19th Annual Fannie Mae Foundation Help the Homeless Walkathon

When:Saturday, November 18, 2006, Rain or Shine

Where: Between 4th and 7th Streets, N.W., on the National Mall, Washington, D.C.

Route:Go to Website at the bottom of this page

Time:7 a.m. Preregistration Check-in and Event Day Registration begin

8:30 a.m. Pre-Walkathon activities begin

9 a.m. Walkathon begins

More than 12,000 people in the Washington metropolitan area are homeless. That total includes people who are living on the streets, staying in shelters, or living in transitional housing. More than 40 percent are in families; about a third are children. “Street homelessness” is the image commonly presented to portray homelessness, only a minority of the 12,000 homeless people in our region regularly live on the streets. Nearly one-third of the region’s homeless adults are employed; in some areas, the share of employed homeless people is even higher. In Fairfax/Falls Church, for example, nearly half of all homeless adults in families are employed.

Why Are People Homeless?

The primary cause of homelessness is the shortage of affordable homes in the Washington metropolitan area. According to “Out of Reach 2005″ published by the National Low Income Housing Coalition, a worker earning minimum wage in Washington, D.C., would have to work 143 hours per week to afford an average (fair market rent) two-bedroom apartment. So, with regional fair market rents averaging more than $1,000 for a one-bedroom apartment, many working families are struggling to find homes within financial reach or to hold onto the ones they have.

Challenging life situations also cause people to become homeless. People get evicted from their homes because they cannot afford steep rent hikes. People lose their jobs and wind up on the streets. Single mothers show up at shelters with their children because they cannot afford to work and pay for child care. Other people end up homeless because they are too sick to work or were forced to flee an abusive home. Some people who ran away or were pushed out of their homes as teenagers cannot afford to live on their own. While everyone’s story is different, all homeless people have one thing in common: They have no permanent place to call home.

Is There a Solution?

Yes, preventing and ending homelessness is possible. One of the keys to ending homelessness is increasing the supply of permanent affordable homes for people with low to extremely low incomes. For many homeless people, simply finding safe, decent housing they can afford will allow them to get back on their feet and provide them the opportunity to resolve other problems, if any, that might have contributed to their homelessness. But for others, affordable housing may need to be accompanied by access to a variety of social services (e.g., health care, substance abuse treatment, mental health services, and job training). The optimal solution for this subset of the homeless population is permanent supportive housing, or housing where people can live as long as they choose, and have access to the services they need for as long as they need them.

Without permanent supportive housing, this population is often forced to use expensive emergency or crisis services to get the help they need. Over time, the costs of a single homeless person or homeless family constantly cycling through emergency systems are astronomical with no positive outcome. At a much lower cost, the same person can be housed in permanent supportive housing and have their homelessness ended.

Today, more than 4,000 formerly homeless Washington metropolitan area residents are no longer homeless because they have been able to access permanent affordable housing either with or without services. But, even with this success, much more work needs to be done, as the fact that 12,000 people remain homeless in the Washington metropolitan area attests.

Toward that end, many of the metro area’s communities are actively involved in efforts to expand housing availability and eliminate homelessness. Alexandria, Montgomery County, Fairfax County, and the District of Columbia are all developing and implementing 10-year plans to prevent and end homelessness.

How Can I Help?

One way you can begin making a difference today is by participating in the Fannie Mae Foundation Help the Homeless Program, a communitywide fund-raising campaign to raise awareness of and funds for Washington metropolitan area organizations that are working to prevent and end homelessness, with an emphasis on programs that help homeless people return to independent living. The program spans several months, involves many events and fund-raising activities, and culminates in the Help the Homeless Walkathon on the National Mall, which includes tens of thousands of participants. Once a modest walk involving 150 people, the Help the Homeless Program has grown into the nation’s largest fund-raising event benefiting the homeless. Since 1988, the Fannie Mae Foundation Help the Homeless Program has raised more than $54 million for 220-plus homeless service providers in the Washington metropolitan area. Each year, tens of thousands of people join Fannie Mae Foundation Help the Homeless events to support organizations dedicated to serving homeless people.

A Recap of 2005

The 2005 Fannie Mae Foundation Help the Homeless Program achieved record-breaking results, with tens of thousands of Washington metropolitan area residents joining Honorary Chair Marlon Byrd of the Washington Nationals for the Walkathon on the National Mall. More than 80,000 Washington metropolitan area residents of all ages participated in 600-plus mini-walks around the region. More than 120 of these mini-walks were held in partnership with District of Columbia Public Schools. And, more than 312 corporate partners contributed a total of $2.7 million to the program. Altogether, the 2005 Help the Homeless Program raised more than $7.8 million to support 178 Washington metropolitan area homeless service providers working to prevent and end homelessness.

Help The Homeless DC