The Fred Finch Youth Center in Oakland recently celebrated the grand opening of a new transitional housing community for local foster youth. Young adults between 18 and 24 years of age with their own studio apartments so they can gain independence and set themselves up for success as they exit the foster care system.

When former Staff Sergeant Starlyn Lara joined the Army fresh out of high school in Roswell, New Mexico, it was a time of peace for those who were serving in the military. Then came September 11. Suddenly, for many who joined the armed forces in search of serving their country—what Lara calls a desire to “be a bigger person than I was”—that peacetime was no more. “I sat there for about an hour, just dazed and confused, in awe of…

On Saturday members of Lavender Seniors, based in Oakland, gathered at the San Leandro Community Church—where it has been meeting the second Saturday of each month for the past 18 years—to celebrate its final potluck lunch at that facility.

Every holiday season Nancy DeWeese and her husband, Gary, host a Christmas party. But it’s not your average family gathering, because this is not your average family. At these parties, three dozen children from all walks of life, including the couple’s four biological kids, gather to share in a common experience: Each child has spent part of their lives growing up at the DeWeese family home in Moraga. “They see each other and they’re like, ‘Oh, we started out as…