WASHINGTON, DC—Philip Mangano, Executive Director of the United States Interagency Council on Homelessness, will speak about the abolition of homelessness at the Washington National Cathedral’s Perry Auditorium on April 21st at 6:30 pm.  Organized by the Community Council for the Homeless at Friendship Place, Friendship Place Partners, and the Washington National Cathedral, attendance is by invitation only.

Press Release 4/7/2008      

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Philip Mangano to Speak on End of Homelessness
Discussion will highlight efforts to build DC homeless advocacy movement

WASHINGTON, DC—Philip Mangano, Executive Director of the United States Interagency Council on Homelessness, will speak about the abolition of homelessness at the Washington National Cathedral’s Perry Auditorium on April 21st at 6:30 pm.  Organized by the Community Council for the Homeless at Friendship Place, Friendship Place Partners, and the Washington National Cathedral, attendance is by invitation only.    

Mangano is widely considered the nation’s most eloquent speaker on homelessness and brings more than 25 years of experience in the issue of homelessness to his role as Executive Director of the United States Interagency Council on Homelessness (USICH).  He was recently nominated as one of TIME Magazine’s 100 Most Influential People and has been referred to as President George W. Bush’s “homelessness czar”.  Mr. Mangano is known for his ability to engage every level of government and the private sector in a National Partnership to end homelessness.  His proactive business-like approach transformed the concept of support for the homeless from an exercise in futility to “something that works”.

The homeless are visible everywhere in Washington, but advocacy for the homeless and support for affordable housing has gained new impetus with Mayor Adrian Fenty’s election last year.  Mangano and Fenty share a determination to end homelessness by establishing affordable housing and integrated support services for the homeless.  Since becoming mayor, Fenty has backed public-private partnerships to include affordable housing in new development in Washington, DC, such as the Hoffman-Stuever initiative to transform the South West waterfront which will include 30% affordable housing.  Community advocates for the homeless, such as the Washington Interfaith Network (WIN), a grassroots organization of 50 member congregations and organizations, and Community Coalition for the Homeless at Friendship Place (CCHFP), work together to press the city council and mayor on housing issues.  WIN actively encourages the local DC government to meet its commitment to provide 2,500 units of supportive housing to the homeless residents of our city.  As part of this effort, CCHFP has developed a proposal for additional apartments for homeless men and women now living in low-barrier or transitional shelters. WIN successfully managed the development  of Fort Dupont’s Nehemiah Project for affordable housing  in 2005.

Mangano will speak from his experience as founding Executive Director of what is now the Massachusetts Housing and Shelter Alliance and as the Director of Homeless Services for the City of Cambridge, Massachusetts.  Jean-Michel Girard, Executive Director of CCHFP, will add specifics on effective programs in Washington, DC, and Nan Roman, CCHFP Board Member and Executive Director of the National Alliance to End Homelessness, will place DC efforts in a national context.    

Event organizers hope to raise awareness of the issues of the homeless in the greater Washington area and motivate citizens toward the will to eliminate homelessness from our city.  Jean-Michel Girard notes, “Washington, DC, experienced a slight decline in homelessness in 2007.  We need to dig in our heels and keep that trend going.  By working together, on a federal, local, and community level and by building core partnerships between government organizations, private enterprise, and local community faith-based and advocacy groups, we can sustain this move of the homeless into the physical security of homes.  The problem is complex, but solvable with knowledge, will, and determination.”

Community Council for the Homeless at Friendship Place is a homeless services agency whose mission is to enable homeless and formerly homeless adults in the upper Northwest area of Washington, DC, to rebuild their lives with the involvement of the community.  CCHFP provides high quality, effective homeless services to more than 400 people each year through its outreach, case management, shelter and housing services.

Friendship Place Partners is a coalition of congregations in northwest  Washington, DC, that support the integrated homelessness solution offered by  the Community Council for the Homeless at Friendship Place.

For more information about the event, please contact Bill Long at (202) 364-1419 ext. 23 or visit the CCHFP website at www.cchfp.org.                                                                           ###