About the Fund
General information about the Alexandria Fund for Human Services
Download the complete list of AFHS 2024 - 2026 grantees
OUTCOMES - 1. ALL CHILDREN AND YOUTH ARE SCHOOL READY
English Empowerment Center
https://englishempowermentcenter.org/
(703) 237-0866
Since 1999, the English Empowerment Center has been running the Family Learning Program (FLP). The Family Learning Program offers free, quality, beginning-level English language instruction to parents and their children, emphasizing the goal of “increasing parenting knowledge and skills.” Parental involvement in their children’s education helps immigrant parents with mastering English skills they need to help their children with homework and to advance academically in school.
The Family Learning Program provides English literacy instruction to children and their low-income, immigrant parents in a supportive classroom environment, emphasizing the goal of parents’ increased involvement in their children’s educational activities. In partnership with Alexandria City Public Schools (ACPS) and their Parent Engagement Program, FLP classes are facilitated at Family and Community Engagement (FACE) Centers at John Adams Elementary School and Cora Kelly School.
Kids' First Years
https://kidsfirstyears.org/
(703) 927-1378
Convened in 2013, Kids’ First Years is committed to promoting system collaboration and alignment, equitable access to high quality programming, comprehensive service provision, data-driven decision making, and a laser focus on achieving universal school readiness. Kids’ First Years is Alexandria’s cross-sector, public-private partnership, focused on building an equitable and accessible early care and education system for all children, families, and educators.
The program encompasses four strategic areas: System Alignment, Access, Family Connections, and Quality. The key initiative of our Quality focus area is the Quality Collaborative (QC), a centralized system designed to develop and coordinate professional learning opportunities for all early care and education providers. The work of the QC is informed by the Professional Learning Council (PLC), an advisory group representing the public schools, City childcare agencies, child development centers, family day homes, families, and higher education. Kids’ First Years serves as the convener of the PLC and provides backbone coordination and strategic planning to support quality early education in the City of Alexandria.
The Center for Alexandria's Children, Inc.
https://centerforalexandriaschildren.org/_programs/_childrens-advocacy-center/
(703) 746-6008
Learn & Play Groups are designed for vulnerable, isolated families of children zero to five years of age who lack access to quality, affordable, early childcare education and parenting programs. The program serves children, their parents and caregivers who are low-income and with a home language other than English. The program utilizes the Learn & Play Group Curriculum developed by the Center’s Playgroup Steering Committee. The curriculum is based on Virginia’s Milestones of Early Childhood Development and Foundation Blocks which is designed to support the five protective factors of the research-based child abuse prevention model, Strengthening Families.
The Learn & Play Group Program promotes the well-being of families by creating strong and meaningful connections between parents and their children and parents and the community. The program’s vision is for all children to be academically, physically, socially, and emotionally ready to enter and succeed in kindergarten.
The Center for Alexandria's Children, Inc.
https://centerforalexandriaschildren.org/_programs/_childrens-advocacy-center/
(703) 746-6008
The Child Advocacy Center provides a child-centered, collaborative, and comprehensive multi-disciplinary team approach to the investigation and prosecution of child abuse cases. It ensures the provision of vital, coordinated services for child victims and their families in a child-friendly setting. The Child Advocacy Center Program is the only organization providing these targeted services to children in Alexandria, as the City's formal partner in implementing a best practice, public-private partnership model that minimizes the trauma children face after disclosing abuse.
Together with its partners in law enforcement, child protection, mental health, medical health, victim advocacy, and prosecution, the program offers a path toward hope and healing to more than 100 children each year.
Wilderness Kids Alexandria
https://www.wildernesskidsalexandria.org/programs
(703) 717-3603
Wilderness Kids Alexandria (WKA) aims to provide life-enriching experiences in nature to teens from under-resourced families in order to ensure they enjoy the many benefits of being outside. The program provides experiences to teens in three ways: an After-School Program at George Washington Middle School and Francis Hammond Middle School; the Weekend Outing Program, which gives teens the chance to hike, climb, and paddle in the DMV’s nature areas; and a Summer Program that gives teens camping and outdoor experiences.
Wilderness Kids Alexandria’s target population is students in grades six to 12 who are receiving free or reduced-cost lunch, or whose families are receiving SNAP or Medicaid benefits. The program works with ACPS teachers and counselors to identify students who will benefit from the program’s services. It also partners with various organizations with outdoor expertise, including the Potomac Appalachian Trail Club (climbing), Washington Sailing Marina (sailing), and others.
2. ALL ALEXANDRIANS ARE SOCIALLY CONNECTED, EMOTIONALLY SECURE AND CULTURALLY COMPETENT
Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Arlington
https://www.ccda.net/seniorservices/
(703) 841-3835
St. Martin de Porres (SMdP) Senior Center, operated by Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Arlington (CCDA), provides early intervention and supportive services that assist older adults in the community to remain independent and prevent premature institutionalization. The focus population is seniors who are 60 years or older and who live independently in the City of Alexandria.
