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Community DC Jean-Michel Giraud Friendship Place · Community D.C.

0:05
Speaker 1: Good morning and welcome to another edition of Community DC.
0:08
Speaker 1: I'm your host, Dennis Colasco. This morning, we welcome to
0:10
Speaker 1: the program for the first time, Jean-Michel Giraud. He is
0:13
Speaker 1: the president and CEO for Friendship Place. Founded in 1991,
0:18
Speaker 1: is a leading nonprofit organization in the Washington DC region
0:21
Speaker 1: that helps people who are experiencing or at risk of
0:24
Speaker 1: homelessness find stable housing and rebuild their lives. Let's dive
0:28
Speaker 1: in with Jean-Michel and Friendship Place. I hope you enjoy
0:31
Speaker 1: the conversation as much as I did. Good morning, Jean-Michel.
0:34
Speaker 2: Good morning, Dennis.
0:35
Speaker 1: It is great to have you aboard Community DC for
0:37
Speaker 1: the first time in Friendship Place. I'm really excited to
0:39
Speaker 1: talk to you. I happen to be a DC resident.
0:42
Speaker 1: I know you're based in DC and you work with
0:44
Speaker 1: different counties in the DMV, which I want you to
0:46
Speaker 1: talk about. I've learned a lot since I first met you, Chris,
0:49
Speaker 1: and the rest of your team with Friendship Place. And
0:52
Speaker 1: being a DC resident, I'm happy for what you and
0:54
Speaker 1: your team are doing. I think it's extraordinary work. I
0:57
Speaker 1: know it's grown exponentially over the last Two decades since
1:00
Speaker 1: you've been with the organization. But for our listeners with
1:03
Speaker 1: Community DC that maybe haven't heard of Friendship Place, could
1:06
Speaker 1: you give us a brief history? I know everything happened
1:08
Speaker 1: back in 1991.
1:09
Speaker 2: Well, that's right, Dennis.
1:10
Speaker 3: We were founded in 1991 in Upper Northwest by volunteers
1:15
Speaker 3: who wanted to do something different to reach out to
1:18
Speaker 3: people living on the streets of Ward 3.
1:22
Speaker 2: And we grew a little bit.
1:25
Speaker 3: One program at a time, we opened the drop-in center
1:30
Speaker 3: in 1993. We have been providing outreach services in the
1:34
Speaker 3: ward since then, and then we grew through partnerships with
1:41
Speaker 3: local religious congregations. At one point, we had shelters run
1:45
Speaker 3: by the congregations and we provided supportive services there. And
1:48
Speaker 3: then this movement expanded. A milestone was really in 2008
1:55
Speaker 3: when the city invited us to provide services using the
2:00
Speaker 3: Housing First model, and that took us to the city level.
2:03
Speaker 2: And then in.
2:06
Speaker 3: 2011, when the Department of Veterans Affairs was looking for
2:10
Speaker 3: partners to support the veteran households with mostly rapid rehousing
2:15
Speaker 3: and prevention at the time.
2:17
Speaker 2: We went to the.
2:19
Speaker 3: Regions level along with an initiative that we started ourselves,
2:25
Speaker 3: Aim Higher, a job placement program that came during the
2:29
Speaker 3: aftermath of the 2008 crisis when people came into the
2:33
Speaker 3: district looking for work and things were challenging. For them,
2:37
Speaker 3: we realized that our group, our population, as we say sometimes,
2:40
Speaker 3: was changing from 99% folks in chronic homelessness to these
2:46
Speaker 3: newcomers displaced.
2:47
Speaker 2: By the crisis.
2:48
Speaker 3: And we felt, as usual with us, that we had
2:51
Speaker 3: to do something to help the folks. We started our
2:55
Speaker 3: Job First model today. which is a very simple model.
2:59
Speaker 3: We assume employability. It's a little bit technical, meaning that
3:03
Speaker 3: anybody who comes our way and who is ready and
3:05
Speaker 3: able to work, we feel, can get a job now.
3:09
Speaker 3: We expedite the soft skills training and put people in
3:12
Speaker 3: front of employers for competitive interviews as quickly as possible.
3:16
Speaker 1: Well, very good. Listen, we're going to talk about those
3:19
Speaker 1: things that you're chatting about right now, the core services
3:21
Speaker 1: and programs, because they're all extraordinary and you really cover
3:24
Speaker 1: a lot of ground, which I think is fantastic. But
3:27
Speaker 1: where I want to start with is the mission and
3:28
Speaker 1: your impact. And I know that's featured on your website
3:31
Speaker 1: about us. And as I read it, while brief, I
3:33
Speaker 1: know it's very important with mission and impact. Can you
3:35
Speaker 1: kind of talk about it and expound just a little bit?
