Dear Friends,

According to DC’s 2018 Point in Time homelessness count, there are approximately 7,000 of our neighboring families and fellow residents experiencing homelessness on any given night. Some may see this as a welcome decrease from the prior year—and I’m proud of our efforts that contributed to securing homes for many people in 2018—but our work is far from complete.

In fact, I’d say we’re just getting started.

For more than 50 years, Capitol Hill Group Ministry has partnered with people experiencing homelessness, and we’ve partnered with caring neighbors, fellow advocates, and city officials to end homelessness in the District. However, much has changed since our founding by a coalition of churches on Capitol Hill 50 years ago. In this milestone of our 50^th anniversary, it was time to adopt a name that was truer to our mission, more reflective of our community, and more in line with our vision for our city as a thriving and diverse community, where all people can obtain and remain in safe, affordable, and comfortable homes.

And so, I am proud to announce that today, Capitol Hill Group Ministry becomes Everyone Home DC.

Our new name is a name and a mission statement in one. It is more welcoming of the diverse range of supporters it will take to achieve our vision and it gives our work a clear and recognizable descriptor. And one need not look further than our wide-ranging efforts in 2018 to see that our services and solutions reach far beyond the Capitol Hill community.

Our new name, however, will not impact our purpose, our programs, nor our special relationships with faith communities and Capitol Hill area partners. Our focused commitment continues, with a rigorous set of solutions for families and individuals experiencing homelessness in the Capitol Hill area and beyond.

The reality is, we’ve known a new name was needed for the past several years. So, about a year ago, with the support of our extended network, we began reflecting on the words we use to describe our beliefs, values, and impact. We refined our vision, mission, and strategic priorities, and then began considering how we communicate externally. Our process included conversations with staff, board, community members, and faith leaders, to ensure that our story was authentic and anchored by our core values and beliefs.

• The New Name: Our new name – Everyone Home DC – gives our work a clear and recognizable descriptor, something we did not have previously. And it reduces the confusion that many people had about our previous name. Our services and solutions are no longer limited to the Capitol Hill community, and while we maintain strong alliances with DC’s faith community, we are not a religiously-affiliated organization.

• Our New Logo and Visual Identity: Our new logo incorporates warm colors and connected row homes—an iconic DC visual that represents our unwavering commitment to this community. The gradient of a rising sun represents hope, optimism, and our belief in the self-determination and resilience of all people. We often heard that our prior mark felt dated and traditional—not at all like the work we do every day. The main focus of our rebrand, which includes a new website (everyonehomedc.org), was to bring clarity and connectivity to our work, and to help our current and future partners and colleagues better understand our work and our mission to end homelessness.

We are proud of the new brand we’ve built together at Everyone Home DC. We believe it’s a powerful reflection of who we are and what we stand for—something we’ve long known but not always expressed with such clarity.

We invite you to learn more and join us in this next phase of our journey. As I said above, we’re just getting started, and I look forward to all that we’ll be able to achieve, together.

In the spirit of service,

Karen E. Cunningham
Executive Director

At Everyone Home DC, we know housing is the solution to ending homelessness AND we understand it is not sufficient for long-term success. Families transitioning out of homelessness need resources beyond decent affordable housing to thrive: food, education, employment, parenting supports, children’s services, transportation, health and mental health care.

Families just like Mary and Tracy’s.

Mary grew up in Mississippi, where she experienced the trauma of parental abuse and lacked strong family attachments. When she was a young adult, an aunt moved Mary to the D.C. region hoping that she would find solace and success in a new environment.

With limited education and work experience, Mary was dependent on her aunt. When her aunt passed away, Mary found herself struggling to care for her family alone. She moved her family into emergency shelter after exhausting all other options. Stressed by her circumstances, Mary experienced depression and anxiety and used substances to self-medicate. Her addiction resulted in Tracy being removed from her care. Mary was tired and longed for change.

For Mary, it was intensive substance abuse treatment and connection to Everyone Home DC that allowed her to make lasting change. After getting clean and sober, Mary regained custody of Tracy and learned her family was eligible for housing through Everyone Home DC’s Permanent Supportive Housing program. She signed a lease for an apartment of her own and began receiving supportive services to ensure housing stabilization, maximum
levels of self-sufficiency, and a better quality of life. Everyone Home DC was there to help Mary and Tracy thrive in their new lives.