The program welcomes all residents from the City of Alexandria who want to participate in activities promoting self-sufficiency, decrease social isolation and hunger, and learn new skills. Members participate in recreational activities, enjoy congregate meals, and plant the center’s vegetable and herb garden promoting healthy nutrition and lifestyles. The senior center promotes the dignity, inclusion, and respect of all adults by encouraging socialization and meeting new friends. The SMdP Senior Center is known as a friendly neighborhood center that does not discriminate and serves seniors on the West Side of Alexandria—especially those from underserved communities.
Ethiopian Community Development Council Inc.
(703) 685-0510
The Refugee Women Empowerment Project focuses on refugees and asylum-seekers who are currently living in Alexandria and are in need of assistance in their path to self-sufficiency. The target audience is refugee adult women ranging from ages 18 to 60 years old. The project has five essential pillars and best practices for Community Support Groups: Building Trust, Focus on Skill-Building, Fostering Social Engagement, Address Trauma and Mental Health, and Be Culturally Sensitive.
Community support groups are a valuable resource for refugee and immigrant women who are new to the U.S. These groups help participants build social support networks, reduce isolation, and promote skill-building and social engagement. To ensure the success of these groups, it is important to focus on building trust, skill-building, social engagement, addressing trauma and mental health, and cultural sensitivity. By incorporating these best practices, these groups can play a vital role in the successful resettlement of immigrant and refugee women in the community.
Momentum Collective Inc.
(703) 640-4980
The MPWRD “EMPOWERED” Afterschool Program provides free afterschool art education to kindergarten through eighth grade youth across the city, including Old Town, Del Ray, and the West End. Arts programs, particularly in elementary and middle schools, are underfunded, or have been completely removed from school curricula. Furthermore, the vast majority of afterschool arts programs in the city are fee-based, which disproportionately impacts minority lower-income youths. The instructors are artists with expertise in dance, theater, music, and creative writing.
The art sessions incorporate culturally responsive instruction and social-emotional learning as part of the program’s effort to not only improve artistic excellence, but aid in student achievement. The sessions run from September to June and include two performing arts showcases for participants. The program also elevates minority artistic voices by providing opportunities for youth to not only learn about the arts, but to become creative artists themselves through developing artistic works that speak to their lived experiences.
Northern Virginia Family Service
(571) 748-2500
Northern Virginia Family Service’s Intervention, Prevention, and Education (IPE) program is an asset development intervention that increases youths’ abilities to resist and avoid gang involvement and help families provide support and structure to youth to prevent gang involvement. The IPE provides trauma-informed therapeutic case management to youth ages ten to 21 years who are at-risk of gang involvement, currently gang-involved, or who have been victimized by gang violence. The IPE works closely with Alexandria Juvenile Court Services, which is the primary funder of the program.
The services are provided to youth and their families in their homes, schools, and community settings across the City of Alexandria. The IPE also provides educational gang prevention-related workshops to parents and youth-serving professionals, as requested.
SCAN of Northern Virginia
(703) 820-9001
The SCAN of Northern Virginia parenting program, Circle of Security Parenting (COSP), is based on attachment theory, which continues to be used universally in clinical and social services settings. Through the COSP Series, facilitators create a safe space for caregivers to read their children’s behaviors as a way to understand their needs. When parents respond to their children's needs in a consistent and healthy manner, this leads children to learn to trust.
Circle of Security is designed for and has been measured as an intervention for parents of young children. SCAN will use the COSP Program when working with families with children of all ages. Classes are 90-minute sessions that occur once per week for eight weeks. During these sessions facilitators lead discussions on the challenges parents face raising their children. The group then talks about their children’s needs and how as parents they can respond in healthier ways.
Senior Services of Alexandria
https://seniorservicesalex.org/
(703) 836-4414
The Senior Services of Alexandria (SSA) program, Meals on Wheels, aims to reduce the risk of hunger/malnutrition among older adults who do not qualify for the City-funded daily Meals on Wheels service and cannot afford to self-pay for this service. The Meals on Wheels program provides two freshly prepared home-delivered meals (one hot, one cold) daily to older adults who are homebound—especially those living alone, have limited support networks, or who live with chronic illness.
The Spitfire Club
https://www.thespitfireclub.org/
(703) 239-3724
The Spitfire Club (TSC) seeks to increase developmental assets and empower youths through a city-wide mentoring program, building on their resilience and boosting their mental health before they reach middle school. The target population of TSC is youths in the first through fifth grades.
The Spitfire Club is an empowering extracurricular book club in Alexandria that creates an inclusive community around books, enhancing literacy, social-emotional skills and nurturing the love of reading. It provides carefully curated lessons designed around Virginia Department of Education (VDOE) social-emotional and literacy standards in a space designed to serve as a trauma-informed sanctuary. All programming is free of cost to both providers and participants. Each Spitfire’s progress is monitored on both literacy metrics and social-emotional development, two key indicators of academic performance and success.
