Non-Profit Group Provides Homeless a Chance to Give

Last Saturday morning at the K-Mart in Annandale, over 70 kids ranging in age from five to 15 browsed shelves, perused packages, and pushed carts through the store as they searched out Christmas presents for loved ones. They were all there as part of a holiday shopping spree with Homestretch, a Falls Church-based non-profit organization that works to find solutions for homeless families in Northern Virginia.

As the holiday season gets into full swing this December, Homestretch is working to help kids in its youth programs, many of whom have never been able to take part in holiday shopping, or learn what it feels like to give as well as receive.

In her third year running the holiday shopping spree, Kristiine Panish, a child services coordinator at Homestretch, talked with the News-Press about the purpose of the event. “For most of them it’s the first time in their lives they’ve been able to shop on their own,” she said. Coming from families struggling to make ends meet, they haven’t had many opportunities to give to other people. The program is meant to teach them generosity and furnish them with the sense that they can lend a hand rather than always reaching out for one.

The event was made possible by the support from several businesses in the area including a generous donation from the Baltimore-based International Law Group. Additionally, K-Mart donated in its own way by taking a percentage off the cost of the gifts.

Among the children pushing carts Saturday was Julio, 6, helped out by volunteer Cheryl Winkler. Still barely tall enough to see over the cart, Julio was searching out gifts for his mother and three sisters. Limited to a $7 budget for each item, he scanned the toy isles for stuffed animals and dolls that might appeal to his siblings. In his cart was already a set of bath products for his mother.

As Julio shopped, Winkler occasionally had to remind him what he was looking for, as his eye was drawn by the racks of toy cars and action figures. Though starting tentatively, unsure what to do, by the time he’d placed the final gift in the cart and headed for the checkout line, he had shed his introverted demeanor and chirped about his family, what he wants for Christmas and anything else that attracted his attention.

For Winkler it was her first time volunteering with Homestretch. She found out about the event from the Internet and contacted Panish about donating her time. The enthusiasm and organization of Panish attracted her, and she and her teenage daughter decided to take part.

Even with the early 8 a.m. Saturday start time, she said that she has had a wonderful time and would like to make this part of a yearly tradition.

Panish said that they have had little trouble finding volunteers to help out with the shopping spree. Every year they get a lot of calls from people who have volunteered in the past, found them on the Internet, or referred by services like Volunteer Fairfax.

While one of the more popular events in the schedule at Homestretch, it is only one of many programs that Homestretch runs in its efforts to provide educational and developmental services for the children of families struggling with housing.

Founded in 1990, Homestretch provides transitional housing to families facing homelessness. Helping a family deal with homelessness is a four step process that begins with outreach to families and ends with those families finding permanent housing and being able to sustain themselves without outside assistance.

Taking those families from the initial need to the final result is, in large part, the work of places like Homestretch. While other organizations deal with the initial problem of emergency housing for those who have been evicted or living with friends or family, those organizations eventually refer the families to Homestretch to arrange for transitional housing and to help provide necessary services to those families to ensure they don’t end up homeless again.

While people often think of the homeless as being single men, homelessness in families is growing quickly. According to a study by the National Coalition for the Homeless, families, single mothers and children are the largest segment of the homeless population in rural areas.

In the Fairfax County area the problem is compounded by the lack of affordable housing throughout the region. According to data from the National Low Income Housing Coalition, the median rent in 2003 for a two bedroom apartment in Fairfax County required a family income of $48,720 to be deemed affordable; that is, no more than 30% of a household's total income.

By comparison, the poverty level for a four person household with two children was $18,244 a year. While the poverty level in Fairfax County, the largest county in Northern Virginia, was only 4.5% according to the 2000 Census, it means that over 43,000 people were surviving on less than half of what they would need to afford their housing.

In order to survive these families find themselves paying a higher percentage of their monthly income towards rent, and with many of them lacking health insurance, they are often one illness or accident away from ending up homeless.

Homelessness is much more prevalent and complicated than the common perception of the derelict sleeping on the city streets or on park benches. Homestretch executive director Nancy Taxson told the News-Press that the problem is bigger than statistics show.

While the homeless population in Fairfax County is tabulated at 2,000 people, Taxson said there are many more that aren’t being counted. “For every one homeless person there are another two or three of what are called the invisible homeless.” The invisible homeless don’t show up on the homeless lists because they aren’t living in shelters or receiving services. Rather they are living homeless below the radar with friends, family members, in cars, or other makeshift shelters not meant for human occupancy.

At Homestretch they are very aware of the need. Every month they receive 20 referrals from area service organizations and are only able to accept four. There are at present 7,000 families on the Section 8 waiting list, a program to provide subsidized housing for people in need.

For families dealing with homelessness, the problems are greater than simply not having a place to live. According to the National Coalition for the Homeless, homelessness has profoundly damaging effects on families, especially children.

In a study by the Better Homes Fund, it was discovered that homeless children are in poor or fair health twice as often as children in stable housing situations and have higher rates of asthma, ear infections, stomach problems, and speech problems. Additionally, insecure housing also means that children are often bounced around from school to school, making it harder for them to learn and achieve for their future. For Homestretch these issues are just as important as making sure the family has a place to live.

When a family is accepted by Homestretch the parents and the children start taking part in the programs run by the center. To begin with the family is provided with transitional housing within 20 miles of the Homestretch offices. Homestretch owns 19 properties and leases another 46 properties in the area. When the families take up residence in the properties they pay 31% of their monthly salaries towards rent and utilities and Homestretch covers the remaining balance. For the next two years they will live in the properties while working to get themselves back on their feet. While they are enrolled in the program the parents are required to be working, taking classes, or at Homestretch for training. Homestretch runs life skills classes that include subjects like parenting, money management, time management and violence and abuse prevention.

They also offer employment assistance and training. Homestretch pairs clients up with job counselors who give assistance in preparing resumes, learning computer skills or other job skills, and interview techniques. The counselor also helps clients without a high school diploma for the GED exam.

The organization also offers assistance with a variety of other issues that include credit counseling, ESL training, substance abuse and legal counseling.

For children, Homestretch works to help them integrate into the school system and get the most out of their education. As a child services coordinator, Panish works as a go-between for families and schools. She ensures that children are enrolled in the appropriate school, vaccinated, and can access any services they may need.

Additionally, she helps organize programs like the holiday shopping spree, the week long summer camp, or smaller activities every week that teach skills like cooperation and communication, and provide outside support for kids running into problems.

Panish said that in just the three years she has worked at Homestretch she has seen how the programs helps the children. “When they first come into the program they often have a problem with security. But after we work with them for the two years they become a lot more outgoing,” she said.

Through all the attention paid to the entire family Homestretch has managed to push its clients to achieve. Over the period of a year Homestretch serves around 100 families and during their 13 years of work in Northern Virginia they have helped more than 670 families and over 1,700 children find their own success.

They have learned that the vast majority of the people they work with are able to take advantages of the Homestretch services with 87% of those enrolled in their program making the transition into their own homes.

They also keep in touch with the families they have worked with for years after they leave the program. Through periodic surveys and interviews with the clients over two years after they left the program, they can tell that 90% of the families continue to be self sufficient on their own, and have also learned that twelve of the families they worked with have become first time homeowners.

Their work has earned them regional and national recognition by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the Washington Post, and the Public Housing Management Institute.

Still the problem of homelessness is larger than their present resources. While they manage to help around 100 families every year, they still have to turn away referrals. But they continue to do more. At every opportunity they are purchasing more properties in order to provide more transitional housing and in the next several years they plan to expand their work into Arlington and Loudon Counties.