Homestretch News

News

December 2011 - Support Homestretch Families

Did you know that there were over 3,000 people seeking help in Fairfax County

Did you know that the average age of a homeless person in the is only nine years old?

Homestretch does its part every day to end homelessness for families with children, right here in Northern Virginia

There is no better time than now, when we approach the holidays, to consider those families who are homeless and in despair; your contributions will help end homelessness forever for families enrolled in Homestretch.

Click on Donate Now and follow the steps for a safe and secure online donation.

March 2010 - Domestic Violence and Human Trafficking
As many as 50% of the families coming to Homestretch cite domestic violence as a significant contributing factor in their homelessness. The number of women in our region who are deciding that they are fed up with the abuse at the hands of their abusers is growing, and many of them, once they flee, have no other place to go than a family shelter. From these shelters, many of the women, with their children in tow, come to Homestretch. Most of these families have left with little more than a few bags of clothes.

In addition, Homestretch is seeing an increase in the number of homeless women and children who have been human trafficked. Many of these women are from countries where English is not their first language, and acclimation to American culture, along with recovery from their trauma, requires a lot of special care.

Once in Homestretch, the following services are offered to these survivors of domestic abuse and human trafficking:

Subsidized and furnished housing in a location that is unknown to the abuser, and in a community where he is likely not to find her;
Enrollment of the children in a new school or child care provider unknown to the abuser, and ongoing support for the children in their new school;
Legal services, including protective orders and representation;
Safety planning;
Immediate relocation in safer locations if the abuser discovers her whereabouts;
Psychotherapy for mother and children;
Peer support groups;
Domestic violence education classes;
Health and wellness groups;
Financial literacy education (individual and group);
Employment assistance;
Micro-loans;
ESL classes;
Transportation assistance;
Child care assistance.

Women entering Homestretch due to domestic violence are welcome to partake of the myriad of other services offered, including GED tutoring, credit counseling, academic tutoring, access to medical care, and help with applications and scholarships for continuing education or vocational training programs.

Homestretch partners with a wide variety of agencies and organizations to provide as complete a series of services as possible to domestic violence survivors. These include the Center for Multi-Cultural Services, Artemis House, Shelter House, SOS and Polaris House, Tahirah Justice Center, the Women’s Center, FAITH, Falls Church and Fairfax County Police, and more.

March 2010 - Exciting Corporate Partnership

Homestretch was adopted by CASE Design the premier remodeling company on the metropolitan DC region. In August of 2009, members of CASE Design installed five new kitchens in Homestretch apartments, and installed another five new kitchens in Homestretch apartments in early March 2010. What an amazing gift to our families!

The nation’s top Public Relations firm, Edelman, has also adopted Homestretch for 2010, and will be instrumental in helping Homestretch make the most of our 20th Anniversary Gala in October. Edelman is also helping Homestretch clients to learn how to prepare resumes, interview for jobs, and in general, how to find and keep jobs. Thank you, Edelman!

We are extremely proud to have established a partnership with Excella Consulting. Last year, almost 50 Excella employees came to Homestretch, along with several staff members from Greater DC Cares, which helped plan the event, and undertook a series of projects in service to Homestretch and our families. For example, one team landscaped several of our town houses, while another team cleaned gutters and dug out an old dead tree stump. Meanwhile, another team painted the rooms in which we hold our Life Skills classes, and still another team sorted though the warehouse where we store donated furniture and when they were done, the room was organized and tidy and space was cleared for new donations. They accomplished all of this in only four hours – as a matter of fact, most of the teams were done early! Excella also had an art contest among our children to select a holiday card for the company, which was great fun for our children.