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Resources Specifically For DC Families

 

Housing Support Resources:

Click here to access a downloadable and hyperlinked document of resources that the DC Government and non-profit organizations provide DC residents.

Resources Specifically Related to COVID-19:

Organizations that Provide Various Types of Support

Advocates for Justice and Education, Inc: To empower families, youth, and the community to be effective advocates to ensure that children and youth, particularly those who have special needs, receive access to appropriate education and health services.

Bread for the City: To help Washington, DC residents living with low income to develop their own power to determine the future of their own communities. Programming focuses on providing food, clothing, medical care, and legal and social services; and leading community organizing and advocacy.

Breathe DC: To promote healthy lifestyles and prevent lung disease in DC, especially in communities affected by health disparities, through advocacy and programming that help those with asthma and other health conditions.

Children’s Law Center: To provide children and their family members with legal support for education, health, housing, and other areas.

Community of Hope: to improve health and end family homelessness to make Washington, DC more equitable. 

DC127: To ensure the success of every child in foster care and those at risk of entering the child welfare system. 

Department of Behavioral Health Child/Youth Ombudsman Program: To assist parents, guardians and youth with any challenges related to behavioral health needs for children/youth (up to 25 year old).

Dream for Kids DC: To provide life-changing activities that empower children with physical and developmental disabilities to unite with their peers and realize their potential.

East River Family Strengthening Collaborative: To empower families, youth, seniors, and communities to become more self-sufficient through integrated and collaborative community-based services utilizing evidence-based practices that are family-focused and person-centered.

Emergency Rental Assistance Program DC: The Emergency Rental Assistance Program (ERAP) helps income-eligible District residents facing housing emergencies. The program provides funding for overdue rent if a qualified household is facing eviction (including late costs and court fees). The program also supports security deposits and first month’s rent for residents moving to new apartments.

Far SE Family Strengthening Collaborative: To act as a catalyst to develop, nurture, and sustain partnerships of residents, agencies, and institutions in the Southeast community, and to create a healthy socioeconomic environment through which every child and family has an opportunity to achieve their maximum potential and to lead a productive life.

Food & Friends: To improve the lives and health of people with HIV/AIDS, cancer and other serious illnesses that limit their ability to provide nourishment for themselves by: preparing and delivering specialized meals and groceries that are designed to meet the medical and dietary needs of each of their clients; providing nutritional counseling and wellness education that enhances their clients’ quality of life; and creating a strong sense of community for both their clients and volunteers that reduces the social isolation that often comes with serious illnesses and provides meaningful opportunities for neighbors to help neighbors in need.

Legal Aid Society: To provide legal services to DC residents living in poverty.

LIFT-DC: To empower families to break the cycle of poverty. DC families experiencing poverty can access personalized support and coaching.

MamaToto Village: To create career pathways for Women of Color in the field of public health and human services; and providing accessible perinatal support services designed to empower women with the necessary tools to make the most informed decisions in their maternity care, their parenting, and their lives.

Network of Care for Behavioral Health: An online resource directory of mental health and substance use services and resources.

Office of Disability Rights: Provides a wide range of information and services for DC residents with disabilities.

Parent Resource at the Office of the State Superintendent of Education: Adrienne Rodriguez – 202-478-5947; Sheryl Hamilton (Supervisor) – 202-741-6404 (Office)

Virginia Williams Family Resource Center: Families may access emergency housing through the Virginia Williams Family Resource Center (VWFRC), the central intake office for all families in the District of Columbia seeking assistance with their housing needs.

Hotlines:

  • Access HelpLine (1(888)7WE-HELP or 1-888-793-4357): Individuals can call during moments of extreme stress and mental hardship to access counselors. Professionals can activate mobile crisis teams to respond to adults and children who are experiencing a psychiatric or emotional crisis and are unable or unwilling to travel to receive behavioral health services. 

  • Access to a mental health clinician and suicide prevention lifeline: 1-888-793-4357

  • National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 1-800-273-8255 or chat with a specialist

  • Families in need of shelter: call 311 or 202-399-7093

  • Child abuse and neglect hotline: 202-671-SAFE

  • D.C. Mutual Aid Network hotline: 202-630-0336

  • Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s Disaster Distress Help Line: 1-800-985-5990

  • National Domestic Violence Hotline: 1-800-799-7233 and TTY 1-800-787-3224