Support Nearly 3,000 Homeless Women in DC

Since November 2015, 252 donors have raised over $74,656 to support homeless and low-income women in Washington, DC. People experience homelessness for all sorts of reasons; lack of affordable housing, medical emergencies, job loss, mental health concerns or the death of a loved one.

We are so grateful for the continued support from generous donors like you that strengthen the Village. It is only though an amazing community of supporters that women like Tawanda, whose story is included below, are able to find safety and a broad spectrum of services in an atmosphere of dignity and respect.

Tawanda discovered N Street Village 16 years ago, and she keeps coming back to Bethany Women’s Day Center because of the people and the classes.

“N Street Village is a good place to go to,” she says. “And I feel happy that I came, because I remember in 2007, I was going through a nervous breakdown. I was shy. I didn’t want to talk to nobody. But once I got comfortable with the classes and the activities that they had, I felt good.”

Back when she first came to the Village, she had nothing.

“I remember when I came, I didn’t really have any clothes or anything on me,” she says. “The more I kept coming to N Street Village and doing what I had to do, I did a whole lot of changing. When I came here it was a whole new ballgame. When I came here, I got much love.”

Tawanda now lives in a one-bedroom apartment near the National Zoo. She occasionally volunteers at N Street Village and is registered with Jubilee Jobs.

Over the years, Tawanda has struggled with her mental health and credits the Wellness Center classes—especially Day by Day and All About Me led by Carlita Walker—with helping to manage her emotions. Her life has been filled with trauma, including the death of her baby brother several years ago, and the loss of her older brother, who was killed by a hit and run earlier this year. She has one older brother left. Tawanda has some physical health challenges, too, including diabetes and recently, doctors found a cyst on her ribcage; she will soon have surgery to get it removed.

Visiting the Day Center brings her joy. She loves talking with the other clients and enjoys the various activities. Tawanda especially enjoyed the annual Craft Fair in December, sponsored by the Ambassadors Council, where she created some holiday cards and won a cozy hat during a game of Bingo.

“When I first came here, my lifestyle was terrible,” she says. “I knew that I had to better myself. The classes made me turn my life around. I feel proud of myself. I’m getting up in the morning, doing what I gotta do, going to my doctors’ appointments. I’m hanging in there and taking care of my responsibilities.”

Since November 2015, 253 donors have raised over $74,831 to support homeless and low-income women in Washington, DC. People experience homelessness for all sorts of reasons; lack of affordable housing, medical emergencies, job loss, mental health concerns or the death of a loved one.

With the continued generosity of our dedicated donors like you, N Street Village can continue to provide safe housing and wraparound supportive services to women like Monica.

As the pandemic began to take hold of the nation, Monica found herself alone in Washington, D.C. with nowhere to live. She found her way to a shelter for teens and young adults, but there, she got into verbal and physical fights with other residents. “They made me feel like I was nothing, that I wasn’t going to be anything. I let their words get to me.”

Eventually, she moved to the Patricia Handy Place for Women. “There I learned how to be independent, life skills, how to survive and start fresh,” she says. “I got a job and learned how to build better relationships. Some of the women took me under their wing, and it really felt like a family.”

When she moved to the Phyllis Wheatley YWCA a year later, she was thrilled. “It was a dream come true because I had my own space, and I could do whatever I wanted to do. But I didn’t know how to handle that freedom. So it got me into some sticky situations, and I almost lost my character.” She experienced depression and struggled with finding her way forward. With the support provided by N Street Village, Monica turned her life around.

“She is a prime example of the word resilience,” says Muriel Drago, Case Manager at Phyllis Wheatley YWCA. “Despite experiencing multiple challenges in her overall well-being, with the support of the Village and her network, she is bouncing back strong and is learning to live a better life.”

Monica achieved one of her goals to go back to school, and recently received her certification in Information Technology from the Byte Back computer training program.

“Little by little, I started making small changes,” she says, “which turned into big changes, like loving myself more, doing things that make me happy, and getting close to my family again. I started working and just became a better me.”