Everyone Home DC began as Capitol Hill Group Ministry (CHGM), a grassroots response by several Capitol Hill churches during the turbulence of the 1960’s to collectively address the challenges faced by their congregants and communities. Originally an informal gathering of clergy, the choice was made to incorporate as a nonprofit organization in the fall of 1967.
After the assassination of Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. the following April, riots erupted in the northeast neighborhoods of Capitol Hill along H Street, presenting additional challenges along with an infusion of purpose.
Our earliest activities included youth social development programs, clergy retreats and lay conferences, and advocacy for racial and economic justice. We resisted construction of the Southwest Freeway, fearing it would further divide the Capitol Hill community along racial lines. We also advocated for D.C. Home Rule and a holiday for Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday, supported Cesar Chavez and the grape boycott, and protested the war in Vietnam.
In subsequent decades, we moved from being an exclusively clergy-led organization to one with increasing lay and community leadership. In the 1980’s, the needs of people experiencing homelessness became the focus of CHGM’s work and has remained so ever since. CHGM hired its first full time executive director in the 1990’s and began to grow and professionalize its services.
Today, Everyone Home DC is a vibrant and transformative nonprofit organization serving thousands of vulnerable individuals and families on Capitol Hill and across the District of Columbia every year. After several years of careful planning and budgeting, we moved into a wonderful new office, uniting our previously scattered staff in space that is large enough to accommodate our growing programs and services. Completing an ambitious 5-year strategic plan under staff, board, and stakeholder leadership, we changed our name from CHGM to Everyone Home DC in order to better reflect our mission and purpose.
Now celebrating nearly 60 years of critical service in Washington, DC, Everyone Home DC continues to work closely with and is supported by a wide range of religious and secular organizations, large and small businesses, and caring individuals of all stripes who desire to serve their homeless neighbors and pursue long-term solutions to homelessness.
Unfortunately, the boom in DC’s population and economy has been accompanied by a dearth of affordable housing–Everyone Home DC’s services are needed more than ever.