3:39
Speaker 3: Well, yes, our mission is to empower people experiencing or
3:42
Speaker 3: at risk of homelessness to attain stable housing and rebuild
3:46
Speaker 3: their lives. And then our vision is a D.C. region
3:49
Speaker 3: and a nation in which every person has a place
3:52
Speaker 3: to go home. And what our goal, what we're trying
3:55
Speaker 3: to do, of course, is to end homelessness everywhere. in
3:58
Speaker 3: DC Metro, but also to build a model that's sustainable
4:02
Speaker 3: for other communities in the country. And that has become
4:07
Speaker 3: an important part of the mission. We travel out to conferences,
4:10
Speaker 3: we engage national groups, give webinars on a regular basis
4:15
Speaker 3: so that we can help build.
4:16
Speaker 2: The system in our own small way.
4:18
Speaker 3: Of course, we know our size, but it's important for
4:22
Speaker 3: us to help move the field forward. For me, it
4:25
Speaker 3: goes back to when I started in the field in
4:28
Speaker 3: the 1980s during deinstitutionalization, when we were bringing people out
4:32
Speaker 3: of the state hospitals, the state institutions, building community-based programing.
4:38
Speaker 2: Like group homes, for instance, or day programs.
4:40
Speaker 3: But we also knew that advocacy and growing practices was important.
4:46
Speaker 3: And part of my training is from Boston University, Dr.
4:50
Speaker 2: Anthony's work on psych rehab.
4:52
Speaker 3: So we've adapted our model to that, of course, blending
4:55
Speaker 3: in the other pieces that you need in a good model,
4:58
Speaker 3: because In homeless services, we service folks from other fields,
5:03
Speaker 3: of course, and you have to blend your approach. And
5:07
Speaker 3: we believe also in continuous program and model development at
5:11
Speaker 3: Friendship Place. We are a learning community so that what
5:15
Speaker 3: we do evolves constantly. based on the trends we observe
5:19
Speaker 3: in homelessness throughout.
5:21
Speaker 2: The country, and of course in DC Metro as.
5:24
Speaker 3: Well, and based on the response from the most important
5:27
Speaker 3: people to our programming, and the most important people, of course,
5:32
Speaker 3: are the folks experiencing homelessness who join us as volunteers
5:36
Speaker 3: on the staff in the programs on the board. So
5:39
Speaker 3: it's a very inclusive community where everybody has a voice
5:45
Speaker 3: and the most important people, the folks with life experience
5:49
Speaker 3: in homelessness are at the table every time important decisions
5:53
Speaker 3: are made.
5:54
Speaker 2: Some of us, like me, are family members.
5:57
Speaker 3: My brother experienced homelessness Quite a while ago, right here
6:02
Speaker 3: in Georgetown. So it's really important to have a front
6:07
Speaker 3: facing community in our eyes. And we receive support from
6:11
Speaker 3: a number of groups, religious congregations, foundations, schools. and also
6:18
Speaker 3: to be inclusive for us.
6:20
Speaker 1: Well, there's a lot to cover here. We're going to
6:22
Speaker 1: go over programs and outreach in just a minute, how
6:24
Speaker 1: to get involved. And also you have a big gala
6:27
Speaker 1: coming up on September 17th that I teased in the open.
6:31
Speaker 1: But I did want to do this, and I promise
6:33
Speaker 1: that I won't hold you to any kind of specifics,
6:35
Speaker 1: but I think when we talk about the unhoused and
6:37
Speaker 1: homeless in D.C. and the DMV and the counties that
6:41
Speaker 1: you work with, Jean-Michel, people want to know about numbers.
6:44
Speaker 1: And I know that, you know, it ebbs and flows,
6:47
Speaker 1: everything is cyclical. But as we take a look at
6:49
Speaker 1: the latest numbers and data, what are we looking at
6:52
Speaker 1: right now to deal with?
6:53
Speaker 3: Well, Dennis, we count every year for the Department of
6:56
Speaker 3: Housing and Urban Development, HUD, and we count in January
7:00
Speaker 3: over 24 hours.
7:01
Speaker 2: And this year, we were up.
