October Developments

Friends,


Many of us have now completed the Jewish holiday season, culminating with the festival of Sukkot when we build temporary outdoor structures to eat, perhaps sleep and to share time with guests. These structures are vulnerable to the weather, lack heat, adequate roofs and certainly no plumbing. It reminds me, perhaps you, too, of how fortunate we are to have homes that are impermeable to the weather and other unsafe conditions. It’s a reminder of the importance of Yachad’s work and commitment to see that others in our greater community also have safe, sturdy and healthy places to call home.

 

I am excited to share that as we head into 2023, Yachad’s work continues to gain new partners and new support. We are honored to have been selected as a grantee of the newly launched Health Equity Fund. Our work can now serve more families and build greater wealth and economic mobility for Black, Latinx Indigenous, people of color and other marginalized populations, as well as the communities where they live in the District of Columbia. I invite you to join our efforts.

 

L’Shana Tova, (A good new year)

Audrey Lyon

Executive Director

Yachad was recently awarded a $100,000 grant from the newly created Health Equity Fund of the Greater Washington Community Foundation, for its Healthy Housing Remediation work in the District of Columbia that remediates unhealthy housing conditions while creating new wealth for existing homeowners. 


The Health Equity Fund is investing in community practices and infrastructures that improve the prospects for economic mobility for Black, Latinx, Indigenous, people of color and other marginalized populations and the communities where they live in the District of Columbia. These investments are closely aligned with The Community Foundation’s new strategic vision to close our community’s racial wealth gap and ensure our region is a place where we all prosper, together. 


Given that 80 percent of DC’s health outcomes are driven by social, economic, and other factors, compared to just 20 percent by clinical care, the Health Equity Fund’s economic mobility frame will address the root causes of social and economic disparities in health outcomes. Achieving this vision puts our city on a trajectory to improve and achieve optimal health outcomes for all DC residents. 


Read more about our work and the Health Equity Fund as featured in the Washington Post.


Lincoln Westmoreland Housing Awards $50,000 Grant to Support Yachad’s Asthma Home Visiting Program and Healthy Housing Remediation Program 

 

Lincoln Westmoreland Housing’s mission is to provide housing and social services for low- and middle-income families and individuals as part of the historic partnership between Lincoln Temple and Westmoreland Congregational United Church of Christ. Lincoln Westmoreland Housing owns and operates mixed-use, multifamily apartment buildings in the Shaw neighborhood of Washington, D.C.

 

As part of its mission, LWH launched a new grant opportunity to support wider community efforts to address health and economic equity disparities in the District of Columbia. Yachad is a recipient of one of its first grants. We are honored to be chosen and will use these new resources to support the preservation of existing housing in D.C. for families who want to remain in their homes and communities for years to come.



Homeowner Spotlight: The Brown Family


Homeowner Spotlight: The Brown Family

 

Karen Brown is no stranger to personal health challenges. She has Lupus, moderate asthma and hypertension. Her younger daughter is also an asthma sufferer. Last year, leaking water from a damaged roof created an ideal environment for mold to grow. The mold was more than just a nuisance. For people with asthma, breathing mold spores can trigger a major health emergency.

 

Ms. Brown, a full-time library technician for the Smithsonian, moved into to her home in Southeast, DC when her elderly father became too sick to live alone. After his death in 2020, Ms. Brown inherited the home, built in 1938. “Before he got sick, my father did a lot of work on the house,” she said. “He declined and couldn’t walk or move. A lot of our money went to taking care of him, and we were not able to do significant home repair.”  

 

For help fixing the roof, Ms. Brown turned to Lydia’s House, a neighborhood community development organization and a longtime Yachad partner. Insurance money paid for repair of part of the roof, but leaking water from the broken roof over the back of the house was still producing mold. The result: damaged walls and closet spaces, and pieces of the ceiling would periodically break off and fall to the floor.

 

Through Lydia’s House, Ms. Brown learned about Yachad. With funds from the National Fair Housing Alliance and the Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Foundation, YACHAD was able to replace the damaged roof. 

 

That wasn’t all. The ImpactDC Asthma Clinic at Children’s Hospital, another Yachad partner, recommended further steps to reduce asthma risk, such as replacing filters and weekly vacuuming of carpets, couches and chairs. Yachad also helped Ms. Brown apply to the Capital Area Asset Building (CAAB) program. This Yachad partner helps lower-income families get access to resources and tools to achieve financial stability and build long-term wealth. CAAB offers a four-to-one match to homeowners investing in major property upgrades. So with $1,500 provided by Yachad, Ms. Brown received a $6,000 CAAB match. The funds were enough for a major kitchen renovation by Alan Kanner, a general contractor and Yachad board member.

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