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Community DC Pam Mendelson Anne's Place · Community D.C.

0:06
Speaker 1: Good morning and welcome to another edition of Community DC.
0:09
Speaker 1: I'm your host, Dennis Glasgow. This morning, we welcome to
0:11
Speaker 1: the program for the first time, Pam Mendelsohn. She is
0:14
Speaker 1: the executive director for Anne's Place. It's a Washington, DC-based
0:18
Speaker 1: independent nonprofit organization formerly known as Anne Frank House that
0:21
Speaker 1: provides long-term permanent supportive housing and social services to vulnerable
0:25
Speaker 1: and formerly homeless adults with chronic mental illness or other disabilities.
0:29
Speaker 1: Here's my conversation with Pam. I hope you enjoy it
0:32
Speaker 1: as much as I did.
0:33
Speaker 2: Good morning, Pam. Good morning.
0:35
Speaker 1: It is great to have you on Community DC for
0:37
Speaker 1: the first time. My intro did not do any justice
0:40
Speaker 1: to Ann's Place. And I do know this from my
0:42
Speaker 1: research that everything was founded in 1987, but it was
0:45
Speaker 1: under a different name. I would love and for our listeners, too,
0:48
Speaker 1: that don't know about Ann's Place to talk about 87,
0:51
Speaker 1: the founders. And it was a different name. And tell
0:54
Speaker 1: me how everything kind of came about in the history
0:56
Speaker 1: of Ann's Place.
0:59
Speaker 2: I'd love to do that. I'm so happy to be
1:01
Speaker 2: here because I believe really deeply in what Anne's Place does,
1:06
Speaker 2: and I want more people in our community to hear
1:08
Speaker 2: about it. We started out back in 1987 because... Our founder,
1:16
Speaker 2: Elaine Kremens, was volunteering in D.C. at Luther Place Community Church.
1:25
Speaker 2: The reverend there, Reverend Steinbrook, was known for inviting people
1:31
Speaker 2: who he saw living on the streets to come into
1:33
Speaker 2: the basement of the church so that he could give
1:40
Speaker 2: them shelter overnight. In the 80s, this was before a
1:43
Speaker 2: lot of the government programs had gone into place. And
1:47
Speaker 2: so this was really, um, a community focused effort. Well, Elaine, um,
1:52
Speaker 2: was so taken with this effort that she invited him
1:57
Speaker 2: to come talk to the people in her congregation, which
2:00
Speaker 2: was at his Israel congregation here in Cleveland park in Washington. And, um,
2:07
Speaker 2: She invited him to speak. The congregation decided through the
2:11
Speaker 2: Social Action Committee to form a housing effort. And they
2:17
Speaker 2: raised money through this task force to found what was
2:22
Speaker 2: then called Anne Frank House and now called Anne's Place.
2:26
Speaker 2: And my favorite part about this story is that her husband, Bill,
2:32
Speaker 2: sold his baseball card collection to help pay the rent
2:36
Speaker 2: for the first year.
2:37
Speaker 1: Wow, that's great. By the way, that is a big ask.
2:42
Speaker 2: Yes, it was. And he must have had some good cards.
2:46
Speaker 1: I bet he did. And I know that the evolution
2:49
Speaker 1: and the growth of Ant's Place has been extraordinary over
2:52
Speaker 1: the last several decades. I know that also about the
2:56
Speaker 1: mission and what you do is featured on the website.
2:58
Speaker 1: And we're going to give the website several times at
3:00
Speaker 1: the end of our conversation. But as you look at
3:04
Speaker 1: today's mission, can you explain it for our listeners and
3:06
Speaker 1: what it exactly is and what it does?
3:09
Speaker 2: Our mission brings comfort, caring, and community to people in
3:14
Speaker 2: need in a permanent way. We house people who were
3:19
Speaker 2: formerly homeless, who are living with chronic mental health issues
3:24
Speaker 2: or other disabilities. These are some of the most needy
3:29
Speaker 2: people in the community and some of the ones for
3:32
Speaker 2: whom it is the hardest to to earn the money
3:34
Speaker 2: it takes to pay rent in this high rent city.
