One house at a time

As you probably know, Be the Change in DC gave out cell phones to four homeless men about two months ago. We believe that over time the phones can help Marvin, Sam M., Fred and Sam W. find housing and employment and access medical services. I recall being worried initially that these men may not stay in touch with us once we gave out the phones. I could not have been more wrong. A few days ago when I was too sick to make a meeting, I received a worried phone call from Marvin. He was checking in on me, making sure that I was ok since I missed our meeting. The other guys in the program call me frequently to check in as well. I also found out that Sam M., who has been on the housing authority's list for some time now, recently received a call that he was next-in-line for an apartment in Silver Spring. Because of the phone we provided, Sam M. was accessible and able to receive this call. He just signed the lease on his new place last Friday. I can't say that we got Sam M. housing, but we facilitated his ability to get housing and made the system more efficient. Now I call that a success, especially for a trial program.

Free computer class in local DC library

In researching ways to help the participants in our phone trial program, I found out about free computer classes at the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Library. The classes cover a variety of topics, including typing, web browsing basics, and Microsoft applications such as MS Word, Excel and PowerPoint at both the basic and intermediate levels. Additionally, these classes are meant to be "walk-in" access only so reservations are not required and seats will be filled on a first-come, first-serve basis as long as space is available. We at the Be the Change in DC are pushing the participants in our phone trial program to join these classes to make themselves more attractive candidates for jobs.

Prepaid cell phone initiative

In early August, Be the Change in DC gave out prepaid mobile phones to four DC homeless men who are eagerly looking for employment. We had met these men previously and identified them as great candidates to use the phones to help contact employers, reach out or be reached for housing opportunities, and keep in touch with family and/or medical professionals. The idea behind giving out the phones is simple- you need a contact number in order to get a job and the price of technology has declined substantially over time. We also partnered with Community Voice Mail (www.cvm.org), a Seattle-based nonprofit, to equip the phone with an additional voicemail service that has weekly updates about local job opportunities.

Since Be the Change in DC has given out the phones, the participants have contacted me regularly and I can honestly say these are upstanding men who are really trying to get back on their feet. Some of them have resumes ready to go, most have email addresses and two are veterans. It's been a pleasure getting to know these men and I sincerely hope we can help them find jobs. But you don't have to take my word for it, check out our website, www.bethechangeindc.org, to see pictures and profiles of the participants and if you think you may have an opportunity for them, let us know and we will get you in touch with them.