Letter: New Hope Housing Thanks Arlington For Its Support

CLARENDON-COURTHOUSE-ROSSLYN, VA — For all who have made donations to the Clarendon Presbyterian Church food and toiletry collections to benefit individuals who are experiencing homelessness, below is a letter of thanks and appreciation from New Hope Housing. Thanks to all of you!

July 7, 2021

Dear Clarendon Community,

My name is Donald Richardson, and I am the Volunteer Coordinator at New Hope Housing’s Residential Program Center (RPC). New Hope Housing’s mission is to provide homeless families and individuals with shelter and the tools to build a better life. New Hope Housing operates emergency shelters and permanent supportive housing in Northern Virginia. The Residential Program Center (RPC), a New Hope Housing managed facility in Arlington, is a 44-bed shelter for single adults currently experiencing homelessness.

Over the past year, Clarendon Presbyterian Church in Arlington has hosted monthly donation drives. The donations have been an enormous benefit to the “guests” of RPC (our preferred term for current shelter residents and day program participants) and I want to thank you for your incredible generosity. The effects of the donations are far reaching, and I hope that this partnership continues in the future.

The donations benefit guests while staying at RPC as well as when they move into permanent housing. While at the shelter, donated toiletries support guests’ personal health and hygiene. And when guests secure permanent housing, each receives a Welcome Home Basket that includes an assortment of donated items that will be needed in the first month in their new homes. The Welcome Home Baskets allow guests to feel the community’s support in very tangible ways and frees them to focus on other aspects of their move and the transition. All items in the Welcome Home Baskets are donated from generous members of the community like you.

RPC also runs a day program for guests who are currently living on the streets. The day program gives guests an opportunity to do laundry, take showers, share a meal, access needed services, and tend to other basic needs. The donated toiletries are also used by RPC’s day program guests. Finally, because of the Clarendon community’s generosity, any excess toiletries received from the drives are made available to other New Hope Housing shelters and programs in Northern Virginia.

People are being served in an amazing way because of you and it is my sincere hope that this work continues. Thank you for all that you do!

Sincerely,

Donald Richardson

Community & Volunteer Coordinator
Residential Program Center (RPC)
New Hope Housing, Inc.
1554 Columbia PikeArlington, VA 22204703-228-0011
drichardson@newhopehousing.org
www.newhopehousing.org