3:40
Speaker 1: Now, when I did my research, I was looking at,
3:42
Speaker 1: I know there's been expansion, there's more rooms, but I
3:45
Speaker 1: want you to go into detail because this was a
3:47
Speaker 1: really small operation and just kind of an idea born
3:52
Speaker 1: in 87. And now it's really, it's gigantic, the growth
3:56
Speaker 1: that you've had over the decades, especially lately. But how
3:59
Speaker 1: much are we looking at as far as rooms availability?
4:02
Speaker 1: And I also want to go into criteria too in
4:04
Speaker 1: a second, Pam, but what kind of space are we
4:06
Speaker 1: looking at that you offer up?
4:09
Speaker 2: Absolutely. So for 35 years, the organization was a volunteer project.
4:13
Speaker 2: It never had a staff person. And as a result,
4:18
Speaker 2: the impact is not measured really in the number of rooms,
4:21
Speaker 2: but rather the longevity of our residents. In fact, we're
4:27
Speaker 2: supporting through privately raised funds only, no government contracts, 11 residents.
4:35
Speaker 2: The average age of our people is 71 years old,
4:38
Speaker 2: which means we have five people over the age of 70.
4:43
Speaker 2: One of our residents has been with us since 1998.
4:47
Speaker 2: If you think about that, that's nearly three decades of
4:50
Speaker 2: stable housing for him. In 2022, the board of the
4:56
Speaker 2: organization decided that it wanted to try growing the number
5:00
Speaker 2: of people that we house, retaining this privately funded model
5:07
Speaker 2: because it provides a high level of quality and longevity
5:11
Speaker 2: for each person. And so that's when we hired an
5:15
Speaker 2: executive director. And the goal now is to add a
5:19
Speaker 2: new person every year um, sustainably and, uh, to, to
5:25
Speaker 2: bring them into Amsplace housing.
5:27
Speaker 1: And did I see correctly that you started as executive director?
5:30
Speaker 1: Was it right after COVID hit?
5:33
Speaker 2: It was. In fact, that was what sparked the board
5:36
Speaker 2: to action. There was an economic downturn and we were
5:40
Speaker 2: really concerned about the potential for evictions. And we saw
5:45
Speaker 2: an opportunity for an organization whose board had aged as
5:49
Speaker 2: long along with the residents that we house, honestly, and
5:54
Speaker 2: a big rejuvenation. I came onto the board in my
5:58
Speaker 2: late 50s and I was considered young. And as a result,
6:04
Speaker 2: we've we've rejuvenated it in so many ways. And that
6:07
Speaker 2: was all spurred by the desire to start housing more people.
6:12
Speaker 1: Well, listen, I do want to talk about a lot
6:14
Speaker 1: of different things because I've got a long laundry list.
6:16
Speaker 1: I'm so incredibly in awe of what you do along
6:19
Speaker 1: with the board and what's happening at Ant's Place. I
6:23
Speaker 1: mentioned criteria. Is there a criteria to joining Ant's Place?
6:26
Speaker 1: And how do you look at applicants? How does the
6:28
Speaker 1: whole process work from behind the scenes?
6:31
Speaker 2: So that's a great question. We are not part of
6:37
Speaker 2: the continuum of care, which is the group of nonprofits
6:40
Speaker 2: in this city that receive government contracts to house a
6:43
Speaker 2: certain number of people every month. So as a result,
6:47
Speaker 2: when we are ready and have a new place for someone,
6:52
Speaker 2: we reach out to the partners that we have. work
6:55
Speaker 2: with and social services. And we ask them for recommendations
7:01
Speaker 2: of people that we could interview. And a person is
7:05
Speaker 2: eligible for our program if they're currently unhoused and if
7:12
Speaker 2: they have some sort of mental illness or other disability
7:15
Speaker 2: that gives them a greater trouble in, you know, existing
7:23
Speaker 2: in today's society. So we have a residence committee, which
7:28
Speaker 2: is made up of volunteers. The interviews happen. And at
7:33
Speaker 2: some point, we identify the next person that we will house.
