Join Everyone Home DC friends, volunteers, and staff for a virtual Halloween themed Happy Hour event on Wednesday, October 28 at 5:30 p.m. We are excited to come together in friendship to discuss ways we can support our community during these uncertain times. Sign up to receive the Zoom information in advance of the gathering today.

AND, back by popular demand. Everyone Home DC supporters and volunteers will kick off the Halloween themed gathering by walking participants through the steps to make their very own Black Widow Smash cocktail. Below is the ingredient list for those who want to join the fun of making the cocktail.

Consider embracing the Halloween theme by wearing a costume, dressing your pet/s in costume, adding a Halloween themed Zoom background, or whatever else feels fun! And just seeing your face in Zoomland is more than enough!

BLACK WIDOW SMASH COCKTAIL INGREDIENTS

• 8 fresh blackberries, plus more for topping
• 1-2 teaspoons fresh rosemary, plus a sprig for serving
• 3 tablespoons/ 1.5 ounces lemon ( about 1/2 of a lemon)
• 1-2 tablespoons honey
• 1 1/2 – 2 ounces / 1 – 1.5 shots / 3-4 tablespoons tequila or Mezcal
• a couple dashes of Angostura bitters
• sparkling water, for topping
• 5-8 ice cubes

Last week, the city announced the results of the 2020 Point in Time (PIT) Count of Persons Experiencing Homelessness. The annual PIT report provides a one-night “snapshot” of the number of individuals and families staying either in shelter, temporary housing, or on the street in the DC region. Information collected informs city leaders, policymakers, and funders on emerging service needs and noticeable gaps in supportive services, and offers a guide for future program planning. This year’s count conducted on January 22, 2020, welcomed more than 300 volunteers who provided support—including a team lead by Everyone Home DC. It should be noted that the final report does not reflect the challenges of people experiencing homelessness due to the impact of the pandemic caused by coronavirus.

“As our city continues to face a public health crisis, it is clearer than ever that housing is health care. We must prioritize ensuring every person in the District has the right to a safe, affordable, and comfortable home,” Karen Cunningham, Everyone Home DC Executive Director, reflected after reviewing the full report. “We appreciate seeing that family homelessness continues to decrease—this year by 5.8 percent—and that the number of individuals experiencing chronic homelessness* decreased by 2.7 percent since last year. These results do reflect the impact of the District’s prioritization of individuals and families living in the most vulnerable of living situations.”

The PIT report notes homelessness prevention programs and permanent housing solutions are key drivers in reducing homelessness. At Everyone Home DC, we are proud of our contribution to this trend:

• Everyone Home DC is one of four organizations selected to run a family homelessness prevention program to help families avoid a shelter stay, when possible, by stabilizing their housing in the community. In 2019, 91 percent of the families working with Everyone Home DC’s homelessness prevention program were able to avoid a shelter stay.
• One hundred four families achieved and maintained housing stability through Everyone Home DC’s Rapid Rehousing, Permanent Supportive Housing, and ADA Accessible Shelter Units.
• Everyone Home DC helped ten chronically homeless individuals move into their own homes through our Street Outreach Program.

And yet, the demographics of this year’s report are consistent with past years’ and highlight that ending homelessness cannot happen without actively addressing racial inequity. Black people living in Washington, DC, are disproportionately impacted by homelessness, making up 86.4 percent of the homeless population, while representing only 46.6 percent of our city’s population. We must collectively acknowledge that this is no accident and is the result of historical and continued racism in our country—from slavery and violent land theft to housing discrimination that exists even today. Black people are more likely to experience poverty and other social inequalities that place people at risk of homelessness, ranging from interactions with the child welfare and criminal legal systems to lack of access to affordable housing, employment, and health care.

“Everyone Home DC knows that the systems, programs, and individuals that exist to serve people experiencing homelessness must continue to intentionally address the myriad of injustices that have resulted from systemic racism and racial inequity,” Karen Cunningham observes. “We are committed to addressing the disparities in the way services across our city are provided, and our city must adequately fund programs to ensure all Black people in our city have what they most need to thrive.”

There is more we must do to ensure no individual experiences the trauma of homelessness. There is a critical need for an increased supply of affordable housing, more significant support for the delivery of wrap-around services, and dedicated efforts to decrease the disparity between income and housing costs in the District. To accomplish this, we call for the DC Council to act with urgency and fully fund the asks of The Way Home Campaign so more individuals can move from our city’s streets and shelters into safe, affordable, and comfortable homes.

Continue learning about and reviewing the data collected from the 2020 Point in Time (PIT) Count of Persons Experiencing Homelessness:

• Download the full report here
• Explore the data on The Community Partnership for the Prevention of Homelessness Point-in-Time Dashboard as well as other fact sheets and reports.
• Read Mayor Bowser’s full statement

*People who are chronically homeless have experienced homelessness for at least a year—or repeatedly—while struggling with a disabling condition such as a serious mental illness, substance use disorder, or physical disability. 

Ending homelessness cannot happen without addressing racial inequity. In the United States, Black Americans are disproportionately impacted by homelessness, making up 40 percent of the homeless population, while representing only 13 percent of the population. Black people are five times more likely to experience homelessness than white people. In Washington, DC, Black or African American make up 86.4 percent of the homeless population, while representing only 46.6 percent of our city’s population. AND, according to the National Alliance to End Homelessness, this imbalance is not improving over time.

The overrepresentation of Black Americans in the homeless population is no accident. It is the result of historical and continued racism–from slavery and violent land theft to housing discrimination that exists even today. Black people are more likely to experience poverty and other social gaps that place people at risk of homelessness, ranging from interactions with the child welfare and criminal legal systems to lack of access to affordable housing, employment and health care, and the longstanding impacts from the practice of redlining, which prohibited black people from accruing land and wealth. Black people are also more likely to experience bias within the very systems and data algorithms designed to support them.

Everyone Home DC knows that the systems, programs, and individuals that exist to serve people experiencing homelessness must continue to intentionally address the myriad of injustices that have resulted from systemic racism and racial inequity. We are committed to addressing the disparities that exist in the way services across our city are provided, and our city must adequately fund programs to ensure all Black people have access to safe, affordable, and comfortable homes in the District.

To continue learning, we recommend checking out the resources available about racial inequality available on the National Alliance to End Homelessness website.