A Message from Our CEO
I find myself reflecting on the past year and looking towards the future with newfound enthusiasm and hope for a better tomorrow. Despite an extremely challenging year, Good Shepherd quickly adapted to the changing environment and provided shelter and Mission services to over two hundred individuals. We could not have done this without your unparalleled support. Good Shepherd of Northern Virginia has always strived to deliver the highest quality of service, help, and hope for the homeless. Our priority has been and will always be to shelter residents in emergency situations and to provide relief, coupled with teaching the skills needed to successfully leave the program standing on their own two feet.
Supporting Good Shepherd and our participants not only helps provide shelter for the homeless women, children, and families that we serve daily, but to the critical services that support our residents long-term and eventually lead them to self-sustainability.
For this reason, we urgently need your help now more than ever!
WORKING IN OUR COMMUNITY: HOMELESSNESS IN NORTHERN VIRGINIA
The homeless population in Northern Virginia has seen a dramatic rise in the past several years. This is due in part to the high cost of housing, lack of sustainable job opportunities, and the unhoused are typically not in plain sight. Many individuals and families live temporarily with family members or friends, in cars or hotels, making them difficult to identify or help.
Good Shepherd believes that education and awareness, community outreach, and program development, are the tools needed to address this community need. We partner with existing social services organizations and charities to provide a variety of training programs that address individual and family needs. Our programs helps those in need to improve their physical and mental health, and provides opportunities for vocational training and employment. You can be a part and support our programs here.
“Good Shepherd is one of the best things that ever happened to me. I have been hired as an Assistant Director was a local school, bought my first car, and moved into an apartment of my own.”
“[Staying at Good Shepherd] I was able to accomplish saving money and focusing on my goals. Good Shepherd has helped me stay positive about my situation. I was able to go to my job with a sense of relief that I had a place to live and not in the car or at a hotel. I was able to change my whole outcome and view on life “
“I was able to clean up my credit report and save money with the escrow account. I met nice people in my roommates – very lovely ladies. “