Local Schools Partner With LCAC To Help Homeless

• LCAC Press release

Several area public schools have partnered with the to participate in the Fannie Mae Help the Homeless Mini-Walks. The walks raise awareness about homelessness in Fairfax County and the Greater Washington DC area and generate funds to support local nonprofit organizations throughout the region, including LCAC, nonprofit.  

The following schools organized a Mini-Walk:

• Silverbrook Elementary
• William Halley Elementary 

Why a walk about homelessness?

There are many families with children struggling each month to afford to stay in their home or apartment. About 2,200 Fairfax County students are homeless or in unstable housing conditions. These students live in emergency shelters, motels, parks, hospitals, public stations, abandoned buildings and even cars. The combination of low income levels and expensive housing is the main reason for homelessness in our community.  An unstable home life not only negatively impacts a child’s performance and behavior in school, but also all other areas of their life. 

LCAC and the local schools work together on a regular basis to connect students and their families to resources for a myriad of needs and situations. Individuals and families in southeast Fairfax County can turn to LCAC as a confidential source of information, limited emergency financial assistance for rent, mortgage and utility bills as well as a myriad of other self-sufficiency tools.  

How does Fannie Mae fit into the equation?

Fannie Mae provides the overarching framework for structuring the Mini-Walks and generating financial support for the Beneficiary Organizations, like LCAC. Fannie Mae’s Help the Homeless Program, which culminates with a fall Walkathon on the National Mall, raises funds to support organizations working to prevent and end homelessness in the Washington metropolitan area.

Since 1988, the Help the Homeless Program has raised more than $85 million, impacting thousands of families and children in our communities. More than 700 Mini‐Walks occur between July and November in communities across the region.

The Help the Homeless Walkathon will occur on the National Mall on Saturday, November 19, 2011.