7:04
Speaker 3: To 5,363, which is somewhat more than last year, just
7:09
Speaker 3: in the district. And then for the region, We were
7:12
Speaker 3: just under 10,000 at 9,790. And as you can tell,
7:18
Speaker 3: there's a relation between these figures, right? Probably close to 60%
7:23
Speaker 3: or so. I haven't done the math exactly, but the
7:27
Speaker 3: folks are in the city. And I think it makes
7:30
Speaker 3: sense when you operate in an urban center. And we
7:33
Speaker 3: do get that question sometimes, you know, why is it
7:37
Speaker 3: things this way? When you operate in an urban center, primarily,
7:41
Speaker 3: you're going to see more people gravitate to the center
7:45
Speaker 3: of the region because that's where the people.
7:47
Speaker 2: And the resources are.
7:49
Speaker 3: And we do have a concentration of resources within the
7:53
Speaker 3: city bounds in Washington.
7:55
Speaker 1: Very good. Jean-Michel, I did want to talk to you
7:57
Speaker 1: about core services and programs. And I know the 30
8:00
Speaker 1: minutes of our show is not going to do us justice,
8:02
Speaker 1: but I did want to talk about several buckets that
8:04
Speaker 1: you work with. Housing services... street outreach, the Welcome Center,
8:08
Speaker 1: job placement, and specialized support. Can you start with housing services?
8:13
Speaker 3: Yes. Well, for housing services, we cover a very wide
8:17
Speaker 3: area with rapid rehousing, for instance, and prevention for veterans.
8:23
Speaker 3: That's 750 households a year.
8:26
Speaker 2: And we serve D.C. and 14 counties nationwide. around us.
8:30
Speaker 3: The latest expansion was in September of 2025 when we
8:35
Speaker 3: added six counties going from Annapolis to the West Virginia border.
8:39
Speaker 3: So that's one approach to housing, right? It's a shorter
8:43
Speaker 3: kind of model and service cycle. For permanent supportive housing,
8:48
Speaker 3: we support close to 450 households in the district with
8:54
Speaker 3: funding from Medicaid and the district itself for folks who
8:59
Speaker 3: are not eligible. And we provide these folks with supportive services.
9:03
Speaker 3: We help them manage their lives. Some are in families,
9:07
Speaker 3: some are singles, and they are mostly in what we
9:11
Speaker 3: called a scattered side. So a little bit technical, meaning
9:15
Speaker 3: that they are in their own apartments, in buildings with
9:18
Speaker 3: everybody else, with the general population out there. We also
9:22
Speaker 3: operate La Casa in Columbia Heights for 40 men And
9:26
Speaker 3: these are the most vulnerable men in the system, also
9:30
Speaker 3: with permanent supportive housing. We have HUD funding also attached
9:35
Speaker 3: to the Welcome Center, our original division, and then an
9:39
Speaker 3: arrangement with a private nonprofit place that came out of
9:43
Speaker 3: Addis Israel years ago, where we provide, again, all these
9:47
Speaker 3: folks with supportive services. So it's all about making sure
9:51
Speaker 3: that people understand can stabilize once they get into housing
9:56
Speaker 3: and then stay in housing for the long term. And
10:00
Speaker 3: housing retention rate is really high in Frenchy Place. It's
10:04
Speaker 3: usually between 95 and 97%. I think it's due to
10:11
Speaker 3: the fact that we are a true community and people
10:14
Speaker 3: feel this sense of community when they join us, feel
10:17
Speaker 3: that people want them to be in housing at Friendship
10:22
Speaker 3: Place or through Friendship Place and understand that, you know,
10:27
Speaker 3: there's a lot of rebuilding to do, but there are
10:29
Speaker 3: also a lot of people, volunteers and staff.
10:33
Speaker 2: To help.
10:34
Speaker 3: We help people connect to community resources. It's part of
10:37
Speaker 3: our model. So we don't have a hub where people
10:40
Speaker 3: need to come for medical or psychiatric services. We believe
10:44
Speaker 3: in community-based services and having people make their own choices,
10:49
Speaker 3: meaning that once a person goes back to the neighborhood
10:52
Speaker 3: they came from or moves to a new neighborhood, we
10:54
Speaker 3: help the person.
10:55
Speaker 2: Find new providers.
10:58
Speaker 3: And, you know, This is a model that's obviously person-centric
11:02
Speaker 3: and that's a value that drives us at Friendship Place
11:06
Speaker 3: to put people first.
11:07
Speaker 2: But it's also.
11:08
Speaker 3: Economical because there's much less of a burden economically on
11:12
Speaker 3: the organization.
11:13
Speaker 2: So it's a model.
11:16
Speaker 3: That I encourage other groups to use because it works well.
