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2021 FALL NEWSLETTER

LETTER FROM OUR CEO A reflection from our CEO.

BY THE NUMBERS How Miriam's KItchen has been effecting change during the COVID-19 pandemic.

PERMANENT SUPPORTIVE HOUSING UPDATE Getting our neighbors what they need.

FRESH TAKE FRIDAYS Helping hands: turning crisis into partnership.

ADVOCACY D.C.'s budget makes historical investments to end chronic homelessness.

VOLUNTEERING Reimagining volunteering for a virtual world.

GUEST SPOTLIGHT Meet James Davis.

MORE THAN A MEAL 2021 campaign to end chronic homelessness in the District.

THE RECIPE FOR IMPACT Learn how you can continue to support Miriam's Kitchen.

DEAR MK COMMUNITY, This year, as I celebrate 19 years as CEO of Miriam’s Kitchen (MK), I stand in awe of my colleagues and MK volunteers, who for the past 20 months of the pandemic, have made my journey as a leader something special. Despite the challenges of the pandemic, we’ve continued to grow to meet the needs of our guests, improve operations, and increase awareness for housing justice. I am so grateful to all who have supported us financially to allow us to evolve as an organization both to meet the immediate challenges of the pandemic and our vision of ending long-term homeless in D.C. This includes Meals, Social Services, and Advocacy staffing. Among the new staff positions is a Director of Equity and Inclusion role which is poised to help Miriam’s Kitchen to continue, and accelerate, its work to dismantle the systemic racism that threatens housing justice in our country. As our team expands, we are also preparing to safely transition our Meals and Case Management services back into the dining room due to the advent of the vaccine. With the installation of air purifiers throughout our space and an ongoing mask mandate, we’ve also implemented an organization-wide vaccination policy that includes weekly testing for all who have received a vaccine accommodation. Our transition back indoors is particularly exciting for us due to our recent dining room renovation which includes new bathrooms and a new dining room floor! We are happy to welcome our guests back into new bathrooms after using a bathroom trailer for 20 months. The total cost of the project is $225,000; and thanks to generous support from many donors, we’ve raised a little over one-half of the project cost. If you are interested in supporting this work, please contact Mei Powers at mei@miriamskitchen.org. Because we recognize the challenge of obtaining a 100% vaccination count among guests, we will continue to offer meals to-go. However, we are excited to have indoor space which will allow us to provide a better case management experience. While it is our hope to provide indoor dining again soon, we will continue to monitor COVID case rates and make decisions informed by government mandates and guest vaccination numbers. Paired with the good news of our renovation project and program transitions, I am proud to announce the monumental success of our advocacy team that led D.C. City Council to approve an FY2022 budget that will end long-term homelessness for 2,370 individuals! This historic victory succeeds 10 years of showing city leaders that long-term homelessness can be ended by investing in housing. We are excited to end thousands of years of cumulative homelessness. Be sure to join our mailing list at miriamskitchen.org to stay updated on how you can become an advocate in our fight to end chronic homelessness for good! Sincerely,

Scott B. Schenkelberg President & CEO, Miriam's Kitchen

PERFORMANCE UPDATES

YOUR SUPPORT HAS HELPED... Tackle food insecurity

Guests obtain safe, permanent housing

51,170 meals served in to-go containers

116 guests moved into housing

2,478 Fresh Take Fridays meals served

98% of guests still housed after one year

2,646 meals frozen for Permanent

12 guests obtained social security

Supportive Housing (PSH) residents

(SSI-SSDI) through SOAR to increase their income

Prevent the spread of COVID-19

Deliver guestcentered services

206 Social Services guests screened for

262 guests connected to mental

COVID-19

health services

145 COVID-19 screenings provided

321 guests connected to physical

by Street Outreach

health services Provided clothing for 212 guests Provided 226 wellness checks 3 guests provided with phones

Data based on Fiscal Year 2021July Performance Report

GETTING OUR NEIGHBORS WHAT THEY NEED The Permanent Supportive Housing Team (PSH) is as busy as ever helping people into their own apartments, engaging new clients toward the housing process, and providing remote (and in-person) support to ensure stability in their new homes. Here’s a look at what PSH has been up to!