With stable housing and caring support from Everyone Home DC, Mary and Tracy were able to move beyond the past and focus on their future. Members of their Everyone Home DC support team have served as coordinators and advocates for Mary with landlords, service providers, and school administrators, and as motivators and cheerleaders for Mary and Tracy as they took on new challenges. Mary started attending Everyone Home DC’s parenting classes, finding comfort in the routine, while having a space to address parenting questions and creating meaningful friendships with other mothers in the program. Over the years, she rarely missed a class and grew into a leadership role, reminding her friends when meetings were scheduled and offering suggestions for how the group could evolve. Today, Mary is focused on improving her literacy skills and is looking for a consistent employment or volunteer opportunity.

Children experiencing homelessness tend to score lower on standardized tests and have lower graduation rates. It’s difficult to concentrate in class when you’re worried about your housing or don’t sleep well in shelter, and it’s hard to prepare for tests when you don’t have a home, let alone a quiet room where you can study. This was true for Tracy when she was homeless, but with her new stability in our housing program, Tracy enjoyed going to school and was able to focus on her homework, creating meaningful relationships with her friends, and pursuing her interest in fashion. Along the way, Everyone Home DC was there to help with navigating the education system, and with school enrichment fees, school supplies, and uniform costs. Tracy attended Washington Mathematics Science Technology Public Charter School all four years of high school. She excelled there and even took AP classes. This past spring, Tracy attended the school’s prom and shortly after, graduated from high school!

Thanks to her hard work and your support, Tracy’s story is just beginning. Tracy now has her sights set on attending university. She toured several campuses and has decided to stay in Washington, DC to attend Trinity University in the Spring. Tracy plans to be the first person in her family to graduate from university.

You are a part of Mary and Tracy’s story. Your continued support will make ongoing healing and progress possible for them and families like theirs. Everyone Home DC envisions the District of Columbia as a thriving and diverse community where all people can obtain and remain in safe, affordable, and comfortable homes. In the spirit of the season, please make an urgently needed contribution today. We need YOU to make this vision of opportunity possible. [LINK TO DONATE PAGE]

Celebrate Everyone Home DC’s 50th Anniversary with a $50 Donation and Provide An Emergency Package for a Family in Need. Today is #GivingTuesday, an international day of giving that introduces the charitable season. This #GivingTuesday, Everyone Home DC is asking its generous community to support families in crisis by ensuring each new family who walks through our door receives an Emergency Package. Your gift of $50 or more can provide a family with a supply of resources unique to their needs such as food, toiletries, diapers, wipes, formula, air mattresses, and cleaning supplies. Will you be there for the next family in crisis who comes to Everyone Home DC? Families who come to us for help each day are often living temporarily with relatives and friends, moving frequently. They find themselves on the verge of homelessness and are seeking assistance to stabilize their housing. An Emergency Package offers respite, in that moment, as they begin the work with our Family Homelessness Prevention Program team to develop a plan, identify resources, and set goals that will allow them to remain stably housed in their community and connected to their natural systems of support, rather than having to enter the shelter system.

GIFT A FAMILY EMERGENCY PACKAGE FOR $50 TODAY!

Last night, we collectively raised $85,000 with more than 450 registered participants! We were excited to see so many new and old friends and sincerely hope you are inspired to stay engaged with Everyone Home DC by donating your time, talent, or treasure. Your support means our city’s most vulnerable individuals and families have access to safe, affordable, and comfortable homes.

THANK YOU!

It is the responsibility of each of us to end homelessness is Washington, D.C. and to build the welcoming and inclusive community our founders believed is possible. If you’re interested in taking action today, consider doing one, two, three, or ALL of the following below. We look forward to staying in touch with you!

• FOLLOW Everyone Home DC on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. Be on the lookout, photos on Facebook coming soon!
• JOIN our Sip and Savor Host Committee and help create an even better 2019 Sip and Savor event.
• VOLUNTEER at Shirley’s Place (our drop-in day center) or join our Homeless Assistance Response Team (HART).
• COORDINATE an in-kind donation drive to and collect essential items for our programs and families.

To learn more contact Kate Akalonu at akalonu@everyonehomedc.org.

P.S. Each year, you provide us with post-event feedback that supports us in growing the success of Sip and Savor. Please consider taking this short survey (estimated completion time is 5 minutes) so we can continue in our success. Thank you!

For more information about HART, email volunteer@everyonehomedc.org.