Volunteer Alexandria
https://www.volunteeralexandria.org/
(703) 836-2176
Volunteer Alexandria is the premier organization in Alexandria that connects people to services and mobilizes thousands of residents and local businesses to get involved in the community. It provides tangible benefits to local area nonprofits, individuals, and families in need. Volunteer Alexandria provides children, youths, adults, and older adults of all backgrounds and abilities with service activities. The focus of the Youth Engaged in Service (YES) Program is to engage children and youths between the ages of eight and 18 years old across the city—of all backgrounds, ethnicity, age, gender, sexual orientation, religion, and citizenship status—throughout the year in service learning and volunteer opportunities to contribute to the betterment of all Alexandria's citizens.
The YES Program addresses three important developmental assets for participating youths: Service to Others; Community Values Youth; and Strengthen Planning and Decision Making. The YES Program allows participants to feel more empowered, provide service to others, feel more valued in the community, and gain leadership skills.
3. ALL ALEXANDRIANS ARE ECONOMICALLY SECURE AND CAREER READY.
Alexandria Seaport Foundation
https://alexandriaseaport.org/
(703) 778-0977
The Alexandria Seaport Foundation (ASF) provides a tailored ten- to 12-month job-training program for disconnected young adults aged 17-24 years old. The program connects apprentices to community resources for stable housing, financial support, health care coverage, substance abuse counseling, and/or mental health support. Through experienced adult mentoring, hands-on learning, carpentry, and the craft of wooden boat building, Alexandria Seaport Foundation provides young people with the tools they need to secure and maintain employment and break the cycle of poverty and dependency.
The ASF works with local court service units, parole officers, schools, alternative schools, and social service providers to identify those youths most in need of services. The ASF leverages its partnerships and relationships with numerous community agencies to effectively and efficiently provide a full array of services.
Alexandria Tutoring Consortium, Inc.
(703) 549-6670
The Alexandria Tutoring Consortium (ATC) has been tutoring ACPS children since 1997, using the research-proven Book Buddies curriculum since 2006. The Consortium aims to help as many ACPS students as possible read at grade level, thus putting them on an early track to successful and productive lives. It offers one-on-one structured and supported reading tutoring—Book Buddies—to ACPS kindergarten and first grade students. Students identified by classroom teachers as needing extra reading support are provided services by ATC. There is a long-standing partnership agreement between ATC and ACPS to provide tutoring in the schools during the school day and to share student achievement data.
Britepaths, Inc.
(703) 273-882
Britepaths offers workforce training classes and professional development services to low-income residents. The program serves unemployed and under-employed residents and offers Network Up, a short-term mentoring program to help job seekers improve and/or develop a professional network and job readiness skills.
Britepaths also has the Avenues to Career Training (ACT) program, which offers IT training classes and certification instruction to participants. Most training services are online but some are in-person at community partnership locations. Britepaths has a strong community partnership with the Department of Community and Human Services, Friends of Guest House, Community Lodgings, and Veterans Curation.
Capital Youth Empowerment Program
(202) 321-8704
The Capital Youth Empowerment Program (CYEP) was founded in Alexandria in 2008 and has been providing fatherhood services in Northern Virginia and Washington, DC, for the past 15 years. The Fathers in Tech (FIT) program addresses income inequality, poverty, under- and unemployment, and family dysfunction by fostering healthy families and economic mobility. The program uses an evidence-based approach to build social skills, increase engagement between fathers and their children, and increase the probability of individuals earning a livable wage.
The program offers career opportunities in construction apprenticeship, computer certification, and the healthcare industry. The focus population includes BIPOC, individuals in crisis, and low-income fathers and families within the City of Alexandria.
Communities In Schools of Northern Virginia
(703) 338-5019
The Communities in Schools of NOVA program serves the most under-resourced K-12 children and families facing crises in the City of Alexandria, who require significant intervention and are disproportionately impacted by COVID-19 learning loss.
The focus population is youths who are low-income/eligible for free or reduced-price lunch, English Language Learners (including underserved non-Spanish-speaking ELLs) who are recent arrivals to the U.S., have immigrant parents, and are not meeting minimum pass rates on Virginia Standards of Learning Assessments. The program’s focus is on students attending the following ACPS schools and living throughout the City of Alexandria: Ramsay Elementary School, John Adams Elementary School, Hammond Middle School, and Alexandria City High School’s Minnie Howard and King Street Campuses.
The program targets Title I eligible school sites within Alexandria that are also located within Northern Virginia where 520,000 or more people live in under-resourced Census tracts. It has established a K-12 continuum across schools within Alexandria’s West End area that "feed" into one another, allowing the program to provide K-12 academic support.
