Oakland woman overcomes homelessness, starts her own non-profit

( KRON ) – After years of battling with addiction and homelessness, Oakland native Sharon Alexander, 53, is now the founder of Arthur Jean Safe Place– a non-profit dedicated to supplying essential resources to the unhoused in the Bay Area.

From supplying Narcan to dishing out a giant tub of mac and cheese, Alexander says she has continued serving the unhoused every Sunday for the past four years. Not only that, but she says it all comes out of pocket.

“My own time, my own money, yes, absolutely. That hasn’t changed,” Alexander told KRON4. “My mission was to help people, even if it’s just for one moment in time, so that they can get to that next step. Cause you never know, when you’re helping someone, if that’s going to be the last helping hand they get.”

Prior to getting several associate’s degrees, a double bachelor’s degree, a master’s degree, and founding a non-profit, Alexander was unhoused for four years. She says losing her mother, going through a divorce, and losing custody of her children led her to substance abuse and addiction.

“I had never dreamed I’d ever be unsheltered. I never dreamed that I would be, you know, eating in a food kitchen. I never dreamed that I would not have a place to call home,” Alexander said.

Even though she lost custody of her children, Alexander said she would use whatever money she had to clean herself up, drive down to Southern California, and rent a storage unit for a day to visit her children whenever possible.

She says the tough part wasn’t exactly the commute to her children, but rather, her being a woman made being unsheltered especially difficult.

“I was unsheltered. And, what really drove me out [of homelessness] was the way people would treat you. Like, I’m a woman, right? And they treat you like dirt. You get victimized big time if you’re not careful… It’s horrible. It’s absolutely horrible the way that we’re treated,” Alexander said.

After threats of going to prison a second time for possession, Alexander agreed to get sober and connect to mental health resources. Several years and a whole lot of willpower later, she is now reconnected to her children and gives back to the community she was once a part of.

“The unsheltered community is something very precious to me, because I used to be unsheltered… So I have this drive. I can’t explain it. It’s a drive and a passion that gets me up every day,” Alexander said.

One day, Alexander and her granddaughter decided to buy 100 pieces of Kentucky Fried Chicken and give them out by a bridge on MLK Boulevard in Oakland. “I just went over there one day and said, ‘Hey, is anybody hungry? You want to have dinner with me?’ Been doing it ever since.”

Week in and week out, Alexander and other volunteers distribute basic and emergency supplies, provide warm, home-cooked meals, and even help unhoused members obtain important legal documents such as birth certificates or social security cards—a pivotal step toward finding government-supported housing.

Arthur Jean Safe Place has even started working alongside the San Pablo Police Department, creating several “We Care Events” across the city. “SPPD has worked collaboratively with Ms. Alexander for several years, and we truly appreciate these partnerships with our community!” Peggy Chou, SPPD’s Public Information Officer, told KRON4.

Alexander credits much of her drive to her mother. After closely working with AIDS patients as a nurse in the 1980s, Alexander’s mother, Jean Butler, died from being HIV positive. Alexander says her mother’s compassion led to the founding of Arthur Jean Safe Place.

I asked her one day, I said, ‘Mom, do you ever regret working with them?’ She said no, because I was doing what I love to do. That just blew my mind right there; I always remember that. So, when I got my master’s, I’m like, What can I do to make a difference and carry on my mom’s legacy?

Sharon Alexander

Arthur Jean Safe Place was founded in 2020. More information on the non-profit can be found here .

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