Category Archives: Homelessness

Finding Peace at Joseph’s House

  A Joseph’s House resident and one of the five pets. Photo courtesy of Joseph’s House. I have only one wish on my bucket list-to spend a month in Calcutta at Mother Theresa’s Home for the Dying. To bathe and … Continue reading

Posted in Adults, Disease and Illness, Homelessness, In the Neighborhood, People | 1 Comment

Helping out in a Hypothermia Shelter

When the temperature gets down in the 30’s, that normally means flannel blankets and nerdy pajamas. For the homeless, sometimes it means sleeping in a church. My husband Mike and I discovered just what that was like when we volunteered … Continue reading

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Boys & Girls Clubs

The girls from the Dunbar Alexandria-Olympic site of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Washington rock their handmade napkin rings.   Good news! The Dunbar Alexandria-Olympic site of the Boys & Girls Club of Greater Washington (BGCGW) in Old … Continue reading

Posted in Adults, Children, Homelessness, In the Neighborhood, Kids, Mentoring, People | Leave a comment

A Wider Circle: Circle of Compassion

Deputy director Dr. Anne Thompson’s favorite part about working for A Wider Circle is when she can’t distinguish the clients from the volunteers from the staff. That pretty much sums up the inclusive, family atmosphere of A Wider Circle. Click … Continue reading

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Say “Cheese” with FACETS

Brooke Keplinger, Maura Williams, Logan Alley at the FACETS’ Opening Doors Benefit Breakfast in May, 2011 Monique loves her job as a sales clerk at a shoe store in one of the area’s most upscale outdoor malls. She rarely smiles … Continue reading

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Community Lodgings

Not long ago I wrote a story about kids who read to puppies. When Community Lodgings asked me to help with Read Aloud, their reading program created for toddlers whose parents attended evening life skills classes, I was ready for … Continue reading

Posted in Adults, Children, ESL, Homelessness, In the Neighborhood, Kids, Life Skills, Literacy, Mentoring, People | Leave a comment

Cooking with Miriam’s Kitchen

  The first clue that Miriam’s Kitchen, located inside the Western Presbyterian Church, is serious about serving fresh food is their herb garden of parsley, basil and rosemary on Virginia Avenue. Inside, the kitchen was an organized beehive of activity, … Continue reading

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A-SPAN: Homeless Soccermania and More

I took a soccer class in college nearly, well, never mind, but it was before soccer really caught on in the United states.  I was terrible then and I am terrible now.  And I know I’m terrible now because my … Continue reading

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ALIVE – The Saga of the Big Red Couch

Mark (left) and Mike (right) offload a dresser from the ALIVE truck. The big red couch was too big to be photo-shopped and included in this story. It’s a rainy Saturday morning – perfect for sleeping in, drinking coffee in … Continue reading

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Carpenters Shelter/David’s Place

David’s Place clients can use the computer room to keep up with news and look for work. It’s Friday afternoon and I’m hanging out at David’s Place, the day shelter component of the Carpenter’s Shelter. It’s rainy and unseasonably cold, … Continue reading

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Sweet Dreams

     I was really looking forward sleeping on the floor of a local church last Wednesday night. That church serves as an overflow hypothermia shelter, and husband and I had volunteered, for the second year, to spend the night there. … Continue reading

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Get Out and Give Back – It’s What You Get, not What You Give

I took almost a year off from writing Get Out and Give Back after retiring from the United States Air Force to decide what I wanted my post-Air Force life to look like. And I realized that I missed writing … Continue reading

Posted in Homelessness, Humanity, In the Neighborhood, Uncategorized | 1 Comment

Dignity or Something Else?

Thursday mornings are my most favorite time of the week.  That’s when I spend two or three hours helping the underserved in our community at a neighborhood church.  Most of the people who show up are regulars, and I’ve gotten … Continue reading

Posted in Donating, Faith-based, Homelessness, Uncategorized | 1 Comment

My Best Birthday Ever

Turning a year older stopped being fun at 21.  But my birthday this winter was one of my all-time favorites, and not because I’m closer to caving in to a botox temptation.  It’s because of the full-spectrum events that day.  … Continue reading

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Smoking Gun

I’m as anti-smoking as any non-smoker.  So it was a surprise when I found myself tempted to buy a pack of cigarettes for someone Monday afternoon.  Better explain:  As I waited at the Rhode Island platform to catch the Red Line, … Continue reading

Posted in Homelessness, Military | 1 Comment