Brian Hart: ‘Don’t just see the light, be the light’
Imagine if you or your children had to sleep on a bare floor because you lacked beds, or you always ate standing up because you had no table or chairs. It’s not so easy to work or study at night when you have to do everything in your lap. Would you call such an environment “home”?
We may assume that when formerly homeless and low-income residents finally secure housing, they’re fine. In fact, they are not fine. Too many people lack basic furniture and household goods.
Did you know the average expense for an American family to move and furnish their own home is over $7,000? These residents, often struggling with a traumatic experience (for example, a medical issue, a flooded house or the loss of a loved one), do not have the money or resources to afford this. Donated furniture may seem like a solution, but pickup from a furniture bank, usually located outside the city, is usually prohibitively expensive. Sadly, without a stable home, many revert to homelessness or suffer in poverty.
A little over a year ago, we began operations at Lighthouse DC to address this critical gap in affordable housing. Unlike any other service in the Washington metropolitan area, Lighthouse moves and furnishes for residents. It’s part of the larger “Housing First” approach that focuses on providing residents with stable housing first and then offering additional supportive services. We use an innovative, collaborative model in which we partner with local nonprofits, government, business and professionals to dramatically reduce the cost of housing-related services.
For example, we partner with local nonprofits including Jubilee Housing, Pathways to Housing and Miriam’s Kitchen to help their clients. By combining our work, we eliminate duplicated efforts and reduce costs. We team up with moving companies such as Two Men and a Truck and Town & Country Movers, which donate their moving services. And we collaborate with professional interior designers who provide pro-bono services.
In just 12 months since founding, Lighthouse has formed 20-plus partnerships with government agencies and nonprofits. It has donated over $100,000 in goods and services and served 146 residents across all eight wards of the city. We have found a model that works and can be sustainably scaled.
This is a testament to tremendous community spirit and true strength in collaboration, but also the outsize need that exists. With over 7,000 DC residents who are homeless and nearly 30,000 who are housing insecure (at risk of becoming homeless), we have only scratched the surface.
But don’t let these numbers scare you. We can end chronic homelessness and give every person a chance to live a life free of poverty — and we will. It’s no longer a question of enough wealth, resources or technology in our country. We have the necessary tools. It’s only a question of our will to make it a reality and when we will embrace effective partnership models, like Lighthouse DC, that work.
So let me leave you with the most powerful thing that inspires me to act even when I’m feeling down — a story.
Last September, Lighthouse helped Ms. Tania Webb and her family transform their empty house into a home. Ms. Webb’s husband had passed away, and unable to make the rent payments on her income alone, she and her three children became homeless. They lived with family and friends at times, and were also in the shelter system.
With faith inspired by her kids, Ms. Webb never lost hope. She kept working and kept fighting for an answer. Eventually, that answer came with the DC Department of Human Services connecting her with an apartment in her old neighborhood on Rhode Island Avenue NE.
It was a beautiful apartment, with great views and a nice kitchen, but it was mostly empty. Her two young daughters, Lauren and Janae, were set to start elementary school in four weeks and were sleeping on the floor. Ms. Webb had heard about Lighthouse through a friend and called to ask about services.
Lighthouse immediately accepted Ms. Webb for services based on referral from the Department of Human Services. We partnered with the Avascent Group consulting firm, which provided financial support and volunteers, and Elizabeth Piersol of Piersol Design, who provided interior design services. In a “home reveal” day of service, we used lightly used or new household goods to fully furnish the entire three-bedroom apartment.
The girls’ reactions to their new room (you have to see the video!) say more about the meaning of this experience than thousands of my words ever could. When kids have a stable place to call home, they’re more likely to be stable themselves, do well in school and learn. Every person — kids and adults alike — deserves the stability and dignity of a true home.
We have a motto at Lighthouse: “Don’t just see the light, be the light.”
Brian Hart, an Adams Morgan resident, is co-founder of Lighthouse DC.
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