7:37
Speaker 1: Well, listen, I have more questions about the tenants and
7:40
Speaker 1: without any specificity, but I'm curious, you know, when it
7:43
Speaker 1: comes to everything that you and I always rely on
7:46
Speaker 1: and that we take for granted, with linens and food
7:50
Speaker 1: and electricity and gas. How does that all come together?
7:52
Speaker 1: Do you work with third parties or donations help with that?
7:55
Speaker 1: How does everybody be taken care of like you and
7:57
Speaker 1: I take care of ourselves every day?
8:00
Speaker 2: We run a really tight organization, and if we can
8:04
Speaker 2: raise money for it or ask for a donation for it,
8:08
Speaker 2: we do. So each time we bring a new person
8:12
Speaker 2: into housing, We furnish it completely with the linens, the
8:19
Speaker 2: plates and the forks, the furniture. That furniture comes from
8:24
Speaker 2: a combination of places. We have other nonprofits that we
8:28
Speaker 2: partner with and also a strong bench of donors and
8:35
Speaker 2: volunteers in the various congregations that support us. So together
8:41
Speaker 2: with those donated items, we put that apartment together for
8:46
Speaker 2: each person. And we continue to do that over the years.
8:49
Speaker 2: So as you can imagine, for that gentleman who's been
8:52
Speaker 2: there for three decades, we've replaced furniture wholesale at this
8:57
Speaker 2: point over the years.
8:59
Speaker 1: Well, that's fantastic. Well, I did want to talk about
9:02
Speaker 1: this and I know that it's also featured on the website,
9:06
Speaker 1: but you do have some incredible stories of some of
9:08
Speaker 1: the tenants that have been there over the years. And
9:11
Speaker 1: whether you'd like to share one of those stories or
9:13
Speaker 1: maybe one that isn't featured on the website, because I
9:15
Speaker 1: know you've been there for a while. And while there's
9:17
Speaker 1: a lot of hardships and a lot of tough data
9:19
Speaker 1: that you've seen, also, I want to talk about that
9:21
Speaker 1: too in the unhoused and homelessness in DC. I'm a
9:24
Speaker 1: Northwest DC resident. So I'm close to the situation and
9:27
Speaker 1: see it every day like you do, Pam. But when
9:30
Speaker 1: it comes to maybe just a story that you'd like
9:33
Speaker 1: to share with our listeners, I'd love to hear one
9:35
Speaker 1: or two.
9:37
Speaker 2: Excellent. I'm so happy to share that because this is
9:40
Speaker 2: really where our work becomes meaningful and what drives the
9:44
Speaker 2: success of the organization. So the most recent resident that
9:50
Speaker 2: we brought off the street and into housing is our
9:55
Speaker 2: youngest guy. He's he's over 40, but he is a
10:00
Speaker 2: father and he came to us because he had experienced hardships,
10:08
Speaker 2: lost his housing, became estranged from his family and found
10:15
Speaker 2: himself sleeping in abandoned buildings, which He let me know
10:20
Speaker 2: they call bandos. So they were sleeping in bandos. He
10:24
Speaker 2: was sleeping under bridges and for the most part stayed
10:30
Speaker 2: out of the congregate shelters because he didn't like the
10:33
Speaker 2: idea of sleeping, you know, one person, one stranger next
10:37
Speaker 2: to the other. This was very tough in the winter,
10:42
Speaker 2: especially through the winter, he lived in a tent and
10:46
Speaker 2: he never really knew where he'd sleep, if he'd be
10:49
Speaker 2: safe or how he'd get through to the next day.
10:52
Speaker 2: In fact, he once described to me that surviving homelessness
10:58
Speaker 2: was really came down to if I can just get
11:01
Speaker 2: through today, I will be okay. So eventually he connected
11:05
Speaker 2: with us because he entered the DC's permanent supportive housing program.
11:13
Speaker 2: And we were able to provide him with a fully
11:16
Speaker 2: furnished apartment of his own. He lives in a condo building.
