The Arlington Community Foundation awards $70,000 in grants for the Prevention of Homelessness 

Arlington, VA - Innovations in ending homelessness and immediate, emergency housing support are the dual themes of grant awards announced today by the Arlington Community Foundation (ACF). Eight grants totaling $70,000 were awarded.

Recipients were community non-profit organizations at the forefront of homelessness prevention in Arlington. The grants are the inaugural distribution from ACF's Emergency Needs - Homelessness Prevention Fund, established in 2009 by Arlington County Board member Barbara Favola and John Shooshan, founder of The Shooshan Company.

"With two types of grants, one fostering new approaches and one helping meet current, critical needs, we are addressing both short- and long-term issues," said Favola, who with Shooshan chairs Arlington's 10 Year Plan to End Homelessness Leadership Roundtable. "On the innovation side, we are funding programs that will provide regular medical care, will lead to more stable employment, will extend the continuum of care beyond shelters, and will ensure that people will be able to feed their families. The emergency housing support grants are a direct reflection of the economic downturn and harsh winter we are experiencing."

Grant recipients were: Arlington Street People's Assistance Network (A-SPAN), Arlington Alexandria Coalition for the Homeless (AACH), Volunteers of America Chesapeake's Residential Program Center, Arlington Food Assistance Center (AFAC), Offender Aid and Restoration of Arlington (OAR), Arlingtonians Meeting Emergency Needs (AMEN), Friends of Guest House, and Shirlington Employment and Education Center (SEEC).

In early 2009, Favola and Shooshan teamed up to strengthen the safety net protecting the most vulnerable members of the community in these trying economic times. By helping to establish the Emergency Needs - Homelessness Prevention Fund at the Arlington Community Foundation, they have provided a new way for Arlingtonians to help other Arlingtonians who have been hit hard by the economic crisis and are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless.

This distribution of funds is the first of a two step grant program. The second grant process will be modeled after the Foundation's Prompt Response Grant and will help local nonprofits meet unexpected needs or opportunities within the homelessness prevention arena. Those grant requests will have a rolling deadline starting in February and will be awarded on an ongoing basis based on the urgency of the request and amount of funds available.

ACF Executive Director, Wanda Pierce, noted: "ACF is pleased to make these grants which represent a new type of support for organizations that are at the forefront of Homelessness Prevention."

For more information about how to apply for a Homelessness Prevention Prompt Response Grant or how to contribute to the Homelessness Prevention Fund, please call 703-243-4785 or log onto our website at www.arlcf.org.

Contacts:          Patricia Limjap, Associate Director of Programs

Email: plimjap@arlcf.org

Wanda Pierce, Executive Director

Email:  wpierce@arlcf.org 

2525 Wilson Boulevard  |  Arlington, VA  22201    703-243-4785   |   Fax 703-243-4796                    www.arlcf.org