COVID Crisis Support for Refugee Families

As COVID has decimated the finances of many Mary House families, Mary House has responded by waiving or lowering the rent for families in our Transitional Housing Program. However, as the pandemic has continued, this much needed revenue stream has affected our ability to fund our operating costs. With your financial help, we can replace this lost funding and continue to provide an increased level of care through our programming as we navigate the effects of COVID-19. 

COVID-19 has left many families devastated by a shortage of job opportunities, childcare, and affordable housing. As Mary House provides housing and supports low-income refugee and immigrant families, our families have been disproportionately affected by the pandemic. Approximately 90% of our families lost their jobs, both part-time and full-time, in March, and only 1% of families have maintained or found full time employment. As a result, a large majority of our families are now relying entirely on us for food, shelter, and educational support. Mary House does not receive federal monies or local government funding, including DHS, and is currently the only nonprofit housing provider that provides multigenerational housing to immigrant and refugee families. 

All of D.C.’s homeless families are affected by the affordable housing shortage. Yet the Hispanic population (estimated at 11% of the D.C. population by the Census and the majority of families in Mary House) continues to be overlooked by the public and the private efforts that seek to manage the deficiency. 

As the spread of COVID-19 and the resulting economic repercussions continue to show no sign of slowing down, it is Mary House’s goal to mitigate the suffering of these families who are being hit the hardest by this pandemic. Aside from our efforts to help families through rent forgiveness, we are also providing more food, essential items, and academic support, all of which has led us to rely more heavily on our existing, and currently insufficient, funds.

In order to maintain our increased support for families, we have started a fall fundraiser through A Community Thrives. We are incredibly grateful to the donors that have allowed us to reach our $6,000 goal in just two days! Thanks to the encouraging support we've seen from our community, our goal now is to raise $15,000 by October 16th which will make us eligible for grants from A Community Thrives for up to $100,000.