11:20
Speaker 2: So he's with other people in society that are working
11:24
Speaker 2: and educated and of various levels of economic progress. He
11:31
Speaker 2: told me once he was there about the things that
11:35
Speaker 2: most of us take for granted are the things that
11:38
Speaker 2: he valued the most. For one, having his own bed,
11:42
Speaker 2: having a couch to sit on, having a stove to
11:46
Speaker 2: cook on, heat, lights. And this is what was most interesting,
11:50
Speaker 2: a door that he could lock. And that meant everything
11:54
Speaker 2: to him, his privacy and his dignity. Now, since he's
11:58
Speaker 2: been with us well into the second year of housing him,
12:04
Speaker 2: he has, with the help of his case management, which
12:07
Speaker 2: is a requirement in our program, everybody works with a
12:10
Speaker 2: case manager. He has started working and he's working full time.
12:16
Speaker 1: Oh, that's huge.
12:17
Speaker 2: And it's incredible. So when you give somebody stability and
12:21
Speaker 2: dignity and, then he can begin to build his future again.
12:27
Speaker 2: And we prove that housing really makes it possible to
12:32
Speaker 2: live a normal life.
12:34
Speaker 1: Yeah, it does. And I'm glad you shared that story.
12:36
Speaker 1: And I know that's only one of a handful, Pam.
12:38
Speaker 1: You know, the other thing that I've learned with nonprofits
12:41
Speaker 1: like yours is that not only do you do what
12:43
Speaker 1: you do, but there's follow-up. And this is what I
12:46
Speaker 1: love about, you know, even smaller nonprofits, that with a
12:50
Speaker 1: case manager, you're making sure that not only is that
12:52
Speaker 1: person taken care of, but we're also going to try
12:55
Speaker 1: to move you forward with the things. And once again, Pam,
12:57
Speaker 1: you and I take for granted that they're able to do.
13:00
Speaker 1: And not just the door and all the other things
13:02
Speaker 1: that were so important to him, but but also to
13:04
Speaker 1: maybe get a new life again and get a job.
13:06
Speaker 1: I think it's extraordinary that there's always follow up. And
13:08
Speaker 1: I know that's probably a top priority of you and
13:10
Speaker 1: your teams.
13:12
Speaker 2: Absolutely. In fact. The thing that makes Anne's Place different
13:16
Speaker 2: than some of the other housing providers in the city
13:20
Speaker 2: is that not only do we require the arrangement with
13:24
Speaker 2: the case manager every month, it never ends. You can't
13:29
Speaker 2: age out of it. You can't success your way out
13:31
Speaker 2: of it. You always have that person checking in on you.
13:34
Speaker 2: But we also pair each resident with a volunteer in
13:37
Speaker 2: the community, not someone who is a professional in homelessness,
13:43
Speaker 2: but somebody who can be like that surrogate family member
13:47
Speaker 2: and take care of all kinds of other things. And
13:50
Speaker 2: I can give you an example of why that's so important.
13:54
Speaker 2: Case managers have a caseload. They have lots of people
13:57
Speaker 2: that they help. In the case of this individual, when
14:00
Speaker 2: he moved in to his apartment, It was two years ago.
14:03
Speaker 2: It was the day before a big snowstorm was going
14:06
Speaker 2: to come. And while we had had discussions prior to
14:10
Speaker 2: him coming about the size of the bed and all
14:15
Speaker 2: that was in the apartment, that case manager was planning
14:20
Speaker 2: to provide the linens for the bed and the towels
14:24
Speaker 2: and such. And when they moved in, we were there
14:27
Speaker 2: to meet them and introduce them to the volunteer liaison.
14:31
Speaker 2: And we found out that, in fact, they had not
14:33
Speaker 2: brought any blankets, pillows, sheets. It was, I don't know
14:37
Speaker 2: if it was an oversight or what. But in the end,
14:40
Speaker 2: when the case manager left, it was our volunteer liaison
14:44
Speaker 2: who ended up taking the resident away. to a shop
14:48
Speaker 2: to buy all the things that were needed, including food,
14:51
Speaker 2: because when someone comes in with a full housing voucher,
14:55
Speaker 2: they don't have income, which means they need food assistance
14:58
Speaker 2: as well. And that's the kind of thing that's really
15:02
Speaker 2: important to have another person who's a dedicated volunteer.
15:06
Speaker 1: We're going to talk about volunteers and how everybody can help.
