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Washington Legal Cinic for the Homeless' response to the WAMU 88.5 report on Homeless Prevention and Rapid Re-Housing Program.
The
Washington Legal Clinic for the Homeless ("WLCH") believes that every human
being has a right to housing. We applaud any efforts by Mayor Fenty or
President Obama to prevent homelessness by keeping people in their homes and to
end homelessness by increasing access to affordable, permanent housing.
WAMU misconstrued our position for their first story on the Homeless Prevention
and Rapid Re-Housing Program ("HPRP") funding, which ran the morning of
December 1st. Our concern, which is taken out of context in the WAMU
story, is that life-saving shelter not be reduced below the need while the
homeless services system is transitioning from a shelter-based system to one rooted
in permanent housing.
Despite
the laudable efforts and significant funding the Fenty administration has put
towards increasing access to affordable housing for chronically homeless
individuals and families, the District still has 26,000 households on the waitlist
for subsidized housing, including 13,000 who are homeless. As the Urban
Institute noted in its 2009 Housing in the Nation's Capital report, "without
significant increases, subsidized housing will not fill the gap" in housing
affordability and stem the tide of those in need of shelter. Moreover,
due to the economy, homelessness - especially amongst families - is rising at a
very precipitous rate (by 20% during the period of January 2008 to January
2009). Over the past several months the family emergency shelter system
has been at capacity with - for the first time ever - over 400 families on the
waiting list for emergency shelter. The HPRP funds will help ease this
crisis by preventing more families from falling into homelessness, and WLCH welcomes
this funding wholeheartedly. In addition to this funding, however, more
resources need to be identified and dedicated to the homeless services safety
net - including shelter - so that the District can ensure that no family has to
sleep outside on a cold fall night. We look forward to - and commit
ourselves to working towards - the day when shelters can be closed because
enough affordable housing and prevention funds exist to help all families in
need; unfortunately that day is still far off.
We
have, over the years, been dismissed as "emergency shelter zealots," and
unfortunately, WAMU's characterization of Marta's remarks feeds that
misconception. The reality is that we have worked with families over the
last few months who have spent nights sleeping outdoors at the Rhode Island
Avenue metro station (across the street from the shelter intake office); in
laundromats, vans, and in other dangerous or abusive situations, because they
were refused admission to shelter for lack of space. Our position is that
the shelter safety net must remain intact in some capacity unless or until
there is adequate and immediately available permanent housing for each family
who needs it. Hopefully, having new resources like HPRP funds will mean
that the safety net can ultimately be downsized, but not until fewer families
find themselves falling off of the cliff into homelessness.
The
Washington Legal Clinic for the Homeless works to end the unnecessary suffering
caused by poverty and advocates for justice for people who are homeless or
at-risk of becoming homeless in Washington, DC.
Today, Whitman-Walker Clinic will observe World
AIDS Day with its annual candlelight vigil to be held this year at
Dupont Circle beginning at 5:30 pm on Tuesday, Dec. 1.
"Dupont
Circle is not only a natural convergence point for many people in DC,
it has also been a focal point throughout the HIV/AIDS epidemic in DC,"
said Donald Blanchon, executive director of Whitman-Walker Clinic.
"Numerous vigils, demonstrations and marches related to HIV/AIDS have
been held on Dupont Circle over the last nearly 30 years. We want to
honor that legacy while remembering the breadth of the HIV/AIDS
epidemic in DC today."
All day, free confidential HIV testing will be available at the following locations:
Elizabeth
Taylor Medical Center, 1701 14th St., NW, from 9:00 am-5:00 pm and in
the Gay Men's Health and Wellness/STD Clinic beginning at 6:00 pm
Max Robinson Center, 2301 Martin Luther King Jr. Ave., SE, from 9:00 am-5:00 pm
Suburban
Maryland AIDS Reduction Team at the Montgomery Co. Dept. of Health
& Human Services, 2000 Dennis Ave. in Silver Spring, from 9:00
am-5:00 pm.
Two events held this evening will benefit Whitman-Walker's programs:
5:30-8:30 pm: Red Hot Night at Hotel Rouge to benefit Whitman-Walker, 1315 16th St., NW.
6:00-8:00 pm: "Ads Vs. AIDS: 25 Years of Communications for the Cause" exhibit at Long View Gallery, 1234 9th St., NW. Whitman-Walker will receive a portion of art sales that evening.
Youth health organization Metro Teen AIDS is also observing World AIDS Day with several local events today:
4 pm – 7 pm HIV Testing; The Covenant House; 2001 Mississippi Avenue, SE
Cocktails and Conversations; The Lotus Lounge; 1420 K Street, NW
Metro Teen AIDS is also co-hosting an event this Friday in partnership with BET Networks and "Rap-it-Up"
REALTALK Festival: Friday, December 4 at 6:00 p.m.
BET Networks partners with Metro Teen AIDS and Realtalk DC for free testing, music and education
Location: The Atlas Performing Arts Center, 1333 H. Street, NE Washington, D.C.
The
report follows up on the Roundtable's groundbreaking 2007 report, Beyond
Charity: Recognizing Return on Investment: How the Nonprofit Community Impacts
Greater Washington. That report documented the significant return on investment
achieved by area nonprofits in terms of societal cost savings from positive
outcomes achieved or negative outcomes avoided, the multiplier effect of the
dollar and in-kind donations that nonprofits' work leverages, and the
strengthening of the community and its institutions that their work triggers.