From January-July 2021, we’ve helped 35 clients experiencing homelessness sign their leases and move into their new homes. This includes 18 clients referred from the city’s Pandemic Emergency Program for Medically Vulnerable Individuals (PEP-V) shelters who are now successfully moved in. Some journeys took longer than others, but we’re proud of our team and thrilled for our clients! But we’re not just helping people move from streets and shelters into housing. Our ongoing support services are continuing to ensure our clients have what they need so they never become homeless again. Between March 2020 and July 2021, we have delivered more than 1600 meals to our PSH clients! During this time, we have also started purchasing and maintaining minutes on phones for clients who need them. We have also relied on Lyft to assist our clients to help people with mobility challenges, or individuals who have health conditions that make them more vulnerable to COVID and they don’t want to take public transportation. We help clients get to housingcritical and health-critical appointments, including apartment viewings, getting people home from the hospital, and, of course, to get to their lease-ups! We also have many clients who are artists – painting, drawing, jewelry, knitting, collage, you name it. Thanks to a special grant, we’ve been able to purchase supplies that our clients request, and those artists love the ability to create home studios and make artwork in their own space.

HELPING HANDS: TURNING CRISIS INTO PARTNERSHIP We all know that 2020 brought unprecedented challenges for businesses of all types that continue to exist today. For restaurants, one of the main challenges included losing foot traffic and clientele. We faced similar challenges at Miriam’s Kitchen, as our volunteer corps was severely limited throughout this pandemic. Because of this, Fresh Take Fridays – a collaboration between MK and local minority- or women-owned businesses to provide a special dining experience for our guests – was created to support members of the foodservice industry that were impacted by the pandemic while simultaneously offering our team a weekly reprieve as we weather the impact that the COVID-19 pandemic has had on volunteer staffing within the kitchen. The MK Kitchen Team thanks our Fresh Take Fridays vendors, sponsors, and dedicated volunteers for taking an active part in helping us continue to serve our guests! The Kitchen Team is truly grateful for their dedication to our mission and meals program. We excel and rise to higher heights with the addition of their fuel and energy!

VOLUNTEERS

SPONSORS

Alexandra Bailey

Bank of America

Allison Hammond

The Nash Family Foundation

Amanda Ryan Bob Payne

VENDORS

Colleen Boyle

Bub & Pop’s

Efren Catalla

Call Your Mother

Jack Nelson

EatWellDC

Kathy Hudson

Hardy’s BBQ

Kumi Kato

Henry’s Soul Café

Laura Barrantes

Kimber Pizza

Laura Popielski

Muncheez

Leia Schantz

Myron Mixon BBQ

Lida Anestidou

PLNT Burger

Meghan Kearney

Queen Vic

Michelle Vanagas

Shouk

Rob Vaughn

Support & Feed

Susan Raskin

Taco Bamba

Susan Thomas Tali Bar-Shalom Thad Whitaker Tracy Scarrow Vicky Wolf

D.C.'S BUDGET MAKES HISTORIC INVESTMENTS TO END CHRONIC HOMELESSNESS When Miriam’s Kitchen launched our advocacy program, we knew that ending chronic homelessness would not happen overnight. For years, you have partnered with us to advocate, organize, and lift up the voices of our unhoused neighbors to fight for a city where nobody experiences homelessness. While our work is not yet done, this year’s budget, which was finalized in early August, is a game-changer for thousands of individuals experiencing homelessness. Thanks to your advocacy, 2,370 of our neighbors will no longer have to choose between tents, benches, or shelter and will instead have their own beds, their own medicine cabinets, and their own places to call home. This is a historic victory and will put Washington, D.C. back on track toward our shared goal of ending homelessness. Highlights from this year’s budget include:

Permanent Supportive Housing for 2,370 individuals (90% of our ask) Permanent Supportive Housing for 540 families (150% of our ask) $400 million to build and preserve affordable housing Continued funding of D.C.’s robust network of homeless street outreach Tax justice is racial justice

Half of these vouchers were funded by a small change in D.C.’s tax code that will ensure that our wealthiest neighbors are best able to contribute to building a D.C. where everybody has the housing they need to thrive. It’s fitting that 90% of D.C. residents who will pay slightly more in taxes are white, and that this new funding will be used to end homelessness for thousands, over 90% of whom are Black. By slightly increasing the tax burden of these residents, the D.C. Council set a national example of what budgets and tax policy informed by racial equity can look like. In addition to convening The Way Home Campaign , Miriam’s Kitchen is grateful to be in this work with so many

organizations and coalitions including the Under 3 D.C. Coalition, The Fair Budget Coalition, and the Just Recovery D.C. Campaign. Continued on page 6.