11:20
Speaker 3: And then beyond this, we help people develop what we
11:26
Speaker 3: call natural resources, meaning the resources the system doesn't pay
11:30
Speaker 3: for through friendships, through ties to congregations, to other groups
11:35
Speaker 3: in the community so they can thrive after they join us.
11:41
Speaker 1: One of the things that I really dig that you
11:43
Speaker 1: guys do, and I think a lot of other nonprofits
11:45
Speaker 1: are doing it now, Jean-Michel, is not only are you
11:47
Speaker 1: helping people in real time when they need it, but
11:51
Speaker 1: you're staying with them. And I think this goes to
11:54
Speaker 1: the job placement and the other services that you provide
11:57
Speaker 1: as you continue to make sure that the people that
12:00
Speaker 1: you're helping are growing and getting back hopefully maybe into
12:03
Speaker 1: the workplace and all the things that you and I
12:05
Speaker 1: and other people take for granted. and get them those
12:08
Speaker 1: opportunities out there. And I think it's extraordinary that you
12:11
Speaker 1: do that, that not only helping in real time and
12:14
Speaker 1: making sure that there's some housing, but also maybe back
12:18
Speaker 1: into the workforce or something that they're interested in and
12:20
Speaker 1: seeing if they can be a productive citizen like everybody
12:23
Speaker 1: else or like they used to be. So I just
12:24
Speaker 1: wanted to let you know, I thought that was extraordinary
12:26
Speaker 1: that you keep on with these people. I think it's fantastic.
12:31
Speaker 2: Well, thank you, Dennis. And real time for us, you know,
12:34
Speaker 2: starts now. We see a need.
12:35
Speaker 3: We want to act now because now in homelessness is key.
12:39
Speaker 3: People can't wait. Uh, and that's why we developed a
12:43
Speaker 3: job placement program with the job first model, uh, that
12:46
Speaker 3: we've presented at a number of conferences and trained other groups. And, um,
12:51
Speaker 3: we feel that again, people need this assistance, this job now. Um, and, uh,
12:58
Speaker 3: we sometimes get asked if we don't believe in vocational training,
13:02
Speaker 3: it's called job first, because for us, it comes before
13:05
Speaker 3: vocational training.
13:06
Speaker 2: And we, It's not that we don't believe in it.
13:09
Speaker 3: We believe in professional development and we feel that people,
13:13
Speaker 3: once they're housed, can actually benefit better from professional development
13:18
Speaker 3: because they're rested, they have their time at home in
13:21
Speaker 3: the evening.
13:22
Speaker 2: So we flip-flopped the order for that.
13:25
Speaker 3: And as you were saying, we stay with people even
13:28
Speaker 3: in a job placement model like the one we use
13:32
Speaker 3: at AIM Hire, the job placement program, which, by the way,
13:35
Speaker 3: is privately funded at a very high level And then
13:37
Speaker 3: we have also funds from the Department of Labor for
13:42
Speaker 3: veterans and a near-mark grant coming in from the city.
13:46
Speaker 3: And the need is extremely high, so we constantly need
13:49
Speaker 3: additional funds there. We are a community. People know it.
13:55
Speaker 3: An example I use, for instance, for long-term assistance that
13:59
Speaker 3: you're referring to is that if somebody calls us back
14:02
Speaker 3: 18 months, two years after placement and says that they're
14:06
Speaker 3: having a hard time, they think they're going to lose
14:08
Speaker 3: their job. We don't say, let me reactivate your funding
14:11
Speaker 3: and I'll get back to you in a month.
14:13
Speaker 2: We say, what's going on?
14:15
Speaker 3: And that feeling is really strong for people, knowing that
14:19
Speaker 3: Friendship Place, in years to come, will be there. And
14:23
Speaker 3: we get to do that, of course, because of this
14:26
Speaker 3: blend of private and public funding that we have. We're
14:30
Speaker 3: fortunate to be able to do that, but it was
14:33
Speaker 3: a strong desire for some of us to be able
14:36
Speaker 3: to be there for people because we know that there
14:40
Speaker 3: are situations that can be resolved very quickly, but if
14:43
Speaker 3: you let them evolve, they can again evolve. lead to
14:47
Speaker 3: the loss of a job, loss of housing. And you
14:50
Speaker 3: should not let things get to that point.