Community Lodgings
https://communitylodgings.org/
(703) 549-4407
Community Lodgings’ award-winning Youth Education Program provides free, quality out-of-school-time education, food assistance, and mentoring. For more than 35 years, Community Lodgings has worked in Alexandria’s East End and Chirilagua, which are immigrant neighborhoods. The program provides immigrant children in grades one through 12 with academic, social, and emotional learning five days a week at three different centers.
Since most of the students struggle with food insecurity, the program offers a daily healthy meal thanks to partnerships with ALIVE! and the Capital Area Food Bank. Students learn that adults care and that a high school diploma opens the doors to better career opportunities.
Computer CORE
(703) 928-0619
For 25 years Computer CORE has been providing computer training to low-income residents. It offers classes online to increase computer literacy and skills. The program also provides refurbished computers to the participants. The goal of the program is to teach computer skills to assist participants to be better prepared for job interviews and succeed in their new careers.
Computer CORE has had a strong community partnership with agencies such as Carpenter’s Shelter, Together We Bake, and Friends of Guest House. Currently, Computer CORE is offering Spanish-only basic computer skills classes in Arlandria in collaboration with Casa Chirilagua.
Educación Para Nuestro Futuro Founded by Escuela Bolivia (DBA Edu-Futuro)
(703) 228-2560
Edu-Futuro has been operating for over 25 years and is committed to reducing the cycle of poverty in immigrant communities through education, leadership development, parent engagement, individual case management, and workforce development.
Project LIFTS (Leading Immigrant Families To Success) focuses on serving low-income, historically marginalized Latino and immigrant youths and their families. The Bilingual Two-Generation services include college readiness programs for youths and workforce development, parent empowerment, and case management programs for adults.
ENDependence Center of Northern Virginia
(703) 525-3268
The ENDependence Center of Northern Virginia Travel Training program is for individuals with disabilities who want to learn to travel safely and independently using public transportation and rideshare in the Washington Metropolitan Area. The Travel Training program benefits many people in the community, including individuals with disabilities, their families and caregivers, schools, employers, and businesses.
The Independent Living Skills program focuses on developing the skills individuals need to live independently, such as communication, financial management, household management, accessing community services, and using adaptive and medical equipment. The program teaches travel skills, including identifying transportation options, reading maps and schedules, trip planning, and buying and using Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) SmarTrip cards. The participants also learn to identify the appropriate bus and/or train to ride, and about boarding and deboarding trains and buses. They practice crossing streets, maintaining appropriate behavior, learning safety skills, handling unexpected situations, and planning for emergencies.
English Empowerment Center
https://englishempowermentcenter.org/
(703) 237-0866
With over 60 years of serving Northern Virginia, the English Empowerment Center (formerly Literacy Council of Northern Virginia) has used best practices and cutting-edge approaches to adult education. It has provided English language instruction to more than 60,000 adults, with more than 570 participating in the Center’s Intensive Literacy and Work Readiness program since 2017.
The English Empowerment Center’s Destination Workforce Intensive Literacy and Work Readiness Program offers four consecutive sections of 19 hours of weekly instruction to assist individuals with job training skills. It also offers a laptop loaner program, both to ensure that all students have a computer and so that digital skills and computer literacy may be incorporated into the curriculum.
Friends of Guest House
https://friendsofguesthouse.org/
(703) 549-8072
Friends of Guest House programs are designed specifically for the challenges faced by incarcerated women who are reentering society. The programs provide individualized services tailored to each woman’s unique circumstances and vulnerabilities as she successfully transitions back into the community following incarceration. The mission of Friends of Guest House is to provide formerly incarcerated women the structure, supervision, support, and assistance they need to reenter society successfully.
Guest House accomplishes its mission through the following core programs. Residential: In this intensive six-month program, each resident is paired with a case manager and trauma-informed Peer Support Specialist who works with her to create a reentry plan and track weekly progress. Aftercare: Women begin the Aftercare program with linkages to transitional housing and continued case management services to help meet the challenges of independent living for up to 18 months. Outreach: The non-residential outreach program provides supportive services to women who move directly from incarceration to community housing.
George Mason University
(703) 993-1000
Established in 1987, the Early Identification Program (EIP) addresses one of the most significant obstacles first-generation college and career-bound students face—a lack of preparation for the challenges they face in a collegiate learning environment. The program is facilitated by engaging staff with backgrounds in higher education administration, non-profit leadership, and education.
Services are offered onsite at the ninth-grade campus of Alexandria City High School and Mason’s Fairfax university campus. The program takes a holistic approach to working with students (grades eight to 12) and their families. It offers full-year engagement and critical activities, which include family seminars, after-school tutoring, mentoring, success coaching, STEM enrichment, leadership development, service learning, and a rigorous three-week Summer Academy at Mason's Fairfax campus. Students who complete the program and graduate high school with a 3.5 grade point average or higher are invited to apply for need/merit-based and full-tuition scholarships to fund their studies at George Mason University.
