“This place is about people constantly moving forward as
their hands pull others along – and then those people in turn
are reaching out and lifting others up,” said Kenisha
Salvary, a single mother who was homeless for 10 years. “It’s
a ripple effect of hope.”
Salvary, 25, was describing what was for 30 years known as
the Arlington-Alexandria Coalition for the Homeless. This
year, AACH hopes to extend that ripple outward even further
with a new name, “Bridges to Independence” (b2i), and the
promise of a new home.
AACH was created in 1985 by a group of citizens representing
local faith communities to help families break the cycle of
homelessness and transition into permanent housing. Gus Hall,
director of Christ House in Alexandria for more than a
decade, was a founding member.
The new name and larger facility will allow the nonprofit to
better fulfill its mission, said
Michael O’Rourke, the executive director and a
parishioner of Our Lady of Good Counsel Church in Vienna.
O’Rourke worked for 12 years for diocesan Catholic Charities
before coming to AACH.
“‘Bridges to Independence’ more accurately reflects what
we’ve always done: provide clients with bridges and help them
cross them with the support that is needed – be it financial
literacy, job skills or training to be a better parent,”
O’Rourke said. As b2i, the organization also plans to
intensify its work to prevent at-risk families from becoming
homeless.
This summer, the LifeWorks building, the current client
services facility on North Highland Street in Arlington, will
be torn down to make room for “10th Street Flats,” a
five-story, 150,000-square-foot, multiuse property by Clark
Realty Capital. B2i will own the ground floor of the
development, doubling its previous space for children and
adult programs. Construction is expected to finish in fall
2017.
“We are tearing down to build up not just a building but the
lives of (those) who have been, are and will be served by
Bridges to Independence,” said Rev. Rosemari Sullivan during
her keynote talk at a farewell reception for the building
April 28. Sullivan, an Episcopal priest, is an AACH founder
and the namesake of its transitional shelter.
The reception, “A Proud Look Back, A Bridge to the Future,”
was held on the property of the soon-to-be demolished
building and brought together founding members, past and
present board members, supporters and former clients,
including Salvary.
“Being homeless is a bit like being shot in the chest and
running off of adrenaline,” Salvary said following the
keynote talk. After coming to the United States from Trinidad
at 14, she had a troubled family life and spent years living
alone behind bushes and eventually in her car.
“When you stop running and get help, it’s like, ‘Oh, I’ve
been shot,'” she said. And it’s then that you realize that
you not only need help but also healing.
“AACH provided that,” said Salvary.
B2i’s two main programs are its transitional shelter and
Adopt-A-Family. The shelter, Sullivan House, is an
apartment-like facility where clients reside for three to
five months while receiving counseling and referral services.
Adopt-A-Family is a rent subsidy program funded by the
Department of Housing and Urban Development and Arlington
County. The typical client is a single mother with two kids,
and children account for 60 percent of clients.
Catholic Charities’ St. Margaret of Cortona Transitional
Residences in Woodbridge also offers a transitional housing
program, providing apartments and support to homeless
families for one to two years.
Following graduation from b2i, many graduates return to
volunteer. They help at the front desk or with child care,
“or just wherever is needed,” said O’Rourke.
B2i’s newest programs include a Youth Leadership Academy,
which is partnering with the Smithsonian Institution to offer
internships and job-shadowing opportunities for high
schoolers, and a microbusiness program that teaches the
practical side of starting a business.
During the two-year construction period, programs will be
held in Sullivan House. It is a bit cramped, but local
churches, including St. Charles Borromeo in Arlington, have
offered to house some activities.
“We couldn’t do this without the faith communities,” said
O’Rourke, adding that he hopes the clients will barely notice
a change in services during “the organizational turmoil.”
Given its record, the organization has what it takes to
flourish during the transition: About 85 percent of graduates
do not return to homelessness.
Salvary graduated from Adopt-A-Family a year ago and is
living independently with her 7-year-old son.
“Before I came to Bridges, in the back of my mind I wondered
if my son would be better off without me, if my homelessness
was ever going to end,” Salvary said. Now she works full time
as a HUD program assistant while taking a full course load at
Northern Virginia Community College. She also recently was
named Ms. Trinidad and Tobago in the service-based United
Nations Pageant.
This summer she’ll compete in the global pageant, where she
wants to focus attention on homelessness. Her goal, she said,
smiling and looking at her son, is to share her story and
“all the hope I’ve been given.”
How to help
To donate to Bridges to Independence or to volunteer, go here.
