Help UPO Help the DC Homeless

Just a trace of snow has fallen so far this winter in DC. Temperatures have reached the high teens and low twenties Fahrenheit, well below freezing, periodically for several days at a time and we have had sustained strong winds on a number of occasions reaching up to 50 mph. Despite the relatively mild winter to-date UPO’s Shelter Hotline has been kept busy helping the DC Homeless reach shelter during the numerous Hypothermia Alerts.

A large crowd turned out to see Punxsutawney Phil on Groundhog Day Thursday February 2nd 2017 waiting to learn whether the animal saw his own shadow on Gobbler's Knob. Phil was in an unusually feisty mood, but once he settled down, he saw his own shadow, officials deemed. As aficionados of the annual ritual will know, that means we're in for six more weeks of cold weather. In DC some years have featured little snowfall with most of it occurring relatively late from one big storm. This happened during the winter of 2008-2009, when D.C. recorded only 7.5” for the season, but 5.5” fell on March 1-2. Other notable late-season snowfalls include 5.0” on April 1, 1924 as well as the late March snowstorm that buried D.C. under 11.5” of snow on March 29, 1942.

Thank you, dear loyal friends, for your generous support of our Help UPO Help the DC Homeless project to date. We have now received 208 donations raising a total of $14,023! During the past 3 months we have received $1,908 from 27 new gifts and have retained our Superstar status on Global Giving! We have decided to increase our project goal to $20,000 to provide much needed funding of comfort items for the remaining frigid weeks of winter and the searing summer months ahead.

And these are the reasons why your support remains so vital!

Funded by the Community Partnership for the Prevention of Homelessness the UPO Shelter Hotline represents the entry point assisting Homeless folks off the street, transporting them to Homeless Shelters and providing them with comfort items. A 2016 Point-in-Time Count of Homeless Persons in DC (see PDF below) found that there were 8,350 homeless people in Washington DC on a single night. Unfortunately this is an increase of 14.4% over the 2015 Count of 7,298.

Winter and summer over 40 dedicated UPO Shelter Hotline employees communicate with shelters to coordinate transportation services for recently displaced individuals and families. We are the sole provider of transportation services for the DC homeless population. Last year we provided 155,476 rides. Our vans are seen throughout the District distributing blankets, sleeping bags and other comfort items, funded by your donations, to the homeless. During peak seasonal temperatures Shelter Hotline drivers work 24 hours a day during the winter and summer months transporting individuals to warming shelters, cooling stations and feeding centers. We’re here to help and save lives.

UPO’s mission is Uniting People with Opportunities. As the designated community action agency for DC, UPO services DC homeless through our programs. The Office of Early Learning provides children of homeless families with free education and family support. Adult Education & Training, Building Careers Academy and Workforce Development provide job training. As we help the homeless to self-sufficiency, we believe that they deserve the decency of basic comfort items that we can take for granted. We are truly grateful for your past support. We look forward to your continued support.

• 2016 Point-in-Time Count of Homeless Persons in DC (PDF)
  

On Giving Tuesday 11/29/16 The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation will match up to $1 million in donations on Global Giving. That means there will be an unprecedented 50% match with $500,000 in matching funds!

Please make your donation to “Help UPO Help the DC Homeless” on Giving Tuesday 11/29/16 to be sure we get our fair share of the Gates Foundation’s generous bounty!

Thank you, dear loyal friends, for your generous support of our Help UPO Help the DC Homeless project to date. Your 181 donations have raised a total of $12,125! With your help UPO has achieved the Rewards status of Superstar on Global Giving. That makes you all stars. Let’s take advantage of this unprecedented opportunity on Giving Tuesday 11/29/16 and establish a strong base for our year end campaign with a goal of reaching and perhaps exceeding our current project goal of $15,000.

And these are the reasons why your support now is so vital!

Many of us have protection from the elements, from icy winters to searing summer heat, but the homeless do not. The summer heat and mild fall have come to a screeching halt replaced by low temperatures and hypothermia alerts and UPO’s Shelter Hotline vans out transporting DC homeless folk to shelters. With the sudden onset of winter we appeal for your continued support to help us raise money for comfort items for the homeless people we assist to get them through the tough winter months.

Although the 2015 Point-in-Time Count of Homeless Persons in DC (see PDF below) found an encouraging reduction from the 2014 count, UPO Shelter Hotline transported 155,476 DC homeless to shelters last year. Forecasts indicate that the coming winter could be another cold one for Washington DC. That being said we have to be prepared for the possibility of another severe snow storm like the one that hit the DC area last January, dumping 30” of snow in 36 hours creating extremely harsh conditions for the DC Homeless population. UPO Shelter Hotline worked tirelessly before, during and after the blizzard answering 2,784 calls from folks needing help and transported 2,111 people to shelters.

Funded by the Community Partnership for the Prevention of Homelessness the UPO Shelter Hotline represents the entry point assisting Homeless folks off the street, transporting them to Homeless Shelters and providing them with comfort items. A 2015 Point-in-Time Count of Homeless Persons in DC (see PDF below) found that there were 7,748 homeless people in Washington DC on a single night. The 2015 Count was 7,298, a drop of 5.8%. Progress is slowly being made, but there is more work to be done.

Shelter Hotline staff maintains a census of available beds in shelters for the homeless and dispatch drivers to pick-up locations to transport people to shelters and provide water, food, clothing, and comfort items. Trips also involve checking on homeless in parks, underpasses, locations where they congregate and provide comfort items and warm clothing to individuals who refuse shelter. Drivers look out for persons exhibiting signs of mental illness to ensure that they are properly clothed.

UPO’s mission is Uniting People with Opportunities. As the designated community action agency for DC, UPO services DC homeless through our programs. The Office of Early Learning provides children of homeless families with free education and family support. Adult Education & Training, Building Careers Academy and Workforce Development provide job training. As we help the homeless to self-sufficiency, we believe that they deserve the decency of basic comfort items that we can take for granted.

Thanks again for your past support and thank you for your renewed support as we enter the holiday season. On behalf of UPO we wish you Happy Holidays.

• 2015 Point-in-Time Count of Homeless Persons in DC (PDF)