Case for Support
Partnering with women experiencing housing insecurity to build brighter, more sustainable futures and break the cycle of homelessness.
NEW has been transforming the lives of women in DC since 1988. By providing housing, fostering the development of life skills, and promoting access to education and pathways to employment, NEW partners with women to create independent, self-sufficient futures.​​​
The Need
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Over the past 37 years, NEW has recognized and responded to shifting and compounding factors behind the challenges facing our clients. Homelessness in 2025 is often the result of systemic inequities and the traumas that multiply under such circumstances. Underlying these are factors that can be addressed more individually: education, housing, health care, job preparedness, employment.
Rent in DC is the third most expensive in the country, and renting a studio apartment here could easily cost someone making the median DC salary about 40% of a person’s income. Most residents in the District are one expensive emergency away from losing their homes.
According to the 2025 DC Point in Time (PIT) Count, on any given night there are 5,138 unhoused individuals, and of these 19% are minors and 36.8% are women. In 2025, DC saw a decrease in the total number of unhoused individuals, but the percentage of women experiencing homelessness increased.
Women experiencing homelessness face unique challenges. They have higher rates of mental health issues, suicidal thoughts and attempts, and childhood trauma and report high rates of gender-specific health concerns. NEW’s approach is trauma-informed, working to understand each woman’s unique challenges and traumas as they work towards stable housing and personal goals.
Our History
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NEW was founded by a group of women volunteering at emergency homeless shelters in Washington DC. These women recognized an urgent need: emergency shelters only provided space for clients from 7 pm to 7 am. For those trying to find stability—especially women caring for children—such programs only exacerbated existing conditions of instability and hardship. Without a permanent place to call home, unhoused individuals are hard-pressed to break generational cycles of homelessness.
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NEW’s founders understood that women in DC struggling with homelessness do not have many options. Emergency shelters are rarely dedicated to serving the needs of women. For women who have experienced domestic violence, sexual assault, or other traumas, there was no safe place to go and little available to meet the unique needs and experiences of women facing housing instability.
Our first program, New Transitions, opened in 1988 with the support of the District.
able housing and personal goals.
Our Work
Each year, NEW provides stable housing and support to 130 women and their children. We recognize that women and families experiencing homelessness are not a monolith. Over 37 years of serving women in the District, NEW has evolved and adapted to the shifting, compounding causes of homelessness to provide evidence-based, trauma-informed, individualized care and support to meet each client’s unique needs and goals.
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The majority of NEW's clients have been chronically homeless, suffering dehumanizing and isolating experiences while unhoused. Such experiences take a massive toll on health outcomes, self-confidence levels, and the ability to envision better futures. NEW prioritizes mental health and recovery support, as well as skills-based resources and experiences cultivating self-care, connection, and hope.
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Housing alone is not a cure for chronic homelessness; as the women we serve work to rebuild their lives, they need a stable community of care and support—just as we all do when navigating life’s big challenges. Even after our clients have moved to stable housing, secured jobs, or been reunited with family members, we strive to stay in touch so that every woman and child who enters our doors knows they will always have a place to turn.
Our Programs
NEW operates six transitional and permanent supportive housing programs for women in the District.
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New Transitions offers up to two years of group housing and intensive supportive services to 30 homeless women who are overcoming challenges such as addiction and mental illness.
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Shelter Plus Care provides private apartments and highly individualized supportive services for an open-ended amount of time to eight women who need ongoing intensive case management and support for chronic needs.
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New Horizons provides private apartments and family-centered intensive services for an open-ended amount of time to 17 families, many of whom are recovering from domestic abuse.
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New Journeys offers structure and support in a dorm-style setting for six women aged 55 and older, most of whom have chronic illness and have been without stable housing for many years.
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New Journeys II provides private apartments for 15 women aged 55 and older, most of whom suffer chronic illness and have been without stable housing for many years.
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Kathy’s House serves 17 women in apartments and a shared home setting, supporting residents to reach employment and self-sufficiency goals.
We are currently serving 16 children in YEP!, supporting their development of confidence and excellence in reading and math skills.
Our Team & Community Partners
NEW’s greatest strengths are the commitment and care of our staff members. Our team is a tight-knit group of individuals, many of whom have personally experienced a variety of the same challenges facing our clients, motivating the work and ensuring an extra degree of care and empathy.
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Deeply rooted in our community of service providers in DC, NEW has long worked in collaboration with other organizations in the District like The Community Partnership for the Prevention of Homelessness, Calvary Women’s Services, House of Ruth, and more. We are grateful for ongoing supportive corporate partnerships with organizations like McKinsey, Deloitte, JLL, Nestle, and others. New Endeavors by Women was founded with the backing of DC DHS and remains a close working partner, as we implement grant-based projects through DC’s social service programs.
Help Us Today!
Become a Partner for the Future
Join the elite team of dedicated individuals who support NEW by committing to monthly giving and become a NEW Partner for the Future today.
Being a Partner for the Future ensures the ongoing promise of NEW’s housing and support services for homeless women and children. Knowing that NEW can count on regular, recurring gifts allows us to budget and plan to make an ongoing impact on the issues facing DC’s most vulnerable women and children. Even $5 a month makes a difference. Join Partners for the Future today!
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Planned Giving
Build your legacy today by planning to leave a gift in your will to benefit NEW after you are gone. New Endeavors by Women accepts charitable bequests and bequest intentions, among other forms of planned giving (non-cash assets, revocable living trusts, charitable remainder trusts, charitable gift annuities, life insurance gifts, and endowment funds
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Workplace Giving
Thousands of companies match their employees’ donations. Ask your workplace HR coordinator today if your company participates in matching employee donations.
Other Giving Options
NEW also accepts gifts via stock donations or qualified charitable distributions. To discuss these options or other ways to give to NEW, please contact Caroline Condon. NEW’s EIN is 52-1547845.