REIMAGINING VOLUNTEERING FOR A VIRTUAL WORLD While COVID-19 has limited in-person volunteer opportunities, volunteers can still have a tremendous impact in the

Our dear friend and colleague Waldon Adams used to say that “advocacy is caring about something and telling others you care about it.” We thank the entire Miriam’s Kitchen community for raising your voice and telling others why you care about ending chronic homelessness. From calling your Councilmembers, writing letters, sending tweets, and attending events to simply telling your friends that ending chronic homelessness is possible, you moved the needle towards housing justice. We showed that when we work together and fight for what is right, we can win. What’s next ?

While this budget will end homelessness for a historic number of our neighbors, our work is not finished. We’re laser-focused on making sure these historic investments are used quickly and efficiently when the new fiscal year begins this October. With eviction moratoriums expiring in D.C. and across the nation, we will continue to work with our partners to ensure that D.C. utilizes all possible resources to prevent a massive increase in homelessness. Additionally, as vocal residents across D.C. mount increasingly hostile and racist attacks on our unhoused neighbors living in tents, we are committed to ensuring that all of our neighbors, regardless of housing status, are treated with dignity, belonging, and compassion. Stay tuned for more ways to fight for housing justice with Miriam’s

virtual space. Every year, thousands of Nestlé employees donate their time and talents at local organizations as part of #NestléCares, the company’s national day of service. This year, employees from Nestlé’s Arlington office conducted a virtual in-kind drive with Miriam’s Kitchen. For a typical coat or toiletry drive, people usually set up a collection box and then drive items to Miriam’s Kitchen. A virtual in-kind drive allows people to donate essential items without the logistical hassle and storage challenges. Through the virtual in-kind drive, Nestlé employees raised over $5,000 worth of shampoos, razors, toothbrushes, tubes of toothpaste, and more. “Miriam’s Kitchen made it easy. They set up a page where employees could choose which items they wanted to help purchase,” said Kim Pagal, Senior Manager of Community Affairs, Nestlé USA. To learn more about how you can organize a virtual in-kind drive, please contact Kimberly Heller at kimberly.heller@miriamskitchen.org.

Kitchen and The Way Home Campaign !

GUEST SPOTLIGHT The key to James Davis’ journey to housing was heavy on patience and persistence. After experiencing homelessness on and off for more than a decade, he learned the difficulties of navigating the "housing maze," as he recalls the difficult journey to obtain permanent housing. Through it all, he remained resolute to find meaning and impact in his work. James first connected with Miriam’s Kitchen in

“The people, volunteers, and staff are incredible in their commitment of a common cause. To me, they seem to take is as more than a job. Miriam’s Kitchen has shown me that there are dedicated people out there who genuinely care about getting people housed, and doing it with dignity.” –James Davis, MK Guest

2007, coming to our dining room for meals and to learn more about our housing program. He stayed connected with MK through the years as he experienced homelessness on and off for the next decade, which included six years living in the shelter system. During this time, he was dedicated to having meaningful employment, becoming an impassioned community leader; becoming an advocate for the local outlet Street Sense Media; joining the National Coalition for the Homeless, and becoming a member of the Consumer Health Foundation. He also served as a board member for Street Sense and for the East of the River Family Strengthening Collaborative in Ward 7, serving the underserved residents and elderly in his community. After turning 62 years old last year, he met with a housing coordinator and started working with MK’s Housing Case Manager Patrick Gaitlin. The process had “a few hiccups along the way but went smooth for the most part” according to James, and he eventually obtained permanent housing in August 2020. When he thinks about his journey and experience in obtaining housing, he is extremely glad he reconnected with Miriam’s Kitchen.