15:09
Speaker 1: And I know that, uh, Besides donations, there are a
15:12
Speaker 1: lot of ways to help Anne's Place that we'll talk
15:14
Speaker 1: about in a few moments. But I did want to
15:16
Speaker 1: talk at the halfway point about data. And I don't
15:18
Speaker 1: want to hold you to any specificity, Pam. But, you know,
15:22
Speaker 1: being once again living in the DMV several times now
15:24
Speaker 1: in northwest D.C. residents, I know that sometimes the unhoused
15:29
Speaker 1: data can be very sobering to a lot of people
15:31
Speaker 1: out there and scary and shocking at times. As you
15:34
Speaker 1: look at the current data, what are we kind of
15:36
Speaker 1: looking at in D.C. right now?
15:39
Speaker 2: Yes, it is sobering because we've made tremendous progress over
15:45
Speaker 2: the years in funding and supporting people with transitional shelters,
15:52
Speaker 2: permanent supportive housing programs. And even though we still have
15:59
Speaker 2: over 500,000 people looking who are unhoused, the thing that's
16:06
Speaker 2: really important to consider too is some of the myths
16:12
Speaker 2: versus the facts about the homeless situation. For example, many people,
16:20
Speaker 2: you and I, for example, think that it's the people
16:25
Speaker 2: we see on the streets, sleeping on the sidewalks and
16:28
Speaker 2: in the parks that make up the homeless population. But
16:33
Speaker 2: in fact, that's just a small part. Like it's 36%
16:38
Speaker 2: of the total, the rest, 64% of people who are unhoused,
16:42
Speaker 2: we don't see them. We don't, it's not as visible as,
16:46
Speaker 2: of an issue. And this is according to some of
16:49
Speaker 2: the counting that was done, the most recent counting in
16:53
Speaker 2: 2025 by the Department of Housing and Urban Development. They
16:57
Speaker 2: count every year in January in cities across the country,
17:03
Speaker 2: the numbers of unsheltered people to create this census of homelessness.
17:10
Speaker 2: What we're also seeing is looking at people who have
17:17
Speaker 2: chronic mental illnesses or other disabilities because, in fact... And
17:24
Speaker 2: drug use as well. It's a commonly held myth that
17:29
Speaker 2: people experiencing homelessness are mentally ill or addicted to drugs,
17:34
Speaker 2: and that's why. But really, according to HUD, only 25%
17:40
Speaker 2: of the people, the adults experiencing homelessness, had a serious
17:45
Speaker 2: mental illness, and only 18% of them had a substance
17:49
Speaker 2: use disorder. What you find instead is is that some
17:52
Speaker 2: of these people are actually living in shelters. And when
17:57
Speaker 2: they leave in the morning, going to their full-time jobs
18:00
Speaker 2: in some of our institutions in the city, and they
18:03
Speaker 2: just can't afford rent with their minimum wage jobs in.
18:09
Speaker 1: D.C., Pam, we talked about donations and I really want
18:13
Speaker 1: to talk about that. Also, volunteering is a really big
18:16
Speaker 1: deal for you and Ann's Place. I know you have
18:19
Speaker 1: some corporate sponsors and there are partnership opportunities. Can you
18:22
Speaker 1: go over all those different buckets for our listeners?
18:25
Speaker 2: Absolutely. Anne's Place has a solid foundation of giving people
18:32
Speaker 2: in the district who want to make a difference the
18:36
Speaker 2: opportunity to do so. So people can support our work
18:42
Speaker 2: through personal donations by credit card on our website, which
18:47
Speaker 2: is annesplace.org. It's A-N-N-E-S place.org. Um, or, um, they can
18:56
Speaker 2: help us connect with the companies where they work. Uh,
19:00
Speaker 2: very often we come and speak, uh, to, uh, community
19:04
Speaker 2: service days or days of service in companies where people, um,
19:09
Speaker 2: then go ahead and make projects that we can deliver
19:13
Speaker 2: in terms of food or dignity kits. Um, and very often, um,
19:20
Speaker 2: corporations in the city support us directly by sponsoring some
19:26
Speaker 2: of our events. And we have several really good events
19:30
Speaker 2: coming up this year. And then I would just say
19:33
Speaker 2: that congregations, which are another way of collecting people, are
19:39
Speaker 2: also very interested in Ant's Place and they support our
19:43
Speaker 2: residents as well. It's very expensive to provide a permanent
19:48
Speaker 2: solution to a housing problem for a person with mental
19:54
Speaker 2: illness or other disabilities. So it takes all of us
19:58
Speaker 2: in the community.
