Recently, Bobby's mother came to us to ask for help.  She is a single mother and had her hours reduced at her work.  She and Bobby were going hungry.  Bobby and the children at the Safe Youth Project receive a nutritious meal and snacks each day, but the program isn't open Friday, Saturday or Sunday. 

 Now, every Thursday we send a bag of food home for Bobby and his mother.  We are able to do this thanks to the generous food donations and Snack Packs given to Alternative House by our community. Staff at the program was also able to connect Bobby's mother to a program that helps with purchasing groceries, called the supplemental nutritional assistance program (SNAP) offered through Fairfax County. She did not know about this resource and was relieved to find that this additional assistance was available to her.

 Every donated item that comes through our doors serves families like Bobby's, and we at Alternative House appreciate the active role the community plays in caring for our neighbors.

It is difficult to focus in class when you are down to your last pencil, you're running out of notebook paper and you do not know if you will have enough supplies to complete your homework. 

Last year Alternative House handed out donated school supplies to more than 800 students in need.

A young person's environment has a profound effect on their emotional and physical wellbeing. When some people think of a homeless shelter, they may imagine a place that is unclean or sterile in appearance.  Alternative House's Emergency Shelter for Teenagers is the very opposite of that.  It has a warm, clean, and inviting atmosphere with the ambiance of a home. When teens come to stay at our Emergency Shelter for Teenagers, we want them to feel welcome and comfortable, and their surroundings are a key component.

When a team of volunteers from Salesforce Inc. told us that they wanted to help spruce up the grounds of our Emergency Shelter for Teenagers, we were thrilled. Rick Casarez headed the project.

"We wanted to give to a local charity that would feel the impact of our contribution," said Rick.

A dedicated, and dare we say good-looking team of volunteers from Salesforce came to our Emergency Shelter twice this year to lend a hand. Earlier in April, Salesforce volunteers performed a spring cleaning at our Emergency Shelter. They mowed the lawn, weeded the gardens, added mulch around the entire yard and trimmed trees and bushes. Then, a Salesforce team returned to our Emergency Shelter in the thick heat of June. The team endured the hot weather and dove right in, pulling weeds from the gardens, laying down mulch around the flowerbeds, removing fallen branches in the yards and beautifying our grounds. They even donated a wheelbarrow and provided lunches to all our teens and staff.

"Han," a resident staying at our Emergency Shelter went outside to play basketball, and upon seeing the tidied grounds remarked that the backyard looked "incredible."  "It's peaceful out here," he added.