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The Committee to Save Franklin Shelter The Harbinger February 2007 Newsletter
Issue 1, Volume 2
In This Issue | Other Links & Stuff | CSFS Experiences Amazing Opportunities | Would you like to subscribe to the Harbinger. Just visit our website www.savefranklinshelter.com and go to the Contact Us page. | | Radcliffe Room - The Bagel Church | Miriam's Kitchen - www.MiriamsKitchen.org | | Speakers' Bureau @ NCH | |
CSFS Experiences Amazing Opportunites Highlights of the Month
It has been a very productive month since our first issue of the CSFS Newletter. We have been amazed at some of the opportunities presented to us. Now that we are secure that Franklin School will remain in the shelter inventory, we must focus on the future of this facility and the services connected with it. Another focus of CSFS is to organize our community. We are planning to speak with the men at Franklin, collectively and one-on-one, so as to incorporate their ideas into the mission of this organization. We have much work ahead and many hills to climb. Until We're Home, Incorporated CSFS has started the process of incorporating in Washington, DC. This is a very exciting undertaking and will establish CSFS in the homeless advocacy arena. What will set us apart and keep this organization working towards change is that we will be an organization of the homeless, not for the homeless. After incorporating we will be seeking non-profit status. The law firm DLA Piper is assisting us with this process. Our First Donation CSFS would like to thank the members of St. John's Church for their donation of One Thousands Dollars ($1000.00). CSFS members have been faithful that if we continue to work toward change in other people lives and not do this work for selfish reasons that our organization will be rewarded with the funding needed to persevere and accomplish all that is stated in our mission. We thank St. John's for their contribution. Bad and Good News The Downtown Service Center, better known as the 9:30 Club, which provided meals and essential services for the community, closed its doors on January 22nd. The reason is that the church where it is housed has sold its air space to a developer and condominiums will be built. Of course CSFS became very active in this development and scheduled a rally on the 22nd of January to inform all of what was happening. The rally which was held in front of the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Library was a success in more ways than one. First, the District government stepped up and provided funding so that some of the services could be transferred to the new location. Also, the District suggested that the Downtown Service Center be housed in the basement of Franklin School. This is a tremendous acknowledgement of the need for the downtown facility, and we applaud the District in reconizing this and acting upon it. WIN Organizational Training The New York Avenue Presbyterian Church and Washington Interfaith Network (WIN) sponsored the CSFS on a training week-end to Baltimore. The training was provided by WIN. WIN is a local chapter of the Industrial Area Foundation (IAF). The training centered on organizing people and money towards powerful solutions to community issues, concerns and struggles. This was a very enlighting and informative week-end. CSFS members who attended will put into play some of the technique use, hopefully with the assistance of WIN in organizing our community. We thank Mr. Coleman Milling of WIN and Mr. Mark Jennings of NYAPC for this experience. Common Ground in New York CSFS, along with many other churches and a representative from the District government, visited an organization called Common Ground in New York City. Common Ground is a not-for-profit organization that acquires/builds permanent supportive housing. We visited one of their facilities, the Prince George Hotel, and it was quite impressive. We also met with officials from the New York Department of Homeless Services. They seem to be very progressive in their endeavor to put homeless people in housing first and the let the paperwork catch up. DHS has targeted the chronically homeless first, which is as it should be. Out and About in the Community The CSFS member are being invited to speaking engagements all across the city. Well, we are working on that logistic. Our President, spoke a the Sunday service at Luther Place and was well recieved. Member of CSFS will be speaking at the Radcliff Room at NYAPC and Foundry UMC during the month of February
| The Radcliffe Room at the New York Avenue Presbyterian Church On Sunday morning there will be a joyful noise coming from what is affectionately known as "The Bagel Church". The New York Avenue Presbyterian Church at 1313 New York Avenue, NW offers a place of fellowshipping for people who are homeless, formely homeless or have been exposed to the atmosphere and return weekly to give support or visit with friends. This ministry has been in existance for thirty (30) years and is still going strong. Coffee and bagels are the main fare on Sunday mornings, but also there may be sandwiches, various breads and jellys, donuts and other donated items. The atmosphere is like a cafe where familiar faces can be found each week. Along with the food you can get a song; someone from the deacon staff or one of the guests will sit down and gather people around the piano to sing some hymns. The Radcliffe Room also has "The Store", a place where you can get clothing of all kinds. Mens and womens clothing are provided. The tireless staff of Ellie Robinson and Pierre Moye are always cheerful and available for a kind word or a sympathetic ear, if needed. On a cold winter morning when everything is closed downtown, it is a Godsend to have "The Bagel Church" available for some hometown hospitality. www.nyapc.org |
Whats Going On - Upcoming Events - February 8th - St Martin's Church Zoning Meeting 9th - ICH Meeting at the Wilson Building 14th - Fenty Town Hall & CSFS Meeting at Howard University 16th - Foundry Client Meeting 21st - DHS Oversight Hearing at Wilson Building 25th - Radcliff Room Client Meeting | Speakers' Bureau at the National Coalition for the Homeless For over 10 years the National Coalition for the Homeless has sponsored a Speakers' Bureau, bringing the stories of numerous current and formerly homeless men, women, and families directly to the general public, and helping to dispel the stereotypes and prejudices about people who are homeless. High school and college students come from all over the country to hear the homeless speak about their issues, and the speakers have also traveled to over 40 states, speaking to every facet of the population from young children to retirees.
Participants speaks for approximately 15 minutes, and afterwards they take questions from the audience. Each speaker chooses his or her topic. Some choose to speak about conditions at the shelters. Others may decide to discuss their interactions with the public or with shelter staff. Some tell about how they became homeless. But all of them have some very interesting stories, showing that a person who is homeless is no different from any other human being. Speakers are paid a nominal fee for each engagement, but much more important than the money they recieve is the sense of empowerment and self worth that comes with doing something as important as educating the public about the everyday life of people who experience homelessness.
Several current and former members of the Committee to Save Franklin have worked with NCH's Speakers' Bureau, and we believe that organizations like this are helping to push homelessness to the political foreground, so that one day it will no longer be tolerable to allow over three million people to be forgotten on the streets of America. www.nationalhomeless.org |
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