Hopkins House-A Center for Children and Their Families
https://www.hopkinshousepreschools.org/helen-day
(571) 480-4093
The Early Childhood Learning Institute (ECLI) is a workforce development and post-secondary education program that offers participants the opportunity to earn up to 32 college credits in Early Childhood Education, a CDA credential, a Career Studies Certificate, an Early Childhood Development College Certificate from Northern Virginia Community College (NVCC), and full-time employment with Alexandria childcare centers. The program seeks to promote just and fair inclusion for all residents by ensuring that Alexandria’s low-income residents and people of color have access to college and employment opportunities that help them to break through the cycle of generational poverty.
Participants in ECLI are given comprehensive support and assistance to gain admission to NVCC and apply for college financial aid. They receive ongoing individual and group counseling, tutoring, and other support necessary for success in college, and they are provided with workshops on resume writing, job interviews, and practical work experience internships at local childcare centers. At the end of the program participants receive employment offers from childcare centers committing in writing to pay ECLI graduates an annual salary of at least $25,000 plus health insurance and other benefits.
Housing Alexandria
https://www.housingalexandria.org/
(703) 739-7775
Housing Alexandria is working to create a supply of “committed affordable” housing in Arlandria-Chirilagua to prevent low-income resident displacement and improve neighborhood health and stability due to gentrification. Housing Alexandria is implementing the “Rent Ready” program to mitigate Arlandria-Chirilagua displacement alongside its new construction site in the neighborhood, which will open in 2025-26. The Rent Ready program focuses on housing insecure/cost-burdened residents living in Arlandria-Chirilagua with rental education, assistance with affordable housing applications, and referrals to secure low-cost housing.
The target population is the housing insecure/cost-burdened, who are individuals with low incomes, immigrant households, Hispanic/Latinx households, and households with limited English proficiency. The program will operate in the Arlandria neighborhood at Housing Alexandria existing property in partnership with other community agencies like Casa Chirilagua, Tenants and Workers United, Community Lodgings, and the City’s Office of Housing.
Liberty's Promise
https://www.libertyspromise.org/
(703) 549-9950
Liberty’s Promise supports low-income, immigrant youths in the city of Alexandria as they transition to life in the U.S. and become active members of their new community. Since Liberty’s Promise began in 2005, it has guided youths as they acclimate to a new country. The program empowers teens as they work toward the future career of their dreams.
The program focuses on the core themes of civic engagement, community involvement, college access, and career readiness through a combination of hands-on activities, guest speaker presentations, and college campus field trips. All of the program activities are conducted at Francis C. Hammond and George Washington Middle Schools and Alexandria City High School, and the internship program takes place at sites throughout the city.
The Arc of Northern Virginia
(703) 208-1119
The Arc of Northern Virginia’s program focuses on individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDDs) throughout Alexandria to assist them in sustaining meaningful employment and grow in independence. People with IDDs struggle to gain and keep employment and achieve lifelong economic security. The program Tech for Independent Living supports independence and employment by providing customized lessons for people with IDDs. The Arc of Northern Virginia also trains ACPS special education teachers to use this program in their classrooms.
The Transition POINTS (Providing Opportunities, Information, Networking and Transition Support) webinars, consultations, and robust resources help people with IDDs and their families navigate the challenging transition from school to adulthood, including finding employment. The program has a strong partnership with the Department for Aging and Rehabilitative Services (DARS) in Alexandria to host webinars on topics related to long-term economic security (Special Needs Trusts, ABLE accounts, and Social Security) for people with IDDs and their families.
The Campagna Center (TCC)
https://www.campagnacenter.org/
(703) 224-2395
The Campagna Center is the longest-running nonprofit in Alexandria. Since 1945, it has built the staff, board, community partnerships, and organizational capacity needed to help families achieve economic mobility through education. The Building Better Futures program takes a holistic approach to removing obstacles students face during high school and preparing them for post-secondary success. The program offers personalized wraparound support, including real-world job experience through paid afterschool and summer jobs, externships, apprenticeships, and mentoring; college exploration and preparation; scholarship identification and application support; career exploration and workforce credentialing; and resume and cover letter support. The Early Identification Program supports students in seventh and eighth grades through partnerships with other youth-serving organizations and colleges to provide opportunities in post-secondary planning, as well as coordinating with colleges to create enrichment opportunities in STEM subjects.
All of the program’s services are conducted in Alexandria to support Alexandria’s residents. The Campagna Center enjoys a close partnership with dozens of agencies, nonprofits, faith organizations, colleges and universities, and businesses, including ACPS and the Virginia Tech Innovation Campus.
The Offender Aid and Restoration of Arlington County, Inc.