THAN A

“Miriam’s Kitchen helped get me so much more than a meal”

–Sam Ross, MK Guest

Miriam’s Kitchen has been a trusted resource for individuals experiencing homelessness in Washington, D.C. since 1983. Our frontline staff is working tirelessly to build and implement solutions to end long-term homelessness in our nation’s capital and keep our neighbors safe, healthy, informed, and housed. But we need you on our side. Miriam’s Kitchen is looking for champions to volunteer as fundraisers for the More Than A Meal 2021 Campaign. Homelessness is an urgent and ongoing crisis that disproportionally affects people of color, and by creating your personal fundraiser, you’re joining a movement dedicated to addressing hunger, racial injustice, and homelessness in our community. To volunteer as a fundraiser, or to learn more about the campaign, contact Kimberly Heller at Kimberly.Heller@miriamskitchen.org

THAN A

Miriam’s Kitchen has been a trusted

NEW FACES OF MK The Miriam’s Kitchen staff has grown by leaps and bounds in the past year and a half, bringing in more than twenty new faces to our organization since June 2020. Miriam’s Kitchen now totals nearly 60 staff members in total. Meet the newest faces to the MK community!

resource for individuals experiencing homelessness in Washington, D.C. since 1983. Our frontline staff is working tirelessly to build and implement solutions to end longterm homelessness in our nation’s capital and keep our neighbors safe, healthy, informed, and housed. But we need you on our side. Miriam’s Kitchen is looking for champions to volunteer as fundraisers for the More Than A Meal

NEW STAFF SINCE JUNE 2020

2021 Campaign. Homelessness is an urgent and ongoing crisis that disproportionally affects people of color, and by creating your personal

Arianna Cicchinelli

Kala Johnson

fundraiser, you’re joining a

James C. Durrah II

Isaiah Leatherwood

movement dedicated to addressing

Claire McMahon Fishman

Al Llanos

hunger, racial injustice, and

Estela Flores

Jennifer Nunez

homelessness in our community.

Diva Geddie

Nell Pitts

Rachel Glassman

Jeff Porter

To volunteer as a fundraiser, or to

Shay Hardeman

Paul Rahn

learn more about the campaign,

Omar Hasan-Towery

Nathan Smith

contact Kimberly Heller at

Orlando Herrera

Kayleigh Sullivan

Kimberly.Heller@miriamskitchen.org

Charlotte Hovland

Marlene Villavicencio

Total Staff as of August 12, 2021: 58

“Miriam’s Kitchen helped get me so much more than a meal” –Sam Ross, MK Guest

ENDING HOMELESSNESS: RECIPE FOR IMPACT WAYS TO GIVE With new variants, COVID-19 continues to

CREATE YOUR LEGACY Did you know many employers sponsor matching gift programs and will match any charitable contributions or volunteer hours made by their employees? To find out if your company has a matching gift policy, please visit: https://doublethedonation.com/miriamskitchen

increase demand for services and put enormous financial pressure on all nonprofits.

Naming Miriam's Kitchen as a beneficiary of

If you are in a financial position to give, here

your retirement plan, donor-advised fund, life

are a few ways you can help support your

insurance policy, bank account, IRA, etc.

favorite nonprofit: Making a gift to Miriam's Kitchen in your

Write a check or donate online to provide

will or trust.

immediate assistance to the organizations you love.

For your quick reference, our legal name is: Miriam's Kitchen

Donate a gift of appreciated stock to avoid

Tax ID Number: 52-1331552

capital gains tax.

Incorporated in: 2401 Virginia Avenue, Washington, DC 20037

If you are 70 1/2 or over, you can make a IRA--satisfying part or all of your required

If you have already included Miriam’s Kitchen in your plans , it would be our honor

minimum distribution (RMD) for the year--

to personally thank you. Please contact Mei

with no tax due on the distribution.

Powers (mei@miriamskitchen.org or 202-452-

gift to Miriam's Kitchen directly from your

8926x228) for questions or additional

Make it Monthly and help organizations meet their most urgent needs. Host a personal fundraiser to maximize your impact and invite your network to support the organizations you love.

information.

MATCH YOUR GIFT & DO 2X THE GOOD Did you know many employers will match charitable contributions or volunteer hours

Contact Kimberly Heller at

made by their employees?

kimberly.heller@miriamskitchen.org for more details on how you can donate your birthday

To find out if your company has a matching

or host a virtual in-kind drive to support your

gift policy, please visit

neighbors experiencing homelessness.

doublethedonation.com/miriamskitchen .

ENDING CHRONIC

HOMELESSNESS.

2401 VIRGINIA AVENUE, NW

2021 FALL NEWSLETTER

WASHINGTON, DC 20037

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