Friendship Place to Hold Ribbon Cutting for New Building in Columbia Heights that Will House 40 Chronically Homeless Men

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Dec 09, 2014, 09:12 ET

WASHINGTON, Dec. 9, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- At 12pm on Thursday, December 11, DC Mayor Vincent Gray will join Friendship Place and the District of Columbia Department of Human Services (DHS) for a ribbon-cutting ceremony at 1446 Irving St. NW to celebrate the opening of La Casa Permanent Supportive Housing Program. With funding from DHS and services provided by Friendship Place, La Casa will employ the "housing first" service model to provide permanent supportive housing and comprehensive in-house case management, as well as 24/7 staff assistance, for 40 highly vulnerable homeless men.

The new, state-of-the-art, environmentally friendly, 40-unit apartment building—built by the DC government—is a practical solution to chronic homelessness in DC. "I look forward to the opening of La Casa with excitement and anticipation," said Sue Marshall, Executive Director of The Community Partnership for the Prevention of Homelessness (TCP), which selected Friendship Place for this grant on behalf DHS. "Friendship Place's experience achieving outstanding outcomes in programs that reflect the full continuum of homeless services made it the best-qualified candidate to run this project. I'm expecting great things from Executive Director Jean-Michel Giraud and his entire team."

"La Casa is a symbol of what community truly means. The concept is much more than housing; it is providing our homeless population with the dignity and respect they deserve," said La Casa Assistant Director, Brooke Lyle.

"As leaders in The Way Home campaign to end chronic homelessness in DC, we at Friendship Place applaud the District Government for taking this important and concrete step toward achieving that goal," said Executive Director Giraud. "We look forward to a productive partnership with DHS, TCP, the DC Council, and Mayor-elect Bowser."

Friendship Place – FriendshipPlace.org – empowers individuals and families experiencing or at risk of homelessness to rebuild their lives with the involvement of the community. Through innovative leadership and community engagement, we provide effective, customized programs, including street outreach, shelter, transitional and permanent supportive housing, health care, job placement, homelessness prevention, rapid rehousing, and specialized services for veterans and youth. In 2014, Friendship Place has served more than 2,000 people.

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SOURCE Friendship Place