(703) 228-7441
For nearly 50 years, Offender Aid and Restoration (OAR) has been offering services to individuals of all genders to navigate a safe reentry into society and to avoid re-incarceration. Offender Aid and Restoration provides incarcerated individuals with vital services to assist them with reintegrating into society. The program offers pre-release and post-release coaching, professional clothing, transportation, and one-on-one employment advising, including job search assistance; readiness; mock interviews; resume preparation; and emergency assistance. Most returning individuals need help with immediate housing, food, and transportation to stabilize and with long-term needs such as improving their employment prospects.
Offender Aid and Restoration uses screening tools, models, and systems to create a person-centered Case Plan of reentry services, therapies, and wrap-around supports. Many program participants come from William G. Truesdale Alexandria Detention Center (ADC), Arlington County Detention Facility (ACDF), or Coffeewood Correctional Center (CCC). Offender Aid and Restoration’s reentry participants have lower (below $17K) or no income, about 40 percent are high school graduates, 70 percent identify as men/males, and 80 percent live below the poverty line.
Urban Alliance
https://www.urbanalliance.org/
(202) 459-4300
Urban Alliance (UA) is an evidence-based, national youth development non-profit whose mission is to connect high school students to equitable, inclusive careers through paid work experiences, mentorship, and professional development. The program works with schools and employers to address systemic barriers to economic mobility for young adults of color and to bridge the gaps between education and workforce development for young people across Northern Virginia and the City of Alexandria.
Urban Alliance is recognized nationally for its use of effective practices, including work-based learning, mentoring, support services, and follow-up services. When youths can pair paid work-based learning opportunities with academic learning, they are able to support themselves while acquiring the skills and credentials they need to succeed in the workplace. The services are tailored to the needs of the individual student, such as case management or assistance with attire and transportation, and help remove common barriers to employment. The follow-up services ensure long-term connection to the workforce.
Wesley Housing
(703) 642-3820
Wesley Housing’s Housing Stability Initiative (HSI) has the goal of prioritizing safe, stable, affordable housing as the foundation families need to succeed and thrive. With stable housing as a foundation, families can then focus on other aspects of their lives. Direct financial assistance is provided by HSI to families to supplement overdue rent and utility payments.
The program lowers eviction risk by increasing residents' access to job-related educational programs. It provides one-on-one career coaching and refers residents to on-site English classes at Saylor Academy. In addition, Wesley Housing partners with local food banks and other agencies to mitigate food insecurity.
4. ALL ALEXANDRIANS HAVE ACCESS TO PHYSICAL, DENTAL, MENTAL HEALTH AND VISION RESOURCES AND SERVICES
Brain Injury Services
(703) 451-8881
Brain Injury Services (BIS) has more than 32 years of experience in providing services to individuals with brain injury. Brain Injury Services is the only agency providing programming that enables the rehabilitation and the long-term support of Alexandria residents with acquired brain injury (ABI). Brain injury often leads to unhealthy behavior patterns that disrupt family structures, economic participation, social and community life. Due to the intricate and long-term nature of this disability, a coordinated array of health and mental health services is needed to assist individuals with rehabilitation and reentry into the community.
The program provides Alexandria residents with access to specialized ABI programs including individualized case management; specialized programs such as Speakers Bureau, Volunteer program, and Counseling; and cognitive rehabilitation, assistive technology, and life skill training via the ComPASS program.
Capital Youth Empowerment Program
(202) 321-8704
The Project Success (PS) Program prioritizes education and positive decision-making skills concerning reproductive health to support health equity. Project Success is an eight-week, group-based workshop using an evidence-based curriculum. The teen pregnancy prevention and HIV/AIDS and Sexually Transmitted Infection (STI) risk reduction program promotes positive youth development and healthy lifestyle choices for students. Project Success addresses a variety of topics such as HIV/AIDS prevention, self-responsibility, sexual responsibility, family communication, and developing positive decision-making skills.
The intended target population includes BIPOC and low-income individuals within the City of Alexandria. The program is delivered at the Detention Center, Less Secure Shelter, Alexandria Dunbar Boy’s and Girl’s Club, and Alexandria City High School. In addition, the Capital Youth Empowerment Program provides services in Spanish.
Carpenter's Shelter
https://carpentersshelter.org/
(703) 548-7500
Since 1988, Carpenter’s Shelter has been dedicated to making homelessness in the City of Alexandria a rare, brief, and one-time experience. Homelessness has negative impacts on a person’s health and mental well-being. Therefore, Carpenter’s Shelter ensures mental health and health services are accessible while working toward permanent housing solutions. The agency’s Therapeutic Services and the Medical Clinic, located at 930 North Henry Street, are available to individuals the agency serves within the City’s geographical borders that are unhoused or unsheltered.
Carpenter’s Shelter recognizes that deep-rooted biases and institutional racism have caused an over-representation of people of color experiencing homelessness. Carpenter’s Shelter strives to advance racial equity by transitioning those served into permanent housing. Carpenter’s Shelter has been a dedicated partner in addressing issues of homelessness for the past 35 years.