"Beyond
Dollars"
"Grantmakers
in the Washington region, rocked by sharp losses to their assets since the
beginning of the recession and faced with increased need in the community, are balancing
the need to fund direct services with a growing emphasis on ‘big change'
grantmaking - grants that go beyond addressing pressing needs and promise
greater and lasting impact," said Tamara Lucas Copeland, President of
Washington Grantmakers. That is the conclusion of the new report offering
examples of "big change" grantmaking in the Washington region.
Nonprofit
Roundtable/Deloitte Case Study
After the
September 11 terrorist attacks, corporate grantmaker Deloitte LLP leveraged its
consulting expertise and a partnership with the Nonprofit Roundtable of Greater
Washington to go beyond dollars and help create a strategic plan for emergency
preparedness, including Continuity of Operations Plans for key nonprofits. Washington area nonprofits are now better prepared to work together
and coordinate with the public and private sectors when the worst
happens-whether it's an epidemic, a terrorist attack, or a hurricane.
One goal
of the project was to increase awareness of the nonprofit sector as a vital
part of regional disaster response and recovery. Deloitte and the Roundtable
created the Roadmap to Preparedness, a regional strategic plan that has raised
the visibility of nonprofits in regional disaster planning, resulting in
improved cross-sector engagement and communication.
Four
Essential Elements of "Big Change"
Beyond
Dollars highlights essential elements of
the "big change" approach being adopted by a significant share of area
grantmakers, and offers a series of case studies demonstrating the impact. The
"big change" elements highlighted in Beyond Dollars include:
·Capitalizing on timing and momentum. By coordinating local and regional action with national
initiatives, timing action to coincide with groundswells of public sentiment or
moments of crisis, grantmakers are translating a vision for change into
on-the-ground progress.
·Being a strong voice for change. By creating a platform for affected communities to engage
in the policy dialogue, and sharing information with the media, policymakers
and others, grantmakers are creating energy to drive change.
·Leveraging key resources.
By supporting research, combining their knowledge and experience, and using
their dollars to open the door to national and government funding sources,
local grantmakers are creating the building blocks for change.
·Building true partnerships. By bringing organizations and individuals together in new
collaborations, grantmakers are strengthening the agents of change.
"Grantmakers
in the region recognize the need for a ‘big change' strategy, even while
they're working to combat the severe effects of the recession on the
community," adds Copeland. "In these tough economic times, philanthropists are
more motivated than ever before to go beyond dollars to effect big change."
The
Washington Regional Association of Grantmakers is a network of funders in Washington, DC, Maryland, and
Virginia, partnering with nonprofits and governments, that is
committed to improving the region by touching lives and changing communities
through effective and efficient grantmaking. Find more information online at http://www.washingtongrantmakers.org.
The Foreclosure Crisis & The Role of the Nonprofit Sector
Written by Amy Fishman, on November 20, 2009
Tuesday, the Nonprofit Roundtable brought together nonprofit leaders working on the issue of Foreclosure in the Greater Washington Area to come to consensus on the role of the nonprofit sector.
The discussion centered around ways that nonprofits can work better to address the problem including improving collaboration between nonprofits, governments and banks. Collectively, the group decided on seven priorities for the nonprofit sector:
1. Advocacy in local jurisdictions to support housing counselors and increase consumer protection
2. Financial Literacy Training for new homeowners
3. Identify the needs of housing counselors and share best practices related to loan modifications.
4. Create a unified database to track statistics and reduce duplication of work
5. Increased and better outreach to homeowners in trouble including a media campaign, clinics and door knocking
6. Neighborhood stabilization and focus on reusing foreclosed properties for affordable housing
7. Better coordination and division of labor in the nonprofit response
Comment on this post or email us to share your own thoughts or suggestions about the role of the nonprofit sector in preventing and mitigating foreclosures.
Recently, some employees of the community organizing group ACORN were caught on tape allegedly offering advice to people posing as organizers of a prostitution ring and evading the IRS. I am as concerned about ACORN as anyone. I like Darryl Jones’ advice that this incident should “reinforce the importance of nonprofit managers providing leadership, training and guidance to assure that our staff and volunteers are always acting appropriately and in accord with the public service missions of our organizations.”
Darryl writes in his letter to the Baltimore Sun: “When one nonprofit is perceived to have breached the public trust, all nonprofits -- and the clients they serve (often the most vulnerable members of society) -- suffer. Public backlash against nonprofits when they perceive a violation of this trust can lead to rips in the social safety net and dissolution of those services that create vibrant communities.” I agree and think that nonprofits have a responsibility to represent the entire sector accurately and positively, especially as budgets are shrinking and funding sources become less available.
While I feel like we may have dodged a bullet in the last full budget cycle (DC budget), I am certain that the crisis is not over.
The last round of cuts which eliminated earmarks were more painful for
several nonprofits. I am still anxious that the worst is yet to
come.
The Coalition for Community Investment and Save Our Safety Net DC are hosting a community meeting on Thursday, Sept 17 from 6-8pm at Busboys and Poets (5th & K St. NW) to plan for future advocacy around the DC budget. This work is important and more budget cuts could negatively affect the lives of our neighbors who are most in need.
We need to continually prepare our case for why investing in nonprofits improves the quality of life for everyone and why nonprofits are the lifelines for our most vulnerable neighbors. I hope you will join us to help build a strong case for support.
