Dear Friends,
I drive past New Jersey Avenue and O Street, Northwest on occasion, where dozens of tents house people experiencing homelessness. These encampments are all over the city, and no matter how long I work in this field, I feel for the people who, due to life challenges that in many cases started long ago, have ended up sleeping in a tent in a park. It can make me feel hopeless. Then I come into NEW, and I feel a renewed faith that we can address homelessness together. I see LaShawn, who spent ten years sleeping in shelters or friends’ couches before coming to NEW and is now working hard to earn all As in her high school classes. (And she loves it!) I see Michelle, who is sober and working for Stay DC. I see Tracy, who builds up the other women in the program, attends school and has a job. (She was so moved when Program Director Claudine Witter awarded her Client of the Month recently, she cried.) These stories and these women are why I continue to do this work. NEW provides the basics like housing, food, Metro cards and toiletries, but NEW also provides the women with something equally important: a community of support and encouragement. NEW is a place where women can reimagine who they are and what they can do. As one alumna put it about why she came to NEW, she said, “I wanted me back.”
As the holiday season approaches, I hope you will remember NEW and the women and be inspired to give to our End Of Year Campaign. Your support helps us to continue to hire outstanding case managers who guide the women to help them regain their sense of self and worth. It’s about housing, yes, but it’s also about the trusting relationships that are established between the women and their case managers that result in the women gaining confidence to take steps toward their goals and potential, and that is where NEW’s real success lies.
Please consider a gift to our End-of-Year Campaign so we can continue helping women like LaShawn, Michelle, and Tracy. With Gratitude,
Wanda Steptoe, Executive Director
P.S. Text 44-321 with the message NewEndOfYear21 to give to NEW women and children who are achieving stability and confidence with the help of NEW.
Comentarios