Poverty Archives - Read. Think. Act.

Western Fairfax Christian Ministries with Rebecca Kolowe

(Sept. 19, 2018) Catherine Read interviews Rebecca Kolowe, Executive Director of Western Fairfax Christian Ministries (WFCM). WFCM provides compassionate, life essential services to reduce hunger and the risk of homelessness amongst vulnerable residents of Western Fairfax County. WFCM serves individuals and families of all ages, religions and nationalities from the communities of Chantilly, Centerville, Clifton, Fairfax Station and Fair Oaks.

Thirty-one years ago, 12 local churches came together to found WFCM. Today, the organization has the participation of over 40 local communities of faith, including mosques and synagogues. The food pantry is the primary focus, although they do also offer assistance with utility shut-off and eviction notices. Kolowe notes that they will never turn anyone away, and all who walk through their doors will be served a meal. Most of their clients come to them through referrals from the County, and most return on a monthly basis to stock up on essentials.

Hunger knows no bounds, and WFCM serves those of all age groups. Kolowe points out that 15% of the people frequenting WFCM are seniors. Recently, there were two large fires in the community, which displaced many residents. The senior home that caught on fire destroyed 88 units, and WFCM helped to support the displaced residents. They worked hand in hand with other organizations within the community to help replace items such as medication, dentures and medical equipment.

On October 12^th WFCM will hold its 11^th annual gala dinner in order to raise funds to support their very important work. Ken Harvey, former linebacker from the Washington Redskins, will be the keynote speaker and Tracie Potts of NBC News will be the Mistress of Ceremonies. Kolowe is excited about the event, and hopes to grow attendance in order to raise money for the organization. If you would like to join them, or become a sponsor, tickets are available on their website.

One of the largest obstacles that many of her clients face is traveling to the pantry, since many of her clients do not have their own cars. It can sometimes take an entire afternoon of bus travel to make a 5-mile trip to the pantry. Kolowe would love to think outside the box, and work with their partners in the community to help solve these problems. For example, she could envision volunteers who are able to transport clients from their places of worship to and from the pantry, to ease the burden on her clients. There are many possibilities when everyone comes together to help tackle these obstacles, and Kolowe is open to exploring all of the possibilities.

by Rachel Simon

Family PASS – Patricia Kearns – Your Need to Know

(Aug. 29, 2018) Catherine Read interviews Patricia Kearns, Executive Director of Family PASS (Preservation And Strengthening Services). The mission of Family PASS is to help families who are homeless, or are at risk of homelessness, in Fairfax County connect with the support services that they need to become self-sufficient. The work of Family PASS is an integral part of Fairfax County’s 10-year plan to prevent and end homelessness in the community.

Patricia Kearns Family PASS Family PASS was founded in 2006 and has served 120 families, including over 250 children since inception. Kearns shares that 33% of the homeless population in Fairfax County is under the age of 18. Keeping families in their homes is among some of the most important aspects of the work that Family PASS does, as this ensures stability in education for the children. They provide access to emergency funding in order to reduce the rate of evictions, and provide the needed wrap-around social services to address issues that are at the root of the problem. This includes education, job training, medical and dental care, transportation assistance and help with childcare. These services are designed to help people get employed, or stay employed, so that they can afford to support themselves.

Kearns explains how the system works for a person or family who is at risk of homelessness in Fairfax County. The Coordinated Services planning office will assess the needs of a family, and then refer them to a partner organization that can help. When a family is identified as needing emergency assistance in order to remain in their home, they are directed to Family PASS.

Family PASS also receive referrals from organizations like Northern Virginia Family Services, who embrace the “housing first” philosophy. After a family gets settled with housing, they might be referred to Family Pass for additional support services, so that they can acquire the skills that they need to remain in their home. For example, they may need help with financial literacy skills so they understand how to budget the money that they do have in order to ensure that they do not lose their home.

Although Kearns notes that there are 987 homeless individuals who are identified in Fairfax County today (a reduction in half of what it was in 2008), there are still many more people living on the edge who are at extreme risk of losing their homes. Approximately 20,000 people fall into this category, while another 63,000 people are living at or just below the poverty line.

These are the working poor, those who make minimum wage in low skill service jobs. Many of these people are in shared housing arrangements because of the lack of affordable housing here in Fairfax County. She also points out that the minimum wage of $7.25/hour, is not a living wage. These individuals cannot support themselves, let alone a family, on this meager income. This situation leads to people trying to hold down multiple jobs in order to make ends meet. Kearns encourages all who are watching to bring up the issue of affordable housing and a living wage to their local elected officials. People can appeal to their local supervisors, town councils and state legislators to urge them to support these important initiatives.

by Rachel Simon

Women Giving Back/Transitional Assistance Program

(June 27, 2018) Catherine Read interviews Nicole Morris, Operations Manager of Women Giving Back (WGB), and Dona Dei of the Transitional Assistance Program (TAP), an arm of the Arlington Diocese Catholic Charities Prison Ministry at Loudoun ADC. These women are working to assist those who are transitioning out of prisons and shelters, and need assistance with clothing and accessories as they embark on a new journey to independence.

In the first segment Catherine discusses with Dona Dei the challenges faced by women transitioning out of prison. These women face many obstacles, including not having a home to return to, not having proper identification, not having necessary skills to land a good job and needing clothing. Many of these women lost everything they had when they went to prison, and have nothing to return to. Additionally, there are those who face addiction and substance abuse problems that prevent them from being able to move their lives forward. The TAP program is uniquely suited to work with these women in helping them reshape their lives. In partnership with Women Giving Back, TAP is able to identify the needs of each individual woman, and pair them with the services they need to get off to a good start upon re-entry to civilian life.