Metropolitan Washington Ear
(301) 861-6636
Metropolitan Washington Ear addresses the lack of access to information for people who are blind, have low vision, or print-disabled in the City of Alexandria. It delivers those services on multiple platforms including webcast, radio, telephone dial-in, and Amazon Alexa. Metropolitan Washington Ear provides the radio, dial-in, look-up, and audio description services from its Silver Spring, Maryland, office and studios.
The program provides free access to vision resources that are critical for people who cannot read print or use a screen reader and are often excluded from obtaining information. As a part of vision resources, it provides access to the same information as sighted individuals for people who are blind. The approach includes a radio broadcast (accessed through a radio, webcast, or Amazon Alexa), which provides national and local news, a telephone dial-in service that allows listeners to skip and scan to select a part of a publication, a look-up service for accessing information, and audio description of live theater.
Northern Virginia Dental Clinic, Inc.
(703) 820-7170
Northern Virginia Dental Clinic’s goal is to provide access to comprehensive oral health care services to low-income residents in Alexandria. Through the program City residents receive a comprehensive oral examination and detailed treatment plan. City residents are offered follow-up appointments during which definitive care will be rendered resulting in an improved state of oral health.
The intended focus population includes City residents aged 18 years and older with an annual income at or below 200% of Federal Poverty Guidelines. Services include Comprehensive Oral Examinations; Digital X-rays and CBCT Scans; Oral Cancer Screenings; Detailed Treatment Planning; Restorative (fillings); Oral Surgery (extractions, oral tori reduction, tumor/cyst removal, alveoplasty, etc.); Hard & Soft Tissue Biopsies; Endodontics (root canal therapy); Periodontics (soft tissue management); Prosthodontics (full and partial dentures, crowns, occlusal guards); Digital Impression Scanning; Oral Prophylaxis (cleanings); Emergency Intervention; and Patient Education. All services are provided to City residents at NVDC’s facility located at the Sharon Bulova Center for Community Health in Fairfax.
Nueva Vida Inc
(202) 223-9100
Nueva Vida has a proven record of providing cancer support services to the Latino community for over 24 years. The high-touch program provides culturally tailored education where Latinos live and work to support access to care. In addition, the program provides mental health services, financial, educational, legal, and social resources based on the social determinants of health barriers faced by the uninsured immigrant Latino community.
The project’s target population is the under-resourced, mostly first-generation immigrant Latino residents in the City of Alexandria who lack access to preventive cancer screenings and quality cancer care. The program has an integrated local community approach, which is to improve cancer outcomes, reduce costs, and resolve upstream factors that affect equitable access to quality cancer treatment and care.
Prevention of Blindness Society of Metropolitan Washington
(202) 234-1010
The Prevention of Blindness Society of Metropolitan Washington (POB) estimates that more than 12,000 City of Alexandria residents have a vision challenge, and nearly one in ten people who need glasses cannot afford them. The program has provided community-based children's vision health services for over eight decades, and POB remains a leading partner for vision screening, eye health care, and education.
The program, Eyes on Vision, builds on expanding place-based vision care to adults through community clinics. The goal is to provide access to affordable vision services among underserved kids and adults in Alexandria by providing free place-based vision care. Key activities for the kids’ program includes working with school nurses to screen children for vision issues, bringing volunteer doctors to schools to provide eye exams and diagnose vision challenges, and providing kids with two pairs of prescription eyeglasses. Community clinics target underserved City of Alexandria adults in high-need neighborhoods where residents have reduced access to low-cost eye care. Program activities include health education, vision screening and eye exams, and eyeglasses.
The Fenwick Foundation
https://www.thefenwickfoundation.org/
(703) 740-0777
The Fenwick Foundation Project ADAPT is designed to provide dental care and treatment to older adults who are residing in senior housing, nursing homes, and assisted living facilities in the City of Alexandria. Aside from the financial impediments to treatment, many seniors face barriers such as a lack of transportation, physical or cognitive disabilities, and clinical challenges that result in poor dental care and poor oral health.
Utilizing mobile and portable models, the program brings dentists to patients living in long-term care facilities and senior housing complexes and has community programs for older adults. The Fenwick Foundation is currently providing oral care and dental treatment to residents living at Annie B. Rose House. Project ADAPT will expand to other Alexandria locations where low-resource older adults live.
5. ALL ALEXANDRIANS ARE ASSISTED IN AND EMPOWERED TO PREVENT AND REMEDY CRISIS (THIS INCLUDES FOOD INSECURITY, EVICTIONS AND FINANCIAL CRISIS
ALIVE!
(703) 837-9300
ALIVE! is dedicated to alleviating the suffering caused by poverty and food insecurity in the City of Alexandria. Through collaboration with partner organizations, ALIVE! connects those most in need in Alexandria to available wraparound services, particularly through its Food Hubs.