19:59
Speaker 1: Agreed. And there's one more thing I did want to
20:01
Speaker 1: ask you, and we will start talking about events, including
20:03
Speaker 1: a really big one that you have on November 19th.
20:06
Speaker 1: I believe it's your third annual Breakfast with a Purpose,
20:09
Speaker 1: which I think is extraordinary and fun and a great fundraiser.
20:12
Speaker 1: But something I learned, you know, because I'm always when
20:15
Speaker 1: I talk about the unhoused and everything. And I never
20:18
Speaker 1: forget it was it was several years ago. And we
20:20
Speaker 1: were talking about housing people and everything and food and
20:23
Speaker 1: linens and dishware and just everything that you and I
20:28
Speaker 1: take for granted again. And then I it dawned on
20:32
Speaker 1: me that what is something like at my place breaks down? Well,
20:35
Speaker 1: I call a repairman to do that. So I imagine
20:37
Speaker 1: that with your housing, listen, things break down. And I
20:40
Speaker 1: imagine with either corporate or partnership, you also have to
20:43
Speaker 1: invoke that. And that's how fundraising probably also helps. But
20:46
Speaker 1: if there is a business out there that does those
20:48
Speaker 1: kind of things, can they also partner with you, Pam?
20:51
Speaker 2: Oh, absolutely. That would be such a help. Everything that
20:55
Speaker 2: happens in this organization happens through me right now at
20:58
Speaker 2: this moment. We absolutely have issues with appliances, remodels of kitchens.
21:06
Speaker 2: I mean, if someone's lived in a place for 30 years,
21:08
Speaker 2: at some point you have to go in and update it.
21:11
Speaker 2: um for a code if not for the niceness of
21:15
Speaker 2: of the uh situation but yes we welcome in kind
21:19
Speaker 2: um activities as well we have we do partner now
21:24
Speaker 2: with a company that helps us greatly in some other
21:27
Speaker 2: areas of our work as well.
21:29
Speaker 1: Excellent so if there is a corporate a sponsor or
21:33
Speaker 1: a partnership what's the best way if they're very interested
21:36
Speaker 1: in working with you to reach out to you personally Yes, they.
21:40
Speaker 2: Should email me directly if they like to email at
21:43
Speaker 2: Pam at Ann's Place dot org. Or they can give
21:47
Speaker 2: me a call. The organization's phone number is 202-743-1225. And
21:55
Speaker 2: we entertain this. You can also go to our website
21:58
Speaker 2: if you if you're not writing anything down and you're listening.
22:01
Speaker 2: You can contact us through the contact form on the
22:03
Speaker 2: website as well.
22:04
Speaker 1: Very good. OK, I tease this. I know you've got
22:06
Speaker 1: several events coming up, including your third annual breakfast with
22:09
Speaker 1: a purpose on November 19th. I know there's more information
22:13
Speaker 1: on the website, but what is it and what do
22:15
Speaker 1: you hope to accomplish with this?
22:18
Speaker 2: Yes. So several years ago when I started, Ant's Place
22:22
Speaker 2: had not really ever had a public event. I think
22:26
Speaker 2: people maybe entertained small groups of people in their homes.
22:30
Speaker 2: So three years ago, we established Breakfast with a Purpose.
22:35
Speaker 2: As an event, that would be our signature event for
22:40
Speaker 2: people who are working downtown. They can take a breakfast
22:45
Speaker 2: moment from 9 to 10. And we bring a wonderful
22:48
Speaker 2: program of speakers, including leaders in affordable housing. And most importantly,
22:53
Speaker 2: one of our own residents sharing his personal story about
22:57
Speaker 2: how having permanent home has changed his life. So it's
23:01
Speaker 2: a great way for people to learn about Anne's Place.