14:54
Speaker 1: Very good. Thank you for that, Jean-Michel. I did want
14:56
Speaker 1: to talk because you had mentioned it about funding. And
14:59
Speaker 1: you've given everybody a lot of different ways that they
15:02
Speaker 1: can help, including volunteering, too, which I know is a
15:05
Speaker 1: big part of your organization. With that said, If you're
15:08
Speaker 1: a private donor or just a person on your own,
15:11
Speaker 1: a medium, small, large business, or anybody that would like
15:14
Speaker 1: to give or partner with you, what's the best way
15:17
Speaker 1: that they can do that?
15:19
Speaker 3: Well, uh, reach out to us, go on the website,
15:22
Speaker 3: find us, uh, find us at events like the gala
15:25
Speaker 3: coming up on the September 17th at the Conrad Hilton downtown. Um,
15:32
Speaker 3: you know, we, it's a fundraiser of course, but it's
15:35
Speaker 3: also a way for us to share with the community, uh,
15:40
Speaker 3: what we do. And so there'll be a speaker who
15:42
Speaker 3: has life experience. She's on the staff. Um, And throughout
15:47
Speaker 3: the evening, there'll be awards that people will receive. So
15:52
Speaker 3: we need people to join us as this movement that
15:56
Speaker 3: keeps on growing at Friendship Place.
15:59
Speaker 2: We started with a handful of folks in the early 90s,
16:01
Speaker 2: as we mentioned.
16:03
Speaker 3: We're now serving over 5,400 people a year in DC Metro,
16:08
Speaker 3: and we keep growing.
16:09
Speaker 2: We'll have some good news.
16:10
Speaker 3: We hope to be able to share very soon with
16:14
Speaker 3: the folks who are listening And we'll do that through
16:17
Speaker 3: the website, the webinars and the events. So to, of course,
16:23
Speaker 3: contact Chris Rutledge, VP of External Affairs. And his email
16:29
Speaker 3: is crutledge at friendshipplace.org. But check out the website and
16:33
Speaker 3: come and see us. We love it when people come
16:35
Speaker 3: and see us and talk to us.
16:37
Speaker 1: Jean-Michel, for our listeners, how can people help?
16:39
Speaker 3: Well, one thing that people can do at work really
16:42
Speaker 3: is to reach out to their colleagues and see if
16:44
Speaker 3: there's interest.
16:45
Speaker 2: In helping people in homelessness.
16:47
Speaker 3: And a lot of times there is, when we go
16:50
Speaker 3: out to speak to groups, you know, at law firms
16:52
Speaker 3: or elsewhere, when we leave, people come to us and
16:57
Speaker 3: talk and they realize that, you know, this is something
17:01
Speaker 3: that's worth supporting. It's a cause that we all should
17:04
Speaker 3: work on, do something about. And that ending homelessness is possible,
17:10
Speaker 3: by the way, across the country, if we make the
17:12
Speaker 3: right investment and it would be an affordable investment at
17:16
Speaker 3: the level of a federal budget. If we were able
17:20
Speaker 3: to build enough deeply affordable housing, right, that's what we need.
17:24
Speaker 3: So for folks, you know, at work, if we talk
17:27
Speaker 3: to their coworkers, maybe assemble teams for our walk in
17:32
Speaker 3: the spring, collect food, that's very helpful also, and offer
17:39
Speaker 3: to do a number of other things, including fundraising, because
17:43
Speaker 3: as people fundraise for us, they talk about us, and
17:46
Speaker 3: the word gets out about Friendship Place, this sort of
17:49
Speaker 3: very unique community-based organization where people year after year strive
17:55
Speaker 3: to do the very most they can, to build the
17:58
Speaker 3: programming and reach out to more people.
18:00
Speaker 1: Outstanding. And the website, of course, is friendshipplace.org. We'll give
18:03
Speaker 1: that a couple times during our interview. And the Gala
18:06
Speaker 1: and Awards is on September 17th, which is a Thursday.
18:10
Speaker 1: And that's the 35th anniversary, too, which I think is
18:12
Speaker 1: really cool and pretty extraordinary for any nonprofit that's been
18:15
Speaker 1: around for that long. So we will make sure that
18:17
Speaker 1: that's all on our station websites. There'll be links on
18:20
Speaker 1: there for you to get tickets and obviously read a
18:22
Speaker 1: lot more about Friendship Place. I did want to talk
18:25
Speaker 1: about the future because I know that you're always looking forward.
18:29
Speaker 1: And whether it's galas or whether it's funding and different
18:33
Speaker 1: events that you have. And then just all the growth
18:36
Speaker 1: that you had over the last couple of decades that
18:38
Speaker 1: you've been with the organization, Jean-Michel, what are you looking
18:41
Speaker 1: forward to or what are you working on that you
18:44
Speaker 1: can talk about with us today about something that's either
18:46
Speaker 1: exciting or that maybe you have a plan that you'd
18:49
Speaker 1: like to take to the next level?
