On Tuesday evening, January 28th, 2020, Friends of Tenley-Friendship Library, in partnership with DC Public Library, sponsored a well-attended panel discussion on the causes and solutions to homelessness, the critical roles outreach workers play in supporting people experiencing homelessness and ending homelessness for individuals, and how community members can learn more about and be involved in efforts to end homelessness in the District.
Panelists included Jean Badalamenti, MSW, Health and Human Services Manager, DC Public Library; Alan Banks, Community Engagement Associate, Friendship Place; Antwan Gillis, Project Coordinator, Street Outreach Services, Friendship Place; and Lara Pukatch, MA, Director of Advocacy, Miriam’s Kitchen.
To an audience of over 70 attendees, the panelists spoke about the needs, causes, and solutions of individual and chronic homelessness. They noted that access to affordable, permanent, and supportive housing is essential, and advocated for the city to budget robust funding to address the issues faced by people experiencing homelessness. They further encouraged both public and private support for organizations like Miriam’s Kitchen and Friendship Place, which provide critical, immediate services as well as case management, access to medical care, and gateways to permanent housing.
Panelists drew on their personal experiences with homelessness, the philosophy behind street outreach, trust building and long-term engagement, and examples of lives rebuilt by these efforts.
Panelists noted that public libraries by their very nature places are free and open to all. To meet the challenges of homelessness, library systems like DCPL employ social worker(s) to provide staff training, peer programs, and strategies to enable connections among library patrons of all kinds. Examples of the latter are DCPL’s Coffee & Conversation programs, which occur at various branch libraries around the city.
Audience members were encouraged to explore the following online sites for more information and ways to be involved:
DC Government Interagency Council on Homelessness
National Alliance to End Homelessness
National Coalition for the Homeless
Attendees were urged to contact DC Councilmembers, including Ward 3 Councilmember Mary Cheh. For a full listing of the DC City Council members, calendar, and committees, please see DC City Council.