23:03
Speaker 2: You can come to the breakfast at no charge, although
23:06
Speaker 2: please don't be surprised when I do make a call
23:08
Speaker 2: for gifts at the end.
23:10
Speaker 1: Good for you. A good executive director does that.
23:13
Speaker 2: I hope so. You can you can register at the
23:18
Speaker 2: website Anne's Place dot org.
23:20
Speaker 1: OK, you've got some other events that are coming up, too.
23:23
Speaker 1: Can you talk about those for us?
23:25
Speaker 2: Oh, it would be such a pleasure because what we've
23:28
Speaker 2: decided is that in order to make many ways to help,
23:31
Speaker 2: we need to make it fun. So we're partnering in
23:35
Speaker 2: March with Theater J, which is a lovely theater near
23:39
Speaker 2: 16th and Q in Northwest. They're designating a special performance
23:45
Speaker 2: of the play American Girls for the matinee on Sunday,
23:50
Speaker 2: March 21st at 2 p.m., It's a wonderful coming of
23:53
Speaker 2: age story about two friends, one Muslim and one Jewish,
23:57
Speaker 2: growing up through the cultural and political events that shaped
24:01
Speaker 2: the millennial generation. So it's a story about friendship, identity
24:06
Speaker 2: and how relationships evolve as the world around us changes.
24:11
Speaker 2: a portion of every ticket sold for this performance will
24:14
Speaker 2: directly support Anne's Place. And you can, anyone can go
24:18
Speaker 2: and buy those tickets now. When you go to Theater
24:22
Speaker 2: J's website, make sure to select the Anne's Place fundraiser
24:27
Speaker 2: instead of regular so that your purchase supports the organization.
24:31
Speaker 2: And their website is edcjcc.org. slash theater dash J. So
24:44
Speaker 2: that's a great event for people who would like to
24:47
Speaker 2: sit down for some compelling entertainment. But if you are
24:54
Speaker 2: more active and want to get outside, we're really thrilled
24:59
Speaker 2: to hold our first ever 5K. It's a run walk
25:03
Speaker 2: with a purpose on Sunday, April 4th, 2027. at eight
25:09
Speaker 2: in the morning, and it will be in beautiful Rock
25:12
Speaker 2: Creek Park. And Dennis, you don't have to be a
25:15
Speaker 2: serious runner to participate. Walkers and strollers are also welcome.
25:20
Speaker 2: And it will be a great opportunity for friends, families,
25:23
Speaker 2: and neighbors to come together And enjoy the outdoors and
25:26
Speaker 2: support a great cause.
25:27
Speaker 1: Outstanding. Thanks for all that. And once again, it's all
25:29
Speaker 1: on the website that we'll give one more time, folks.
25:31
Speaker 1: We only have about three or four minutes left, Pam.
25:34
Speaker 1: And before I get some final thoughts, I know that
25:36
Speaker 1: you and the board, while sometimes you're just keeping your
25:38
Speaker 1: head above water, and everybody knows in this series that
25:41
Speaker 1: executive directors sometimes are just one person bands, and it's hard. Very,
25:45
Speaker 1: very difficult, folks. With that said, as you take a
25:48
Speaker 1: look at the future, not only 2027, but moving forward,
25:52
Speaker 1: what are you working on or what's your plan or
25:54
Speaker 1: what's your hope for Ann's Place?
25:57
Speaker 2: Absolutely. So at this point, we're solidly rejuvenated in terms
26:03
Speaker 2: of our board and our facilities. Now, what we want
26:07
Speaker 2: to do is add a person every year, slowly, steadily,
26:12
Speaker 2: so we can maintain the level of quality. As we
26:17
Speaker 2: transform lives, our goal is to bring more people home,
26:22
Speaker 2: one person, one apartment, one partnership at a time. We
26:27
Speaker 2: believe there's a beautiful teaching in the Jewish tradition that says,
26:31
Speaker 2: whoever saves one life saves an entire world.
26:34
Speaker 1: I like that. And also, I like that you're just
26:36
Speaker 1: very methodical about it. You want to get it right, correct?
