Homestretch Continues Work With Homeless Families In 30th Year

FALLS CHURCH, VA — October marks Domestic Violence Awareness Month, a cause well known to Falls Church-based Homestretch. Homestretch serves clients who are facing homelessness in the greater DC region, and domestic violence is a root cause for many of them.

For 30 years, Homestretch has run a program for families with a variety of services to help them achieve permanent housing and self-sufficiency. According to Homestretch Executive Director Chris Fay, about 90 percent of clients are single mothers. Some clients may have no work history, few marketable skills, high amounts of debt, chronic health issues, or significant emotional trauma, and some may not speak English.

These clients are typically referred because of their need for more rigorous services. Referrals largely come from places like shelters, including domestic violence shelters, and victims of human trafficking may be referred by law enforcement.

"We take the families that are the hardest to serve and get the most extraordinary outcomes," Fay told Patch. "With the right support, they can do extraordinary things."

Homestretch places families in transitional housing within Falls Church, Arlington or Fairfax County and provides individualized resources and supports that will help them transform their lives. Clients "graduate" from the program in an average of two years, or the time it takes to move into housing they can afford. Some have gone on to get jobs such as registered nurses, pharmacy technicians, restaurant owners, dental hygienists, store managers and more.

Adults are generally requires the adults to work if physically able, and there are child care services and scholarship opportunities for academic or professional training. The path toward self-sufficiency has an emphasis on financial stability: clients work to pay down debts and be able to get the kinds of jobs to afford the high cost of living in the DC region. Fay estimated the average cost of housing in the area is in the $2,000 range and doesn't expect prices to get any better.

"You have to have a certain kind of job to pay that," said Fay.

But the coronavirus pandemic has made the work toward self-sufficiency more challenging. Retail jobs that clients typically get have disappeared or become more competitive. For single parents, there's the additional challenge of having to monitor virtual schooling at home.

"We've had to rethink the kind of jobs we refer families to and jobs when they can be trained from home and work from home," said Fay, adding that Homestretch is looking into the possibility of a tech boot camp.

Evictions are also a looming concern. Fay says that while the federal eviction moratorium can push off rent, there could be a wave of evictions once the moratorium is lifted. Places like Homestretch have to prepare to take in new families if that does occur.

Since many clients have experienced domestic violence, the pandemic also creates a concern for families stuck at home.

"More and more women are home with the presence of abusers and are at serious risk of being harmed," said Fay.

For the families that have found their way to Homestretch, they are safe and receiving supports.

Homestretch's work depends on contributions from organizations and individuals. It is hosting two major fundraisers during October. A virtual celebration will be held on Oct. 22 from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m. with testimonies from Homestretch graduates. In addition, Homestretch is hosting the third annual 5K Home Run for the Homeless in partnership with Community Lodgings and Bridges to Independence to support Northern Virginia homeless families. From Oct. 10 to 31, runners can complete the run whenever they'd like.

"By partnering with other local non-profit organizations that want to end homelessness, we expand our reach and show how the entire community can be involved in ending homelessness," said Lynn Thomas, executive director of Community Lodging. "There’s power in numbers. It’s easy to assume that homelessness doesn’t exist in these wealthy communities but it does."

For more information about Homestretch or ways to help, visit homestretchva.org.

If you are a victim of abuse, help is available. Call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-SAFE (7233).