Community Lodgings
| WISH LIST
$100: 1 month’s books
and materials for the center’s youth
programs;
$500: 1 month of instruction
in the Adult Education Program;
$1000:1 year of childcare provided
during the monthly parent workshops
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In the mostly immigrant sections of Alexandria, VA, instability is a fact of life.
Though 70% of adults are employed, 40% have one year or less of high school,
91% speak Spanish as their primary language, and 91% of families qualify for the
free lunch program – an indicator of poverty. So Community Lodgings approaches
its clients from multiple perspectives. Housing is fundamental: 46 units of
transitional and affordable housing are operated for the formerly homeless or
those at risk of homelessness. But that’s not all. The Family Education Center works with at-risk 2nd to 9th
graders, providing homework help, individualized instruction, and enrichment; a mental health counselor conducts
workshops on sexuality, drugs, bullying, gangs; and a Youth Summer Program keeps up the good work. Education
for adults includes computer literacy, English as a Second Language, and financial literacy (including home buying
seminars).Central to it all is the ability to motivate disadvantaged adults to aspire to a better life for their families,
something at which Community Lodgings excels. After all, it takes more than a roof over your head.
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