Words from an intern...

As a college student, I would tell you that my ideal summer consists of sleeping in, freedom from homework and studying, and hanging out with my friends as much as possible. As a future professional hoping to pave the best possible path towards my future, even in this downturned economy, the reality of my summer is vastly different.

This is not a complaint. Yes, I would love to sleep away my summer, but I also would feel entirely useless as a result. Instead, I am spending my summer interning. I am not sleeping my days away – I am making a difference in the lives of others. Trust me, you can’t feel like your time is better spent than this. I am working at Homestretch, a non-profit in Northern Virginia that provides transitional housing for homeless families. Beyond working in a place that, simply from the description, sounds honorable, I am lucky enough to have received a position that is well-suited to my future career goals. I am the child services intern, and I intend on working with children in the future. Ideal, right? I agree.

I spend my days working on projects that will directly impact the lives of the families that Homestretch helps. I have only interned five weeks so far, and I have already planned an entire summer picnic for the families, organized backpack stuffing for the school-aged children, collected over $300 in donations, executed a clothing drive to get new school clothes for all of the kids 18 and under, and coordinated a summer theatre program. I can’t provide a look into my typical day, because no day is the same. Some days I am traveling to local businesses to make connections and get donations. Other days I am writing up a lesson plan for a summer field trip with the teenagers. Each day is unique. No matter what I’m doing though, my time is definitely well-spent, and my projects always reach back to help the people. That’s what matters the most to me – the people.

A position where I could help others – that was my requirement for my summer internship. Yes, I wanted an internship that would compliment my future goals and expand upon my educational instruction. But none of that would matter if I wasn’t helping people with my internship position. I got lucky with Homestretch. As a small non-profit, there is constant close interaction between the employees and the clients. This fuels the whole environment – open, caring, productive. You would be lucky to be helped by these people, just like I am lucky to get to be a part of it all.

Homestretch Wins Awards at Volunteer Fairfax Service Awards Celebration

This past Friday, April 23rd, Homestretch attended the Volunteer Fairfax Service Awards Celebration with some of our amazing volunteers. Volunteer Fairfax is an amazing non-profit partner of ours that is located on Main Street in Fairfax. They are the volunteer portal for all non-profits and corporations. We get a good percent of our amazing volunteers who find us through the Volunteer Fairfax website!

There were many categories that were competitive, and Homestretch had nominated some of our beloved volunteers, and some other categories were Volunteer Program, and Corporate Volunteer Groups. And what do you know? Homestretch won for the best Volunteer Program, and our amazing partners at Excella Consulting won for best Corporate Volunteers. We were just blown away, and are so thankful for these two amazing honors!

We will post pictures soon!

Employment Center Keeps Moving Forward During Tough Times.

As of February 2010, Virginia had one of the highest unemployment increases at 7.2 %. The national average remains at 9.7%. Meanwhile, the unemployment rates for Homestretch clients closely mirrors that of Virginia at anywhere between 5-13%.

The Employment Center is open for job seekers to find employment, brush up on their skills, or research training opportunities. Homestretch requires that all unemployed clients spend 40 a week doing any and all of the above. The Employment Counselor works one on one with jobseekers to develop resumes, cover letters, and locate employment and volunteer opportunities. There are roughly 4-8 job seekers each day in the Employment Center.

While finding employment is a necessity, it is just as important to develop new skills. This month, the Employment Center will reinstate computer training classes for job seekers looking for develop or brush up on their computer & typing skills. The Employment Center also works with the Falls Church SkillSource Center and Fairfax County Adult & Community Education Center (ACE) to refer job seekers for further training programs.

As every job seeker should know, finding employment is a fulltime job. The Employment Center is available M-F from 9:00 – 5:30pm to assist in all aspects of job seeking.

If you are an employer who would like information on working with Homestretch to hire a job seeker please contact Maryna Pim at mpim@homestretch-inc.org.

exCelebrating Excella Consulting!

On Monday January 18th while most people took the day off to celebrate Martin Luther King Day, the staff of Excella Consulting took their day to help make a difference at Homestretch. 50 Excella employees came to help make a difference in their community.

The group was split up in different teams and did various projects for Homestretch. There were some people who helped paint two of our units; there was a group that helped paint our Homestretch offices, and another group that helped move all of our donations from building 360 to building 350…all in just FOUR HOURS!

