Homeless Family Of Six Receives New DC Apartment

WASHINGTON, DC -A family of six is homeless no more and will finally be able to celebrate Christmas in their very own apartment.

"I now have a home for the holidays. Thank you so much. Thank you to everyone here," Ms. Gonazalez said during a news conference this week as she wiped back tears.

Not that long ago, the Gonzalez family wasn't sure if they'd ever find another home to call their own. After falling on hard times, they said they could no longer afford many things-including a place to live.

"Due to that, we ended up facing homelessness because we couldn't pay the rent," the family said. “We moved in with my fiancé's sister. We stayed with her for a while, but she’s in housing, so we couldn’t stay there."

Desperate for help, the family reached out to the Virginia Williams Family Resource Center where a case manager with the shelter put the family in a hotel for two months. This week, with the help of the district, the family upgraded from a hotel to a long-term apartment thanks to the district’s “A Home for the Holidays” campaign.

Mayor Muriel Bowser and other district leaders celebrated with the Gonzalez family as they moved into their permanent home on Wednesday. The celebration marks week three of the campaign, which seeks to successfully transition 400 households experiencing homelessness into long-term housing this holiday season.

“Each holiday season, we affirm our DC values by providing residents who are experiencing homelessness the support and second chance they need to get back into permanent housing,” said Mayor Bowser. “Through strengthened community partnerships and expedited program delivery, we can quickly get families into a home for the holidays.”

The DC Department of Human Services (DHS) launched the two-month campaign on Nov. 15 and is calling on local landlords to make available additional units to house families and individuals experiencing homelessness.

Landlords wanting to know more about innovative strategies implemented to reduce the risks in partnering with the district are encouraged to write homefortheholidays@dc.gov.

The community is asked to partner with the district by donating new and gently used houseware to households.

The "Home for the Holidays" campaign was first launched in 2017, and since then more than 800 total households have moved into permanent housing over the course of both campaign years.

“We are connecting district residents experiencing homelessness to intensive services and community supports that help them stabilize and get back on their feet quickly,” said DHS Director Laura Zeilinger. “Each person is unique and has different needs, barriers, and strengths. We continue our work to transform our shelter system and accommodate all those different needs efficiently and effectively, and place residents on pathways to stable, long-term housing.”

The "Home for the Holidays campaign supports Homeward DC, Mayor Bowser’s strategic plan to transform the shelter system and make homelessness in the district rare, brief, and non-recurring. Since its launch in 2016, more than 5,000 single adults and more than 4,600 families have exited homelessness into permanent housing.

Over the last 14 months, reps for Mayor Bowser said she has opened five short-term family housing sites, including the Kennedy in Ward 4; the Horizon in Ward 7; the Triumph in Ward 8; the WJ Rolark Building in Ward 8; and the Sterling in Ward 5.