Homelessness 101 PDF Print E-mail
Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate
for the health and well-being of himself and his family including...housing.

-Article 25, Universal Declaration of Human Rights

It has been 61 years (1948) since the United States adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, recognizing housing as a human right. According to the National Law Center for Homelessness and Poverty, approximately half of all Americans strongly believe that adequate housing is a human right and two-thirds believe that government programs may need to be expanded to ensure this right.

Every year The Community Partnership for the Prevention of Homeless does a one day, Point in Time survey.  These are the facts for our community:

  • 12,000+ people are homeless in the greater DC metropolitan area
  • 6,228 people are homeless in our nation’s capital
  • 1,923 are chronically homeless, which means an unaccompanied adult with a disabling condition who has been continuously homeless for a year or more, or has had at least four episodes of homelessness in the past three years
  • 30% are employed
  • 26% struggle with substance abuse
  • 17% have a mental illness
  • 15% are dually diagnosed with both mental illness and alcohol or drug addiction

 

People coming into Friendship Place face greater challenges than the average homeless person:

  • 70% have a mental illness
  • 30-35% struggle with substance abuse

 

What does that mean to us?

  • Friendship Place is the sole provider of outreach services in Ward 3
  • High Users of Services: 10% of the homeless (the chronically homeless) consume 50% of the resources.

Homelessness101-_Users_and_Resources

The Friendship Place Outreach Area consists of:

  • West of Rock Creek Park
  • East of the Potomac
  • North of W Street
  • South of Western Avenue

View Friendship Place Outreach Area in a Google map.
 

FAQs

What does Friendship Place do?
Starting with outreach to people who are living on the streets and in the parks of our community, Friendship Place offers a range of services that will help them rebuild their lives. A homeless person who walks into Friendship Place finds hospitality and companionship over coffee and sandwiches, access to a telephone and mail delivery, and a case manager who will help him or her through the process of recovery. Depending on the person’s needs, the services provided will include assistance in qualifying for public benefits, healthcare, psychiatric evaluation, mentoring and, eventually, housing.