We are so thankful for Excella and all the work that they did, and continue to do to help further the mission of Homestretch! For more information on Excella please go to http://www.excellaconsulting.com/.

Holiday Shopping Spree & Gift Wrapping Party!

On Saturday, December 5th approximately 100 Homestretch staff, volunteers, and clients showed up at the K-Mart in Annandale, VA for our annual Holiday Shopping Spree & Gift Wrapping Party.

Every year all of our school aged children go to K-Mart and buy a $10 gift for each member of their family for the Holidays. Volunteers come out and help the children navigate throughout the store, and help the kids buy the presents. After the children buy their gifts we have a gift wrapping party at a local church.

This is one of Homestretch’s favorite events where we try and teach the children of our program the joy of giving and not just receiving. This year we had a fun filled day full of shopping, wrapping presents, arts and crafts, and games.

Congressman James Moran's Visit to Homestretch

Congressman James Moran visited the Homestretch offices on Tuesday morning, October 13th, and met with some of our homeless families, as well as staff and members of our Board of Directors. The reason for his visit was simple: we wanted to thank Congressman Moran for being such an outstanding champion of Homestretch, and of the families we serve.

Among the things for which we are thankful to Congressman Moran is a grant for $500,000 through the Department of Justice to help provide housing and services to families made homeless due to domestic violence.

In the Congressman’s remarks, he noted the following:

*That over half of the homeless families that come to Homestretch have been made homeless due to domestic violence;
*That domestic violence is the leading cause of homelessness among women with children in the United States;
*That human trafficking is also a growing cause of concern in our region and an increasing reason for homelessness among women;
*That Homestretch has helped over 850 homeless families and over 2,000 children since we were founded in 1990.

Three Homestretch mothers told about their ordeals – what happened to cause them to be homeless, and how Homestretch has helped them.

*The first, a young woman from Kenya, spoke about how she had been a victim of human trafficking. Promised a college education in the United States, she was taken instead to a brothel in Mexico where she was held captive for ten months. She escaped, made her way into the Unites States, went through more travails, and eventually came into Homestretch, where she learned English, enrolled in employment training, learned to drive, was provide with intensive therapy and legal assistance, and is not well on her way to becoming a nurse. She was happy to report that she was accepted in a County program in which she will become a first time home buyer in five years. She is graduating from Homestretch this month.

*The second woman spoke eloquently of how she finally became convinced it was time to leave her abusive husband after she found it necessary to train her four year old twins on how to call 911, in case they came to into the room and found her unconscious from another beating. She, too, is learning a trade – dental assistant – and is becoming more independent every day.

*The third woman told the Congressman about how she had managed to escape a religious cult, where she had spent almost eleven years. By the time she left, she had become emaciated and was so timid and controlled that she barely knew how to survive. She testified to how much Homestretch helped her regain her self esteem, and how she learned to become a strong, independent woman. She is also enrolled in the County program in which she will become a first time homebuyer.

Homestretch was very pleased to be honor Congressman Moran, as he has been a tireless and valiant advocate for homeless families, for survivors of domestic abuse, for victims of human trafficking, and for disadvantaged people of all kinds who seek a better life for themselves and their children. We give him great thanks!

Homestretch Wine Tasting & Silent Auction a Success!

Friends of Homestretch toasted their mission while sampling a variety of wines from around the world supplied by the Wine Cabinet of Reston, VA. The Fourth Annual Silent Auction and Wine Tasting event was held on Friday, October 2nd at the Gannett USA Today Headquarters Building in McLean, VA. A crowd of about 250 people, including Homestretch staff, Board members, sponsors, volunteers as well as many family and friends, enjoyed the fine wine, excellent food and terrific music by the Stolen Moments jazz group and their guest vocalist, Ericka Ovette, as well as the opportunity to mingle with friends and bid on the many dozens of interesting auction items. Happily, since the event was a fundraiser, more than $50,000 was raised to support the Homestretch mission of helping homeless families in Northern Virginia move from crisis to self-sufficiency. Instead of the Wine Tasting event next year, Homestretch will celebrate its twentieth anniversary with a Black Tie Masquerade Gala at the Dulles Hilton on October 30th, 2010. Save the date!