Calvary Women’s Services launches $3 million project to expand programs and services

Project that will transform vacant building and provide a new Home – and Hope – for  homeless women underway on Good Hope Road.

 At a time when many social service providers have been forced by national economic crisis to cut back the services they offer to those most in need, Calvary Women’s Services has launched a major expansion effort in the nation’s capital.

Calvary Women’s Services of Washington – which for more than 25 years has provided  housing and services that empower homeless women for independent living – has announced the beginning of construction on their new facility and a major expansion of the critical services they offer women in the District.

Calvary’s new home to provide services for homeless women will open on Good Hope Road, in Southeast Washington D.C.’s Anacostia neighborhood, in December. Calvary will join several other service providers and partners in the neighborhood – and will be the first to offer supportive housing.

“Calvary is a unique and special place in DC,” said Ann M. Hilpert, President of the Board of Directors of Calvary Women’s Services.  “We not only meet a woman’s immediate needs like housing and meals, but we provide services that empower her for independent living.”

At Calvary, women receive personal attention and an array of services that help them address the reasons they became homeless.

Calvary’s new $3 million, 14,000 square foot project will transform an abandoned building in Anacostia into a new home that will serve 50 women a night and provide 200 meals a day, all while providing critical one-on-one attention by keeping case manager to client ratio the lowest in the city.

“At Calvary we offer women a safe, caring place for tonight and support, hope and change for tomorrow. Holding those two critical pieces together – support services and a secure place to live – is the key to returning women to independent living,” said Kris Thompson, Calvary’s executive director.

Calvary’s unique and special approach to the issue of homelessness among the District’s women works: every 5 days Calvary’s programs will help a woman move into her own home.

The expanded center will increase by 40% the number of women who will move into their own homes each year.

The challenges and barriers for women who find themselves homeless can be great. Women who come to Calvary are in need of housing and also of mental health services, addiction recovery services and other support programs to assist them as they regain independence and stability in their lives. But the results can transform a woman’s life.

“We are proud that women tell us that Calvary’s reputation is as a place to go ‘to get your life back together,’” said Thompson. “And this new home is a unique opportunity for us to help more women achieve that.”

For more information about Calvary Women’s Services’ and the new home on Good Hope Road, visit www.calvaryservices.org/media