to refer a client for SOS assistance or check for clearance to initiate an application, please click here to initiate the process.

For all inquiring clients, please provide the mandatory SOS Fact Sheet.

Program Administration Contacts

Departmental Liaisons