Spotlight On

Mission:
Carpenter’s Shelter is Northern Virginia's largest homeless shelter, serving more than 1,000 homeless and formerly homeless children, families and adults annually. It is an innovative provider of services to the homeless, promoting lifelong self-reliance.

This new mission statement was developed in 2001 with input from more than 700 stakeholders in the community. It embodies the shelter’s commitment to be “more than just a roof” for clients, and it communicates Carpenter’s goal to assist current and formerly homeless individuals live as independently and self-reliantly as possible.

Background:
Carpenter’s had its genesis in 1982 on a winter night when the Pastor of Blessed Sacrament Church opened the doors of the church to allow several homeless men to sleep for the night. Five years later, the informal shelter became an incorporated agency, which today boasts a dedicated Board, a seasoned staff of human services professionals and over 800 volunteers to implement and deliver critical services to those who are homeless in Northern Virginia. Carpenter's Shelter is proud to be a finalist in the 2004 Washington Post Award for Excellence in Nonprofit Management.

Current Programs:
Carpenter’s Shelter offers five interrelated programs that span the continuum of care for all homeless individuals as follows:

• David’s Place assists approximately 350 chronically homeless individuals living on the streets in Northern Virginia each year. Open seven days a week, David’s Place offers showers, laundry and locker facilities as well as a phone, mailing address and outreach services such as substance abuse treatment, job search, legal aid and medical care. Most of the adults served struggle with either substance abuse, mental illness, or are dually diagnosed with both, and David’s Place offers a safe alternative to street living.

• Carpenter’s Shelter works to prevent hypothermia during the winter months by coordinating the Winter Shelter for the City of Alexandria from November to April. The Winter Shelter offers shelter, one night at a time, for approximately 370 homeless children, women and men each winter.

• The Residential Shelter is Carpenter’s Shelter’s 80-bed temporary shelter offering individualized case management and coordination of services for approximately 430 individuals and families, 105 of whom are children. The Residential Shelter offers a comprehensive and structured case management program that is goal-oriented toward self-reliancy. This program caters to the working poor and provides assistance with substance abuse and mental health disorders, life-skills and job readiness training, access and referrals to social services agencies and other partners and assistance with the housing search.

• Aftercare is an innovative and nationally recognized program offering continued case management and coordination of services for Residential Shelter graduates to help them remain self-reliant and live productive and independent lives. Carpenter’s Shelter is proud to announce that Aftercare has served more than 350 individuals (190 of whom were children under 18) and since Aftercare’s inception, no family has returned to shelter living.

• Transitional Housing offers four units of long-term transitional housing for Residential Shelter graduates at Lynhaven Apartments in Alexandria, Virginia. Transitional Housing is an extension of the residential shelter program and residents are offered continued case management to monitor progress.

Funding Needs:
Carpenter’s Shelter needs funding for general operating support as it challenges itself to end chronic homelessness and to stop episodic family homelessness. Eighty-five percent of every dollar goes to program expenses, which directly impact the clients it serves.

The "Spotlight On" highlights the activities of a different 501(c)3 nonprofit organization serving the Metropolitan Washington, DC community. The selection of organizations for the "Spotlight On" is based on criteria such as programmatic interests, geographic focus, and size, to ensure the broadest possible representation of the region's nonprofit sector.

If you'd like to see your NPO in the "Spotlight," e-mail a description of your organization, following the above format, to dclibrary@foundationcenter.org, with "Spotlight Submission" in the subject line.