July e-Newsletter from SOME’s Advocacy & Social Justice Department

Dear Advocacy Network Member,

With your help, City Council approves more resources to fight homelessness and poverty

You played an essential role by sending letters, making phone calls, and spreading the word. Thank you. We hope you will continue to partner with us and help us build the network by using the “forward" function at the bottom of the page. Your involvement sends a strong message to policymakers that homeless and poor people matter.

For our part, SOME clients and staff testified before the Council. They also attended Council meetings to demonstrate that an active constituency was interested and watching the process.

We achieved the following in the Fiscal Year 2008 Budget:

A $7.4 million increase in the Local Rent Supplement Program. This will stabilize funding for affordable housing developments, including the 221 new SOME units in the pipeline.
At least $39 million in new funding for homeless housing and homelessness prevention in the District.
A $125,000 grant for the SOME Oral Health Clinic.
$3 million to provide a slight increase in monthly benefits for recipients of Temporary Assistance to Needy Families. This is the second consecutive year the Council has approved an increase, after 11 years with no increases at all.
Full funding for the DC Healthcare Alliance, the District's local health insurance program. This brings the District closer to universal coverage.
An increase in Medicaid reimbursement rates for health providers like SOME. The increase will help close the gap between the actual costs of providing care and the amounts community health centers receive to cover them.

Homelessness and Art in July

Artwork created by children and adults in SOME’s programs will be on public display this summer, along with their stories and posters about homelessness. Come see some wonderful paintings, masks and collages that give insights into the creators and their feelings about home.

Art shows will be at two locations, and at each there will be a feature-filled reception, with refreshments. Admission is free. So please join us. Here are the details:

Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Library, 2nd Floor East Hall

Dates:          July 3-July 23
Address:      901 G Street, NW
Reception:   July 12, 6:00-8:00 PM
Special features: Storytelling by two local story tellers and a talk by David Pirtle, board member of Until We're Home, Inc., about his experience as an artist who struggled with homelessness

THEARC (Town Hall Education, Arts & Recreation Campus)

Dates:          July 4-August 6
Address:      1901 Mississippi Avenue, SE
Reception:   July 14, 1:00-3:00 PM
Special features: An appearance by D.C. City Council Chairman Vincent Gray and performances by two local groups—Joyful Noise (an acapella choir) and the Young Women's Drumming Empowerment Project

For more information, contact Joni Podschun at (202) 797-0701, ext. 112 or jpodschun@some.org.

How you can help: Make a donation to SOME now.

Encourage others to join SOME's Advocacy and Social Justice Network: Forward this message to a friend.

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July e-Newsletter from SOME’s Advocacy & Social Justice Department

Dear Advocacy Network Member,

With your help, City Council approves more resources to fight homelessness and poverty

A $7.4 million increase in the Local Rent Supplement Program. This will stabilize funding for affordable housing developments, including the 221 new SOME units in the pipeline.

At least $39 million in new funding for homeless housing and homelessness prevention in the District.

A $125,000 grant for the SOME Oral Health Clinic.

$3 million to provide a slight increase in monthly benefits for recipients of Temporary Assistance to Needy Families. This is the second consecutive year the Council has approved an increase, after 11 years with no increases at all.

Full funding for the DC Healthcare Alliance, the District's local health insurance program. This brings the District closer to universal coverage.

An increase in Medicaid reimbursement rates for health providers like SOME. The increase will help close the gap between the actual costs of providing care and the amounts community health centers receive to cover them.

Homelessness and Art in July