In the second segment Catherine speaks with Nicole Morris, Operations Manager for Women Giving Back (WGB). WGB’s mission is to support women and children in crisis, and build their confidence and self-esteem by providing great quality clothing at no cost, assisted by caring volunteers who offer personalized service and interaction. The organization was founded back in 2007 by a group of professional women, all of who were connected in some way with the local homebuilding industry. WGB was formed under HomeAid Northern Virginia as a way to supplement the great work that they do for the homeless and transitionally homeless community. WGB has grown considerably since then, and is now a 501(C)(3) nonprofit and runs a newly renovated 13,000 square foot warehouse and boutique in Sterling, VA.

WGB works with over 200 partner organizations to serve the needs of women in crisis throughout the Washington DC metropolitan area. With only 2 staff members, the organization uses over 2000 volunteers to carry out its mission. Volunteer tasks include sorting and organizing donations, providing personal shopping services to clients, driving donations to partner organizations throughout the metro area, and packaging the Bag-To-Go care packages for women who are unable to travel to the boutique.

For clients who are able to travel to the boutique in Sterling, there are volunteers who act as personal shoppers, who can help them find a variety of clothing and accessories to meet their needs. The shop is open every second Saturday of the month for current residents of local shelters, transitional housing facilities and safe houses. Women and children who are qualified by their case managers can shop free of charge and take up to 50 items on each visit.

The WGB website is a wealth of information for both clients and volunteers. The calendar lists hours of operation, along with volunteer opportunities. Morris shares that the organization was just given a grant to implement a more robust volunteer software to help better manage the different jobs and keep track of volunteer scheduling and communication. Every year they work with more and more corporate partners, who hold clothing drives, and then have their staff come into the facility and help with sorting and organizing at the end of the drive. Morris says this is a great way for a local company to give back to those in need right in their own community. The WGB website includes a detailed Donation Drive Guide for anyone interested in hosting an event.

by Rachel Simon

Western Fairfax Christian Ministries

(May 30, 2018) Host Catherine read sits down with Rebecca Kolowe, Executive Director of Western Fairfax Christian Ministries (WFCM). Formed in 1987, WFCM is a coalition of 12 area churches from Centerville and Chantilly that provide life-essential services to reduce hunger and the risk of homelessness amongst the most vulnerable residents of western Fairfax County. For the past 29 years, WFCM has been a critical safety net for those struggling to make ends meet.

WFCM hosts the largest client choice food pantry in the community. This means that residents can come and “shop” at the pantry for items that meet their needs. For example, instead of clients being given a bag of food when they show up, they can actually browse the pantry to find what would best meet the needs for their family. This helps reduce waste, and can accommodate for food allergies. Additionally, during the holidays the organization supports a holiday food program to ensure that everyone enjoys food during the Thanksgiving and Christmas. They have also put together a wonderful turn-key “do it yourself kit” for food drives, so individual organizations like schools, scouts or swim clubs could put together a food drive to help support the pantry. This is especially helpful for the summer months, when children are not in school and families need extra support to help cover meals.

Emergency financial assistance is another key aspect of the WFCM program. If a family finds themselves unable to meet a utility bill or make a mortgage payment, there are resources that can be used to help them meet their obligations. The organization also runs the “Pathways to Success” program, where they work individually with 12-15 families at a time to provide a class in financial counseling, along with individual meetings, to help clients learn the skills they need to become financially independent. Upon graduation from the program, each family receives a $5,000 scholarship to be used to pay off debts and/or be put into a savings account. This helps to put families on a path to a brighter future. The goal is to equip each family with the skills needed to sustain their success.

In the second segment of the show, Kolowe speaks about how poverty in the western part of Fairfax County is often hidden, and many people quietly struggle to put enough food on the table and pay their bills on time. In the further out suburbs, there are not many low-income housing projects or the type of impoverished neighborhoods that are seen in the inner city. Often times, there are many families living together under one roof. They face challenges with transportation, with fewer direct bus routes and options for people who rely on public transportation. Kolowe notes that it can be a real struggle for a family who has no car to travel to their facility. It might take all afternoon for a client to reach them, because the bus route might take them from Centerville first to Vienna, where they would have to switch buses to get a connection to go to Chantilly. In recent years, Kolowe has been an advocate for updating the transportation routes in order to better serve their clients, a role she was not aware she was going to have to play as Executive Director of WFCM. Her point is that all of these things are interconnected, and it is important to advocate all across the spectrum to help lift the burden for their clients, who often do not have a voice of their own in the public policy arena.

This past spring WFCM had the joy of welcoming an intern to their organization, and with the extra help and energy they were able to launch two new programs for their clients. In partnership with Computer Core, they established a resume-writing seminar, which was well attended and received positive feedback. They are also partnering with the Centerville Presbyterian Church to support the community garden program called “Seeds of Hope”. Pantry clients are encouraged to use the plots at the church to grow their own food, which they can then take home. In conjunction with the community garden program, WFCM encourages community members to donate their excess vegetables from their own gardens to the pantry, or to simply “add a row” of extra vegetables that they could then donate. Looking towards the horizon, Kolowe hopes to bring more new and creative programs to life that will help lift up her clients, as WFCM continues to grow and evolve.