WISH LIST $100: fills our tanks with gas for two weeks of outreach to DC's homeless; $500: buys half the literacy supplies for our ESL program; $1000: provides a month of job counseling for 10 Latino immigrants

Starting with one outreach worker and a single desk in a church basement, Neighbors’ Consejo (“consejo” means advice or counsel) has grown to be one of the primary Latino providers to the homeless, at-risk, and underserved immigrant populations in DC. Over the past five years, it has served some 6,500 individuals and families (more than 1000 in the last year) – homeless, unemployed, and addicted men and women from different ethnic backgrounds. Central to the organization's work is a belief that culturally appropriate, non-judgemental services are key to helping people move toward self-sufficiency. Knowing that one size never fits all, Neighbors' Consejo offers a "continuum of care" model that includes street outreach, transitional housing, comprehensive case management, HIV/AIDS services, substance abuse and mental health counseling, language and job training. This year alone, workshops in English literacy permitted 70 men and women to complete language training; new job skills meant employment for some 250 people; and more than 300 were placed in educational or vocational training. Now located in its own building, the organization is poised to continue its work – but demand has doubled, and resources have certainly not. Neighbors’ Consejo sends confident adults back into the community – with skills, clarity of purpose, and optimism. Let’s help them continue to do just that.

Judith B. Diaz, Associates Executive Director 3118 16th Street NW Washington, DC 20010 202-234-6855 ext 217 www.neighborsconsejo.org