18:50
Speaker 3: Well, speaking of the growth, Dennis, yes, when I joined
18:53
Speaker 3: in 2006, we were a neighborhood organization. functioning in Upper
18:58
Speaker 3: Northwest with a budget of 1 million 17 people on
19:02
Speaker 3: the staff. And then, you know, we've talked about the
19:05
Speaker 3: current figures. And we grew incrementally and I could actually
19:11
Speaker 3: explain program by program what we added and why.
19:14
Speaker 2: And often talking to people, you know.
19:17
Speaker 3: Who were in homelessness, who felt that new services were needed.
19:23
Speaker 3: We have unveiled a great new strategic plan. We did
19:27
Speaker 3: that last January. It's going to carry our growth over
19:33
Speaker 3: the next five years. It's a plan that's conservative in
19:38
Speaker 3: a way, given the climate out there, but also visionary,
19:41
Speaker 3: because if there weren't visionary items, it wouldn't be like
19:45
Speaker 3: Friendship Place.
19:47
Speaker 2: So we want to build peer leadership. within the organization.
19:51
Speaker 2: We're going to look inside and then outside, of course,
19:55
Speaker 2: as you should.
19:56
Speaker 3: Inside, building our infrastructure is key to respond to growth.
20:02
Speaker 3: We more than dabbled inside since the beginning of COVID.
20:05
Speaker 3: We have significant growth coming.
20:08
Speaker 2: On, we hope, very soon. So that's really important to do.
20:12
Speaker 3: To engage peers toward a form of peer citizenship within
20:17
Speaker 3: the organization where people who have life expertise, as we
20:21
Speaker 3: now say, in homelessness get to inform the process as
20:26
Speaker 3: they have been, but even more now, that's what we're
20:29
Speaker 3: looking at. And then to expand to counties around us.
20:35
Speaker 3: That's definitely a goal for us. But for the first
20:38
Speaker 3: time in the plan also to set ourselves as a thought.
20:44
Speaker 2: Leader in the field.
20:47
Speaker 3: Meaning that, you know, we will again continue and really
20:51
Speaker 3: expand on this activity of growing the field by consulting
20:56
Speaker 3: with other groups, sharing our models. That's really important for us.
21:02
Speaker 3: And it's not just, you know, so we get noticed.
21:05
Speaker 3: It's because some of us, myself including, feel very deeply
21:10
Speaker 3: that wherever somebody goes, whatever organizations exist, they arrive at.
21:16
Speaker 3: They need to be met with the highest level of
21:19
Speaker 3: respect and find programming that constitutes solutions and where their time,
21:25
Speaker 3: the time they give to this organization is well used
21:28
Speaker 3: because the time we use with people is theirs and
21:32
Speaker 3: we ought to make sure it produces results.
21:35
Speaker 2: And, you know, for me, it's a deep commitment.
21:38
Speaker 3: I've mentioned that I'm a family member and, you know,
21:41
Speaker 3: I'm also, of course, a a professional now through the years.
21:48
Speaker 2: But I think what sets us apart from other organizations.
21:51
Speaker 3: Maybe, Dennis, is this deep belief that you do need
21:56
Speaker 3: to do the right thing and that the right thing
21:59
Speaker 3: changes and that you need to adapt and be a
22:02
Speaker 3: voice also for people. So speak up when things happen.
22:07
Speaker 3: For me, it goes back to my first job in
22:09
Speaker 3: a state facility in Massachusetts where, you know, speaking up
22:13
Speaker 3: became necessary. And also when I started to meet and
22:19
Speaker 3: talk to folks, when I moved on to group homes,
22:23
Speaker 3: who were coming out of the state hospitals, what they described,
22:27
Speaker 3: the conditions they described were shocking.
22:31
Speaker 2: To a young professional.
22:33
Speaker 3: I was in my early twenties, no experience in the field,
22:36
Speaker 3: no degree, but just listening to these folks and it
22:40
Speaker 3: made me think that as Human services workers, we were
22:46
Speaker 3: responsible to do a lot better for people in the
22:50
Speaker 3: field who needed services. And, you know, homeless services is
22:53
Speaker 3: an expansion of all these services.
