Upcoming Events

October 5th:  Family PASS at Vienna Oktoberfest

Family PASS’s amazing volunteers will be pouring beer to raise funds for Family PASS at the Caboose tent 11-7 pm at Vienna’s Oktoberfest on Historic Church Street.

Come on out and support our volunteers!

Click here to volunteer!

September-November Fall Fundraising Drive

Family PASS relies on the support from our community to be able to help working families in need in Fairfax County. Since last October, Family PASS has assisted nearly 70 families, including 189 children, who were facing eviction or were already in a shelter.

Our focus is to prevent homelessness before it happens. We provide emergency funds to stop eviction proceedings. Once housing is safe, we work with families to see how they can change the arc of chronic financial crisis. The number of families facing homelessness is rising again. Family PASS works with the county and with other nonprofits such as Northern Virginia Family Services and Good Shepherd Housing to help families exit into secure, affordable housing.

It costs Family PASS about $7500 to keep a family of four in our program for two years. If that family had become homeless, it would cost the county, directly and indirectly, over $43,000 to shelter that family for one year.

Please Donate.

Make a monthly pledge of $10, $25 or more or whatever you can donate to help us help others.   



Our Goal in 2019: 500 donors pledging $25 a month for one year.

Who are the Homeless?

People share their own stories of homelessness with me every day.

A large part of the job of executive director is going out to community groups to talk about homelessness in Fairfax and what Family PASS does to help them. A few weeks ago, I met someone at a networking event, a senior manager, and we agreed to meet up for coffee to talk more about Family PASS.  During coffee, my companion confided that he had been a refugee from Central America and that at one time his now wife had been in a shelter. They understood who the homeless are -- but not everyone gets it. We still see stereotyping when it comes to the homeless in our community.

 

How Our Program Works

An example: We got a request today from the county to help a single mother facing eviction in the next five days. She missed work because her daughter was sick. She had to keep her daughter home from daycare and made three trips to the emergency room –using public transportation. As a result of missed work, rent was past due and eviction proceedings were initiated. On the request form, the client listed her income and expenses, with expenses exceeding income by $450 -- so even if Family PASS helps this client with emergency rent money, she still faces an ongoing financial crisis she will be unable to overcome without strong case management support.

Our first step is to help with rent to keep this family, which includes three children, in their home. Then we will work with the client to explore other ways to address her budget shortfall and to increase her income by exploring other job options. The client will stay in our program for an average of 18 months to two years or until she is able to attain financial stability.

Sometimes It Just Doesn’t Work

Every client is different. Some face incredible barriers to success and some may never be able to get over those barriers despite ours and their best efforts. In that case, our main concern is refocused on the well-being of the children while continuing to work with the parents’ challenges. Family Preservation and Strengthening Services’ goal is to keep families together and safely housed to help build a future for the children.

When It Does Work, It’s Great!

Of the 21 current families in our program this fall, two are focused on getting on a restaurant management track, two are working on nursing degrees, one is working towards her CPA certification, one is working on a business/CPA degree, two are candidates for the Thrive Program for low-income permanent housing. Other ongoing successes we’ve written about before include clients studying for bachelor’s degrees in nursing, IT and criminal justice, human resources, medical billing, and so on.

Please Donate. Consider making a monthly pledge for one year to Family PASS at whatever level that is comfortable. I give monthly, because I believe in what we do and because this is a problem that is “in my backyard.” Down the road from me, several makeshift tents can be seen near the exit ramp to West Falls Church on 66. Take a good look around – it may be in your backyard, too.

Thank You To Our August Donors!

The Closet of Herndon, Mark Ackermann, Charles Allen, Tracey Baker, Ed Baranoski, Liz and Randy Brouckman, Arnold Crespo, Janine Doran, Jennifer Draves and Gehret Shemeld, Mary Farrell, Pat Kearns, Susan McKenzie, Nancy Nolting, Mike Waddell, Steve Winkler, Lori Wood, Elizabeth Zolper.