News Release - Fannie Mae's Annual Help the Homeless Program Raises $6.5 Million to Help Washington D.C.'s Homeless Children and Families | Fannie Mae

March 17, 2011

Beneficiaries reached over 400,000 people through affordable housing, shelters, and supportive services

Amy Bonitatibus

202-752-7144

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, Fannie Mae announced the results of its annual Help the Homeless Program, which raised $6.5 million in 2010 for non-profit beneficiary organizations that work to prevent and end homelessness in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area.

Help the Homeless is the nation's largest fundraising effort focused on homelessness, and is now in its 24th year. In 2010, through the efforts of nearly 130,000 participating members of the Washington community, the Program was able to provide financial support to 118 beneficiary organizations, 61 of which provide services to children and youth and 76 that provide services to families.

The beneficiary organizations provide a range of services to children and families facing homelessness, including permanent affordable and supportive housing, emergency shelter, and homelessness prevention and rapid re-housing that allow clients to prevent or exit homelessness. Many organizations offer supportive services such as food programs, case management, health care, child care, drug and alcohol treatment, job training/placement, housing counseling, and financial skills training.

"Homelessness continues to be a major problem for families and children in our community. Of the nearly 12,000 people in the Washington, DC area who are homeless, more than one in four are children," said Michael Williams, President and CEO, Fannie Mae. "We are very proud of the tremendous work and generosity of our employees, our neighbors and our partners in their efforts to provide solutions and services for the homeless and improve their lives."

Help the Homeless is a yearlong fundraising program with events including an annual Walkathon on the National Mall, community Mini-Walks in the greater Washington region, and opportunities for members of the community to make a donation, become a sponsor, or volunteer their time to support organizations dedicated to serving the homeless.

"On any given day in the District, there are 1,500 children in families who are in shelter or seeking shelter. Funds raised through the Help the Homeless Program allow us to provide critical programs to help protect childhood for children who reside in homeless shelters," said Jamila Larson, executive director of the Homeless Children's Playtime Project, one of the Program's beneficiary organizations.

Of those that are homeless in the Washington D.C. area, more than 40 percent are families and roughly one-quarter are children. Among the organizations that the Help the Homeless Program supported in 2010:

• Northern Virginia Family Service (NVFS), Oakton, V.A., raised more than $150,000 from the Help the Homeless Program. With the financial support of the Program, in 2010, NVFS provided emergency assistance to over 800 families that included shelter, food, child care and development, rental assistance, and access to healthcare. NFVS also provided a wide range of housing needs for their clients, including eviction prevention, emergency shelter and transitional housing to permanent housing.
• National Center for Children and Families (NCCF), Bethesda, M.D., raised over $60,000 from the Help the Homeless Program to help support the many supportive services they provide such as the Greentree Shelter that serves as a transitional home for homeless families, primarily single women with children. The Program also helped support their Family Stabilization Program, an 18-month, subsidized transitional housing program for homeless families in Montgomery County, Maryland, providing access to employment, healthcare, parent education, mental health, drug treatment, and child care services.
• Latin American Youth Center (LAYC), Washington, D.C., raised over $50,000 in the 2010 Help the Homeless Program. Help the Homeless funds benefited LAYC's programs which work with runaway and homeless youth, specifically the Street Outreach Program (SOP) and 3 other housing programs. Forty-three youth were housed in these programs in 2010 and the SOP provided approximately 50 additional referrals to external organizations and programs. Many of the youth are runaways from fragmented families and homeless minors coming to the D.C. area without the resources to overcome an array of issues they are dealing with.
• Founded by Fannie Mae in 1988, the Help the Homeless Program has grown into the nation's largest fundraising effort focused on preventing and ending homelessness and has raised more than $85 million to date. One hundred percent of the funds raised by the Program go directly to the Help the Homeless beneficiary organizations that provide services to people who are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless.

This year's Help the Homeless Walkathon will be held on the National Mall on Saturday, November 19, 2011 and community Mini-Walks will begin on Friday, July 1, 2011. The application process for nonprofits to apply for the 2011 Help the Homeless Program will open up in the spring and will be available at www.helpthehomelessdc.org.