1400 Parkmoor Ave, Ste 240B, San Jose, CA 95126
information@razingthebar.org
Razing the BarFor us. By us. With us.
1400 Parkmoor Avenue, Suite 240B, San José, CA 95126 · (669) 215-5310 · information@razingthebar.org
About Us · Our Work · Our Impact · Join Us · Newsroom · Get Help · Privacy & Terms
Razing the Bar, Inc. · A California nonprofit public benefit corporation and 501(c)(3) public charity · EIN 80-0441705 · Contributions are tax-deductible to the extent allowed by law.
Razing the BarFor us. By us. With us.
1400 Parkmoor Avenue, Suite 240B, San José, CA 95126 · (669) 215-5310 · information@razingthebar.org
About Us · Our Work · Our Impact · Join Us · Newsroom · Get Help · Privacy & Terms
Razing the Bar, Inc. · A California nonprofit public benefit corporation and 501(c)(3) public charity · EIN 80-0441705 · Contributions are tax-deductible to the extent allowed by law.
About Us
Our Approach
Give Now
Relationships are the key.
Programs end. People stay. Everything Razing the Bar does rests on two things working together: a home that is stable, and relationships that are intentional, built by people who have walked this road themselves.
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The Foundation
Housing First. The order matters.
No one has to prove they are “ready” for a home. Housing comes first, and everything else is built on it.
Taking part in services is never a condition of a young person’s home. Every relationship we offer is voluntary, which is exactly why it can be trusted.
How We Serve
A home, and what’s built on it.
Transitional housing and rapid re-housing
Safe, stable homes across San José and Santa Clara for young people working toward a lease of their own.
Permanent supportive housing
Lasting homes, with support that stays for as long as a young person wants it.
Community Mentors
A near-peer Mentor who walks beside each young person every week, toward the goals they choose.
Workforce readiness
Paid work experience as a host site for the County’s Intern & Earn program, New Door Ventures, and work2future.
Food and life skills
Groceries, shared meals, and hands-on workshops in cooking, budgeting, and running a home.
Community gatherings
Meals and gatherings where young people, former mentees, mentors, and neighbors build community together.
Intentional Developmental Relationships
Every contact is on purpose.
A home gives a young person somewhere to stand. A relationship gives them someone to grow with. Every time a Community Mentor meets with a young person, the relationship is built on five intentional actions.
Express care
“Show me that I matter to you.”
Be dependable. Listen. Keep every promise and every visit.
Challenge growth
“Push me to keep getting better.”
Expect their best, and help them learn from setbacks.
Provide support
“Help me complete tasks and achieve goals.”
Navigate hard systems together, and stand up for them when needed.
Share power
“Treat me with respect and give me a say.”
Young people write their own goals and their own budget.
Expand possibilities
“Connect me with people and places that broaden my world.”
Workshops, campus visits, employers, and new doors.
Adapted from the Developmental Relationships Framework, Search Institute.
Near-Peer Relationships
Walked by people who have been there.
Our Community Mentors are near peers: close enough in age and experience to be trusted, far enough along the road to light the way. Many have lived foster care, the justice system, or homelessness themselves. They are not the experts on a young person’s life. They are proof that the road leads somewhere.
Mutuality
The relationship runs both ways. “What has worked for you before?”
Experience with purpose
A Mentor shares their own story only when it helps, and then turns back to the young person.
Hope
Change is possible, and the Mentor is living evidence of it. Every step forward gets named.
Self-determination
The young person decides. Mentors offer options, never pressure.
Strengths first
We start from what a young person already does well.
Advocacy
Mentors stand with young people in hard systems: going with them, not speaking for them.
Built for Emerging Adulthood
Not a teenager. Not yet settled. Treated as an adult.
The years between 18 and the late twenties are a time of trying things out: work, relationships, beliefs, and who you are becoming. Moves are frequent and plans change. Our approach is designed for exactly that season of life.
What young people too often find
What Razing the Bar builds
From Receiving to Giving
Every young person has something to give.
Growth means more than reaching goals. It means confidence, connection, character, and the chance to contribute. Young people at Razing the Bar don’t only receive support; they take real roles in their community.
Lead at community gatherings
Young people help plan and lead the monthly gatherings that bring our whole community together.
Shape the rules
Through house meetings and an advisory voice, young people help set the rules and priorities that shape their homes.
Become the next near peer
Some young people go on to mentor others, carrying the road forward for the next one.
People Who Stay
A home lasts when there are people to call.
Mentors help every young person build a circle of support that doesn’t depend on Razing the Bar, so that when they move on, their people go with them.
Close ties
Family, chosen family, partners, and close friends. Each young person decides who belongs in that circle.
Everyday connections
Classmates, coworkers, neighbors, and coaches who share job leads, ideas, and opportunities.
Bridges across community
Monthly gatherings with mentors, neighbors, and supporters of every age and background.
Doors to opportunity
Employers, landlords, schools, and agencies. Mentors coach young people to make the call, and go with them the first time if they ask.
Permanent Belonging
Permanent belonging means at least one unconditional, lifelong relationship, a home a young person can keep, and communities where they are known, valued, and needed. It is permanent because it does not depend on us.
The relationship doesn’t end when the program does.
Trauma-Responsive
Safety is built into how we work.
Most young people we walk beside have lived through trauma, and homelessness is itself traumatic. As a trauma-responsive organization, services are voluntary, meetings happen where the young person chooses, and our team is trained and supported to do this work well.
Be one of the people who stay.
Give your time, share what you know, or open the door with a gift.
Volunteer
Give Now
Razing the Bar, Inc. · 1400 Parkmoor Avenue, Suite 240B, San José, CA 95126 · A California nonprofit public benefit corporation and 501(c)(3) public charity · EIN 80-0441705 · Contributions are tax-deductible to the extent allowed by law.