For 40 years, For Love of Children has created innovative services in response to the needs of children and families. We are proud of the effective programs we have created and the powerful impact we have had in the lives of thousands of children.

The climate has changed for nonprofit agencies, however, and to remain a strong force serving DC’s most vulnerable children, For Love of Children has determined that we must reduce our scope and sharply focus on opportunities for each child to achieve educational success as our most effective tool for breaking the cycle of poverty. Our vision is to serve children and youth with academic enrichment, tutoring, counseling, scholarship support, and experiential education.

The highly successful family support programs described below will continue serving families as part of new or separate organizations.

Life in today's urban setting presents difficult challenges for all families, particularly those families with limited resources. Hope and A Home believes that in the midst of these challenges, parents can create nurturing and stable homes within the caring and loving support of a community.

At Hope and A Home, we dream of a city in which all families are housed, growing stronger and creating life affirming opportunities for themselves and their community. By setting goals and participating in the Hope and A Home community, children succeed in school, parents become financially independent, and families bring stability to their lives and move to permanent housing.

Hope and A Home rents apartments to families for up to three years at far below market rates - the lowest rents in the District of Columbia^*. To help families achieve their self-determined goals, Hope and A Home nurtures relationships among families, volunteers, and staff, and links families with resources in the community.

In the next few months, FLOC’s Hope and A Home transitional housing program will separate from FLOC, and become incorporated as an independent 501(c)(3) agency. FLOC’s board and staff are working with public and private partners to ensure a smooth transition, and we look forward to continuing Hope and A Home’s collaborative partnerships with other FLOC programs.

  Family Stability

• Weekly meetings and goal setting;
• Workshops on topics that parents feel are important to their success;
• Family activities; and
• On-going peer celebration and recognition.

  Educational Success

• Training parents as advocates for their children;
• A Good Grades Program to encourage student achievement;
• After-school and summer activities;
• Scholarships for youth and adult education; and
• Tutors and mentors.

  Safe and Affordable Housing

• Affordable apartments rented for up to 3 years to families working toward permanent housing;
• Workshops on creating and maintaining a safe home; and
• Assistance locating permanent housing.

Hope and A Home manager Mike Young says, “Hope and A Home nurtures relationships among families, volunteers, and staff, and links families with resources in the community. Our experience is that parents want the best for themselves and their children. With hope, and with the support of the Hope and A Home community, families in our program accomplish their goals. At the heart of our community are the close and trusting relationships between families, volunteers and staff."

Relationships and community are built as parents meet weekly with Hope and A Home staff, as families set goals every three months, and as all come together for monthly Hope and A Home workshops. Parents choose workshop topics that are important to them, such as family bonding, racism, or affordable housing, and they help plan and facilitate the workshops to ensure that their experiences are reflected in each session.

Families come to Hope and A Home from a number of different experiences. About 40% have experienced homelessness and come to us from shelters. About half come from overcrowded and substandard housing. Many of these families were on the brink of eviction and a step away from going to a shelter. The remaining 10% of families come to FLOC because they need stable, affordable housing to be reunited with their children who are in foster care.

Participating families rent their Hope and A Home apartments at below market rates, with rent gradually increasing toward market rates by the third and final year in the program. At the end of their three-year journey, they are presented with a unique Hope and A Home diploma: a welcome mat for their new home.

In 2001, as the Shaw neighborhood experienced significant changes and the cost of housing rose significantly, Hope and A Home began collaborating with the residents and apartment building owners in a nearby subsidized housing community to share some of FLOC's experience and resources with a larger number of families. Residents are planning the activities they want for children and adults. Hope and A Home's goal is to assist them as they shape the future of their community and enhance the viability of affordable rental housing in the neighborhood.

Please join us in working toward a better city for us all. Opportunities include:

• Academic tutoring
• Mentoring a child
• Gifts of household furniture and appliances
• Work parties to clean and paint apartments
• Tax deductible financial gifts

To learn more about what you can do to support affordable housing in the District of Columbia, visit the Affordable Housing Activists (AHA) at http://ahadc.net

Healthy Families/DC (HFDC) is a five-year program for the children of overburdened parents. Part of a national network in 44 states, Healthy Families provides intensive support to parents all over D.C. Together, the family and the HFDC staff set goals and identify how to achieve them. Through HFDC, families receive additional assistance and community support in raising happy, healthy, and developmentally strong children.

FLOC’s chapter of Healthy Families DC has rejoined the Healthy Families parent site and will continue serving their families from Mary’s Center for Maternal and Child care. Contact Healthy Families at (202) 483-8319 extensions 316, 321 or 329.

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