An outreach ministry of St. Margaret’s Episcopal Church, Charlie’s Place has expanded to offer breakfast to needy individuals Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Fridays, with the goal of serving breakfast five days a week by the end of 2005.  The ministry’s primary focus will continue to be promoting and empowering homeless people and raising awareness of issues of homelessness in the metropolitan area, says Director Jon Bolduc.

The Rev. Charles Gilchrist founded Charlie’s Place in 1990 to serve the poor and homeless near St. Margaret’s. An all-volunteer staff provided a safe haven for breakfast and conversation.

When Gilchrist died in 1999, the program was renamed in his memory.  It evolved to include social, outreach and legal services; health education; writing classes; and other activities.  It became a Jubilee Center in October 2003. Full-time employees Bolduc and outreach worker William Gonzales oversee 50 to 75 volunteers and an annual budget of almost $200,000. 

Approximately 75 clients come at 6:30 a.m. on days breakfast is served. Others visit throughout the week for legal assistance, medical care, health and hygiene education and spiritual enrichment.  Mario’s Grooming Services provides haircuts to clients twice a month, and a writer’s workshop meets weekly.  Bolduc expects to serve up to 125 morning meals daily as the program grows.

A focus on real needs

Volunteers help prepare, serve and clean on breakfast days and help collect and distribute baked goods at the church and to other organizations that aid needy people.  Staff and volunteers speak about volunteerism and homelessness at schools, local public and private organizations and media outlets. 

Volunteer nurse Nel van Beusekom begins her work at Charlie’s Place at 5:45 a.m.  She advises diabetic clients, helps them with nutrition and hygiene and provides relief from headaches and stomach upset.

“I’ve learned to be grateful for what I have through working at Charlie’s Place,” she says.  “I admire and respect how our clients keep going every day, how they struggle to maintain a sense of dignity even when they have no place to live.”

Charlie’s Place serves a diverse population.  Clients are 95 percent male, 45 percent African-American, 45 percent Latino.  Twenty percent of the Latinos speak little English.  Some have low-paying jobs, earning enough for a room but needing a hot meal.  Others have been on the streets long-term, suffering from mental illness, drug abuse or other disabilities. 

Charlie’s Place offers a safe, accessible, “low-barrier” refuge. “We start with concrete needs, no questions asked,” says Bolduc.  “If they have housing or a job, it’s okay.  They don’t even have to give their name.”  Staff first address immediate needs of food, hygiene and clothing.

“We can’t expect someone to deal with a drug problem if they haven’t been able to wash their face for a week,” Bolduc comments. They then assess clients’ situations and refer them to appropriate services. Finding services for the homeless is challenging, Bolduc says.  Many agencies don’t cater specifically to homeless people, and it’s hard to connect with needed services without an address.  Charlie’s Place provides address services to about 30 of its 300 regular clients.

Gonzales describes many clients as “transitional,” migrant workers whose changing jobs challenge the bureaucracy of the systems trying to serve them.  The district has an enormous pool of social workers, but few are bilingual.  As one who is, he has been able to reach out to clients in a more personal way.

“It is very satisfying when a client returns after being gone for a while and remembers your name or thanks you for the subway fare you gave them so they could go take a shower at St. Alban’s [Episcopal Church],” he says.

Homelessness numbers

The Washington Legal Clinic for the Homeless reports about 8,253 people – nearly half women and children – are homeless in Washington, D.C. Approximately 17,340 individuals were homeless sometime during 2002.

The National Coalition for the Homeless points to two trends for the rise in homelessness in Washington and elsewhere: a growing shortage of affordable housing and increased poverty. Nearly two out of five residents of the nation’s capital live below the poverty line; with a rate double that for children.

Bolduc and his volunteers see what those numbers mean for real people.  The federal and district governments must do more in legislation, education and funding to address the crisis, Bolduc says.

“Everybody wanted to do something about homelessness in the 1980s,” he says.  “Then we stopped talking about it in the ’90s.  There is a little upswing in awareness now, but we need more money.”

Bolduc praises New York’s programs and outreach for homelessness but says he thinks Washington has avoided the issue for too long.  Affordable housing is essential, he says, but agencies and organizations first must address the immediate needs of people forced to live on the streets.  Gentrification continues to displace people as neighborhoods around Charlie’s Place and St. Margaret’s Church become more expensive, says Bolduc.

Education and advocacy are key to Charlie’s Place ministry.  Recently, elementary school children visited the center, shared ideas about homelessness and helped in the dining room.  Bolduc later received positive feedback from parents. “The more we educate young people, the greater our hope for the future,” he says.

Charlie’s Place maintains good relationships with St. Margaret’s and the Diocese of Washington.  Most volunteers come from St. Margaret’s, and the parish also provides the space, mailing costs, and other goods and services. “Our parish supports many outreach and justice ministries,” says the Rev. Susan Blue, St. Margaret’s rector, “but Charlie’s Place enables us to reach out to our immediate neighbors.

“At St. Margaret’s, we find our grounding in worship, then go into the world to live out that which we have been so richly given.  Charlie’s Place is a visible sign of the commitment we have made as a Christian community. It reminds us that we are in partnership with God to bring about the kingdom and gives a human face to our profession of faith.”