26:40
Speaker 2: Yes, it's really important. we're making a commitment to people
26:44
Speaker 2: for as long as they choose to stay there. I've
26:47
Speaker 2: never seen anybody leave our apartment yet. So I think
26:52
Speaker 2: it's really important to get the right apartments. And quite frankly,
26:57
Speaker 2: permanent is expensive. So it's all about the money. Yeah.
27:02
Speaker 1: Once again, the things that you and I take for granted, folks,
27:04
Speaker 1: it just adds up after a while. And in this economy, too,
27:07
Speaker 1: it's just nuts right now. So We certainly understand. Well, listen, Pam,
27:11
Speaker 1: with just a few minutes left, I'd just like to
27:13
Speaker 1: recap what we had talked about, remind people about the
27:16
Speaker 1: big event that's coming up on November 19th, and then
27:18
Speaker 1: we'll give the website one more time for all our listeners.
27:20
Speaker 1: But just some final thoughts from you on what we
27:22
Speaker 1: talked about. The floor is yours.
27:25
Speaker 2: Oh, that's so nice. Well, thank you so much, first
27:27
Speaker 2: of all, for giving community organizations an opportunity to speak
27:32
Speaker 2: like this on your program. I think it's incredibly strong
27:35
Speaker 2: and important, especially because for us, because we depend on
27:40
Speaker 2: private philanthropy to cover all of our housing costs and
27:45
Speaker 2: supportive services. So getting the word out is incredibly important.
27:50
Speaker 2: I would also encourage us as a society to make
27:56
Speaker 2: sure that we understand that the person that we see
28:01
Speaker 2: on the street or who sleeps in the shelter is
28:04
Speaker 2: really just the same as you or I. When something
28:06
Speaker 2: bad happened to them, The difference was they didn't have
28:10
Speaker 2: a safety net to fall back on, as many of
28:13
Speaker 2: us do. And you just never know who's going to
28:16
Speaker 2: be the next person. And all of them deserve the
28:19
Speaker 2: chance to live in safety and in dignity. And so
28:23
Speaker 2: if we can change the way we think about these
28:26
Speaker 2: people and help them, then we will all be better off.
28:31
Speaker 2: So that's really what I would love to leave everyone
28:34
Speaker 2: with is the sense that you have the ability to
28:37
Speaker 2: make a change and a difference. We'd love to help
28:41
Speaker 2: be a conduit for that to happen. And I hope
28:43
Speaker 2: that you will reach out to Anne's Place after you've
28:46
Speaker 2: heard this story.
28:47
Speaker 1: Well, very good. And one more time, let's tell everybody
28:49
Speaker 1: about Breakfast with a Purpose and when it is and
28:52
Speaker 1: how they can be a part of it.
28:54
Speaker 2: Excellent. Thank you. So the next event will be our
28:57
Speaker 2: third annual Breakfast with a Purpose event. It will be
29:00
Speaker 2: at True Lux restaurants on the morning of November 19th,
29:06
Speaker 2: which is a nine o'clock start. And if you'd like
29:09
Speaker 2: to attend, then you can register at our Web site,
29:13
Speaker 2: which is Anne's Place dot org. And it's A-N-N-E-S-P-L-A-C-E. And
29:22
Speaker 2: we'd love to have you there. And certainly come find
29:26
Speaker 2: me and let me know if you heard about us
29:29
Speaker 2: on the iHeartRadio community network.
29:32
Speaker 1: Very good. And there's a big fat orange donate button
29:35
Speaker 1: on the top right-hand corner. You can't miss it. And
29:37
Speaker 1: everything that we've talked about and more are on the website.
29:40
Speaker 1: that pam had talked about pam it's such a pleasure
29:42
Speaker 1: to have you on the first time for community dc
29:45
Speaker 1: i know it's hard but you're doing some great work
29:47
Speaker 1: with the board and it's so great to feature ann's
29:50
Speaker 1: place i hope to have you back if you enjoyed
29:52
Speaker 1: yourself and thank you so much for joining us on
29:53
Speaker 1: the program thank
29:55
Speaker 2: You so much for the time it was a pleasure
29:57
Speaker 2: being on the program