The Food Hubs are centralized locations where families in crisis can find help navigating the multitude of available public assistance, critical services, and benefits, which could help increase overall household stability. Located in neighborhoods with a high concentration of low-income households, the Food Hubs are a significant community development factor, bringing a client-focused and community-centered model to Alexandria.
Carpenter's Shelter
https://carpentersshelter.org/
(703) 548-7500
Since 1988, Carpenter’s Shelter has been dedicated to making homelessness in Alexandria rare, brief, and nonrecurring. The mission is grounded in addressing racial and economic inequity, seeking always to empower traditionally underserved populations. The Rapid Rehousing program focuses on permanent solutions to homelessness by getting people that are homeless back into housing as soon as possible.
The program serves children, families, and individuals experiencing homelessness by providing shelter, education, advocacy, mental and physical healthcare, and financial assistance as they work toward sustainable housing independence. The services focus on low-income, unhoused, and housing-insecure populations in the City of Alexandria, especially families with children.
Just Neighbors Ministry Inc
https://www.justneighbors.org/
(703) 979-1240
Just Neighbors Ministry has 26 years of expertise in providing direct immigration legal services and educational presentations to low-income families. It provides these families with the tools, resources, and strategies to address their legal options under the law. Focusing on self-determination, Just Neighbors empowers clients to make informed decisions about their pathways to legal status. Attorneys accompany families in their legal journeys and advocate on their behalf. Just Neighbors has a strong partnership with other non-profits in Alexandria, such as Casa Chirilagua and Wesley Housing.
Legal Services of Northern Virginia
(703) 778-6800
Legal Services of Northern Virginia (LSNV) provides both direct legal services and advocacy to low-income City of Alexandria residents. It assists clients in the areas of family, housing, consumer, and employment law. For more than 43 years LSNV has been ensuring fairness in the justice system, protecting the rights of its clients, and defending access to services for people of all backgrounds, including children, veterans, survivors of domestic violence, the elderly, and those living with disabilities.
Legal Services of Northern Virginia offers a full range of free civil legal services to low-income clients. Legal aid is about giving low-income individuals and communities an equal opportunity to get the justice they deserve in order to meet their basic needs, promote dignity and stability in their lives, and create pathways out of poverty.
Rebuilding Together DC Alexandria
https://rebuildingtogetherdca.org/
(202) 800-6032
The goal of Rebuilding Together of DC & Alexandria is to address issues of inequality by keeping residents in drastically improved housing conditions, allowing them to age in their communities and remain active members of their neighborhoods, and helping the region remain economically, socially, and culturally diverse, especially as it continues to gentrify. The organization works to assist the region’s most vulnerable and in-need clients. Services are provided year-round to recipients free of charge, including emergency home repairs, safety and health-related modifications, and energy-efficient upgrades to keep residents in their homes.
Senior Services of Alexandria
https://seniorservicesalex.org/
(703) 836-4414
Senior Services of Alexandria seeks to help older adults in Alexandria stay connected to a social network where they are supported and informed. Senior Services of Alexandria has deep community ties and collaborates with the City's Division on Aging and Adult Services and other providers serving older adults. The Senior Ambassador program aims to keep seniors socially connected, engaged, and informed.
Ambassadors have opportunities to hear from local experts and receive a continual flow of information every week. Ambassadors then disseminate information to their communities. Currently there are 130 Ambassadors, including nine Spanish-speaking Ambassadors representing 82 communities. Senior Services of Alexandria hopes to further expand the Senior Ambassador program to diverse communities, immigrant communities, and those with limited English proficiency.
Together We Bake
(703) 973-8773
Together We Bake is an innovative social enterprise. The program revolves around a small baking business in Old Town Alexandria. Team Members learn commercial food production, food safety (ServSafe), and business administration skills. The program also covers soft skill development through empowerment and life skills groups that help women move toward self-sufficiency through comprehensive workforce training and personal development to help them lead happier, healthier, more productive lives.
Together We Bake supports underserved women facing barriers to employment including being recent immigrants, homelessness, justice-involvement, domestic violence, mental health and/or substance abuse issues. Together We Bake collaborates with community partners through four kinds of partnerships: referral partners, program partners, resource partners, and employer partners.
Women Giving Back
(703) 554-9386
Women Giving Back (WGB) is a nonprofit organization serving Alexandria’s women and children in crisis by providing them with clothing, food, diapers, and other essentials, paired with support services in healthcare, jobs/careers, and financial literacy to foster their return to self-sufficiency.
The services include the “Store” program, in which women and children select free, quality clothing, food, and essentials and receive support services; the “Bag to Go” service with prepackaged clothing, food, and essentials for delivery or pickup; and local distribution of clothing and essentials through other organizations under the Community Distributor Partner program.
The focus population includes women and families in Alexandria who are low-income, homeless, in shelters or transitional housing, fleeing domestic violence or human trafficking, emerging from incarceration, or experiencing other crisis situations.