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[Pages S2805-S2806]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
RECOGNIZING GOOD SHEPHERD HOUSING AND FAMILY SERVICES
Mr. KAINE. Madam President, the formation, development, growth
and success of Good Shepherd Housing and Family Services, GSH is a
story that exemplifies the very best in people-to-people programs.
Started in 1974 as a ``helping hand'' volunteer-run organization by
members of the Mount Vernon community, including several churches and
local businesses, the founders of GSH established a volunteer board of
directors to steer the organization's efforts to help those
experiencing homelessness in the Greater Mount Vernon community.
Today, GSH is a vital affordable housing and services provider with a
10-person professional staff and a $2.7 million operating budget. GSH
remains true to its founding vision and mission. GSH works every day to
reduce homelessness and enable self-sufficiency by
[[Page S2806]]
providing permanent affordable rental housing, emergency financial
services, budget counseling, and case management to hundreds of working
families in Fairfax County. Then, as now, GSH helps struggling families
create and sustain a better way of life for themselves and their
neighbors.
In 1975, GSH acquired its first property on Holland Road, built and
furnished a home, and moved in a struggling refugee family of nine and
began providing them ongoing support services, starting them on the
path towards self-sufficiency and housing stability. Two months later,
several Laotian and Vietnamese refugee families received housing
assistance upon their arrival in the community. For the next several
years, GSH continued to serve families and individuals needing housing
and emergency financial assistance. Under the leadership of its board,
GSH functioned solely with the support of volunteers and individual
donations.
Today, with its affordable rental housing portfolio of 100-plus
leased and owned units, as many as 120 struggling families are housed
and supported every year in GSH housing. GSH's emergency financial
assistance program assists an additional 200 households a year by
preventing evictions or providing security deposits. GSH case managers
also provide service referrals to another 200-plus households each year
to receive community services to address their healthcare,
transportation, and food needs.
Additional support services and programs are offered to move resident
household to greater self-sufficiency. The Children's Resources Program
supports the 110-plus schoolchildren residing in GSH affordable housing
units and ensures their educational needs are met. Various financial
counseling programs help low-income female heads of household create a
healthy consciousness around money and empowers them to begin to
establish financial security.
A president/chief executive officer, vice president/chief operating
officer, financial manager, and development director lead the day-to-
day operations of GSH. They are assisted by staff of six full- and
part-time employees. A 16-member board of directors oversees its work,
while a leadership council of 23 key community stakeholders in the
service area provides advice and guidance on the needs and human
services trends within the community and the impact of GSH programs in
meeting those needs.
The current service area lies within the Mount Vernon and Lee
Districts of South Fairfax County, mainly along Richmond Highway from
Alexandria to Lorton, where many low-income workers live. The deepest
pockets of poverty in Fairfax County are here. For example, according
to 2016 U.S. Census Bureau data, 66,618 people 5.9 percent or 1 in 17
Fairfax County live in poverty i.e., below the Federal poverty level of
$24,600 per year for a family of four. Based on census data
disaggregated at the ZIP code and neighborhood level, several of the
neighborhoods in the GSH service area report that 10 to 15 percent of
their households live in poverty.
For more than 45 years, Good Shepherd Housing and Family Services has
had one outcome in mind: to ensure that the households it serves reach
housing stability, build financial resources, and never face the
possibility or reality of homelessness. Every year, GSH programs
stretch and grow to make this outcome a reality for its residents.
Recently, several local Northern Virginia and Metropolitan Washington,
DC, agencies recognized the affordable housing contributions of GSH
through grant awards that help finance the programs. As the need for
its services unfortunately continues to grow at a staggering pace, GSH
will continue to step up, lend a helping hand, and empower its clients
to do the same.
____________________