As we give out sleeping bags to the homeless and the holidays near, we want to reiterate one of the goals of Be the Change in DC: to personalize homelessness for the general public. We at Be the Change in DC would like to hear about your interactions with the homeless. Is there a homeless person on the street corner with whom you have developed a relationship with? Or perhaps a homeless person whom you normally see is no longer in the same place, have you wondered where he or she is? Tell us stories, good or bad, about your personal interactions with DC's homeless. We are listening...
Sleeping bags for the homeless, Dec 2010
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Braving the rain and cold weather, a few Be the Change in DC volunteers gave out ten sleeping bags to DC's homeless on Sunday, December 12th. This particular distribution focused on the homeless in Northwest DC and specifically targeted McPherson Square, 19th and Penn and Dupont Circle; future events may focus on other areas of DC. We all stayed together and distributed the bags after 9pm, thus ensuring the bags would be used to help stay warm for the night (as shelters were closed). Please let us know if you are interested in volunteering with us in the coming winter months as we will be giving out many more sleeping bags!
Permanent housing for homeless during this winter
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The Washington Post has reported that a total of 185 units (a mix between apartments and single rooms) will be available for the District's homeless during the upcoming winter:
"The plan approved by the Interagency Council on Homelessness, a coalition of D.C. agencies and nonprofit groups, lists 185 units that will be used for families when emergency shelters are full. Some advocates for the homeless say they are worried that number will be insufficient, but D.C. officials say it's a better use of city money to put people in more permanent housing instead of temporary shelters."
Under D.C. law, the city must provide emergency shelter to homeless people during the coldest months, from Nov. 1 to March 31. This marks an effort by the government to help the homeless and follow the Housing First Initiative (in which the homeless individual's first and primary need is permanent housing (instead of temporary shelters) and that all other issues/ problems can and should be solved after the individual is given this housing). While there may be some concern that this initiative is moving too quickly and that there's a lack of experience in administering this type of program, Be the Change in DC is happy to hear about the goverment taking action to help the homeless. An earlier version of the plan proposed adding 100 units to the Family Emergency Shelter at the former D.C. General Hospital but was rejected because adding beds would cause even more crowding. This final plan appears to offer more units and at least a path to more permanent housing.
We hope the execution of such housing initiatives goes as smoothly as they are intended and we know firsthand that when someone is suffering in the bitter cold, you sometimes have to act first and think later. We also hope this means that fewer homeless people need the sleeping bags we distribute during the winter but regardless, we are gearing up to give out sleeping bags in December, January and February.
Sizing
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Whether we are talking about the private sector or the public sector, it’s important to understand the size of a market (or a problem). Knowing the size of the addressable market you are about to enter or the size of a problem you are trying to solve is an important first step. Consultants are great at sizing a problem at the outset of a case study. When thinking of distributing sleeping bags to the homeless during the winter or cold bottles of water during the summer (and expanding our cell phone initiative), we must be thinking along these lines.
A few weeks ago, I received a mailing from So Others Might Eat (SOME), a large and well-established nonprofit that helps the homeless of DC. The mailing included some updated numbers on DC’s homeless population. I thought I should share them:
“A 2010 government survey documented 11,770 homeless persons in the DC metropolitan area, with the highest number, 6,540, located in the District. This number includes over 800 families with 1,535 children who are living on the streets, in abandoned buildings, cars or emergency shelters. The count would be even higher if the survey counted people who are doubled-up and even tripled-up in housing, living with family members or friends.”
That’s a lot of sleeping bags, bottles of water and cell phones to give out. Clearly, Be the Change in DC is not in this alone. In fact, we have and will continue to work with other organizations to fill in the gaps of services that are provided to the homeless. We could always use more help and at least we have a sense for the size of the problem.
One house at a time
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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
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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
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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.
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