22:56
Speaker 1: One of the things I want to ask you to
22:58
Speaker 1: give you context to my next question, I want to
23:00
Speaker 1: tell you a quick story. When I used to live
23:02
Speaker 1: in Portland, Oregon, the radio group I was with worked
23:05
Speaker 1: with a transitional school. And I hadn't done this before.
23:07
Speaker 1: And it was basically a school, an elementary school for
23:10
Speaker 1: unhoused and homeless children. And it also served three meals
23:13
Speaker 1: a day. So we painted it, we cleaned it, and
23:16
Speaker 1: we also funded it next to where the church was
23:19
Speaker 1: working with them. And what I learned, Jean-Michel, is something
23:22
Speaker 1: that you and your team are very well aware of
23:23
Speaker 1: is that when they were looking to pick up kids
23:26
Speaker 1: every day, sometimes families were living in motels. Sometimes they
23:30
Speaker 1: were on a street corner and they weren't there the
23:32
Speaker 1: next day. They had to go search them out to
23:34
Speaker 1: find them to bring them to school. And it was
23:36
Speaker 1: an extraordinary epiphany for me realizing that, you know, people
23:41
Speaker 1: aren't in the same place that are unhoused all the time.
23:43
Speaker 1: They move to different spots. And you have to have
23:46
Speaker 1: staff to go out there and find them. Now, iHeart,
23:49
Speaker 1: we're a great megaphone. And like you've had somebody in
23:51
Speaker 1: your family and all the people that are listening might
23:54
Speaker 1: have somebody in their family, a friend, or maybe a
23:56
Speaker 1: former coworker that is unhoused and homeless right now. that
23:59
Speaker 1: can find out what Friendship Place does. But with that said,
24:02
Speaker 1: with your 200 staff members, how do you go out
24:06
Speaker 1: in Washington, D.C. and find these people to alert them
24:11
Speaker 1: and educate them that you've got all these wonderful outreach programs?
24:14
Speaker 1: Because it's got to be really hard work.
24:16
Speaker 2: And it is, Dennis.
24:17
Speaker 3: And, you know, you have to maintain the connection once
24:20
Speaker 3: you meet people. And for instance, somebody coming in the
24:24
Speaker 3: drop-in center at 4713 Wisconsin Avenue. How you engage that
24:29
Speaker 3: person from the beginning is key. And sometimes I say,
24:32
Speaker 3: you know, you have to love people up because if
24:35
Speaker 3: you don't connect, if you don't show true compassion and understanding,
24:41
Speaker 3: for instance, and.
24:43
Speaker 2: Kindness, by the way, we talk about kindness at Friendship Place.
24:46
Speaker 2: It's essential. You may lose that.
24:47
Speaker 3: Person because they may walk out and you'll never see
24:50
Speaker 3: them again. But to your question about outreach, We do
24:54
Speaker 3: that in two different ways. In Upper Northwest, we are
24:58
Speaker 3: the street outreach provider for World 3 and a little
25:02
Speaker 3: bit beyond. And we do that with private funds. So
25:06
Speaker 3: we have a team of people who go out several
25:09
Speaker 3: times during the week to connect with people, find out
25:13
Speaker 3: where they are, offer services, sometimes taking services right to
25:16
Speaker 3: the street with a You know, with an iPad, if
25:19
Speaker 3: the person is not receptive to coming into the welcome center,
25:23
Speaker 3: we understand that with the trauma some people have experienced,
25:27
Speaker 3: they may not trust us right away. But to progressively
25:30
Speaker 3: build that relationship and to certainly help people stay.
25:36
Speaker 2: Well or as well as they can on the street
25:39
Speaker 2: is important.
25:40
Speaker 3: So to bring out things like food and blankets and
25:44
Speaker 3: And then when the weather is bad, whether it's too
25:48
Speaker 3: hot or too cold, to make sure that people know
25:50
Speaker 3: where the cooling centers are, where the hypothermia shelters are,
25:54
Speaker 3: the ones that open at the last minute, where people
25:58
Speaker 3: can just walk in. So that's how we work on
26:01
Speaker 3: the street in Upper Northwest with the goal, of course,
26:04
Speaker 3: to help people move forward toward housing and job placement
26:08
Speaker 3: always for us. But we also do it with funding
26:12
Speaker 3: from the Department of Veterans Affairs. So we have outreach
26:19
Speaker 3: folks who go out to different parts of the district
26:22
Speaker 3: to look for veterans and let them know that we.
26:24
Speaker 2: Have funding from VA.
26:28
Speaker 3: And so there's an opportunity to talk to the veteran
26:31
Speaker 3: to find out if that person is eligible according to
26:35
Speaker 3: VA rules. There's also a hotline that people can call.
26:42
Speaker 3: But in addition to that, and you know, the VA
26:44
Speaker 3: model was extremely well developed and we share the same
26:48
Speaker 3: values with the Department of Veterans Affairs. It's really very
26:52
Speaker 3: interesting because they're all about putting the veterans first and
26:56
Speaker 3: we are too. There's also a systems outreach level. And
27:02
Speaker 3: so we send people out to all the meetings pertaining
27:07
Speaker 3: to homeless services throughout the region. So right now it's
27:11
Speaker 3: 14 counties, as we mentioned, to connect with service providers
27:16
Speaker 3: so that they can refer folks to us.
27:18
Speaker 2: Very good.
27:18
Speaker 1: Well, listen, Jean-Michel, we only have about two minutes left,
27:21
Speaker 1: and I just want to get some final thoughts from you.
27:23
Speaker 1: We'll get the website one more time and remind you
27:25
Speaker 1: about the upcoming gala and awards that is happening on Thursday,
27:28
Speaker 1: September 17th at 6 p.m. at the Conrad Washington. But
27:32
Speaker 1: with that said, Jean-Michel, the floor is yours for some
27:35
Speaker 1: final thoughts.
27:35
Speaker 2: Yes.
27:36
Speaker 3: I just wanted to share a story, you know, something
27:39
Speaker 3: that happened a while ago on a Monday morning when
27:42
Speaker 3: a mom reached out to me. and said that she
27:45
Speaker 3: was being evicted with her two children that night. And
27:50
Speaker 3: I reached out to our team at the Welcome Center.
27:53
Speaker 3: We got in touch with her. She was sent by
27:56
Speaker 3: another service organization that wasn't able to help us. And
28:00
Speaker 3: we were able to stop the eviction that day. And
28:04
Speaker 3: I like to share that story because it illustrates the
28:08
Speaker 3: way we work at Friendship Place. It's also what we're
28:12
Speaker 3: known as able to do now in DC Metro. You
28:16
Speaker 3: come to Friendship Place as a last resort when all
28:19
Speaker 3: else has failed for the participant you work with.
28:22
Speaker 2: In another organization.
28:24
Speaker 3: But I also like to share it because I like
28:28
Speaker 3: to thank the donors that make this happen. Without their generosity,
28:33
Speaker 3: we would not be able to do this. And it's
28:36
Speaker 3: such an important part of the mission. It happens throughout
28:39
Speaker 3: the year. People reach out to us and we're able
28:43
Speaker 3: to stop evictions. But in this case, the mom and
28:47
Speaker 3: her two children were able to sleep in their own
28:50
Speaker 3: bed safely that night.
28:52
Speaker 2: And it's a story that just moves me.
28:54
Speaker 1: So once again, I want to remind everybody that the
28:56
Speaker 1: Galen Awards is coming up on Thursday, September 17th at
28:59
Speaker 1: 6 p.m. at the Conrad Washington. The website we're about
29:02
Speaker 1: to give in just a second. You can get tickets
29:04
Speaker 1: on there. But all the information we talked about and
29:06
Speaker 1: so much more because we've only hit the tip of
29:08
Speaker 1: the iceberg at Friendship Place. It is all on there.
29:10
Speaker 1: So Jean-Michel, let's give the website to everybody one more time.
29:13
Speaker 2: Friendshipplace.org.
29:14
Speaker 1: It's that easy. It's a pleasure to meet you. I'm
29:16
Speaker 1: glad we did this. And I'd love to have you
29:18
Speaker 1: back on the program. You're doing extraordinary work. And once again,
29:20
Speaker 1: as a Northwest DC resident who is privileged, who has
29:23
Speaker 1: a home, and I have all the things that I
29:25
Speaker 1: could ever want with my wife, I'm so happy that
29:27
Speaker 1: you and your team are doing what you're doing with
29:29
Speaker 1: your partners, with your volunteers and everybody else. It's great work.
29:32
Speaker 1: And I know it'll continue to be great work. So
29:34
Speaker 1: I'm glad we could spotlight you on Community DC. Jean-Michel,
29:37
Speaker 1: thank you so much. Continued success and we will talk
29:40
Speaker 1: to you very soon.
29:41
Speaker 3: It's a pleasure to meet you too, Dennis. Thank you
29:43
Speaker 3: so much for inviting me today.
29:49
Speaker 1: Learn more at She Can STEM, a message brought to
29:53
Speaker 1: you by the Ad Council.