[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 106 (Tuesday, June 9, 2020)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2805-S2806]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




         RECOGNIZING GOOD SHEPHERD HOUSING AND FAMILY SERVICES

 Mr. KAINE. Madam President, the formation, development, growth 
and success of Good Shepherd Housing and Family Services, GSH is a 
story that exemplifies the very best in people-to-people programs. 
Started in 1974 as a ``helping hand'' volunteer-run organization by 
members of the Mount Vernon community, including several churches and 
local businesses, the founders of GSH established a volunteer board of 
directors to steer the organization's efforts to help those 
experiencing homelessness in the Greater Mount Vernon community.
  Today, GSH is a vital affordable housing and services provider with a 
10-person professional staff and a $2.7 million operating budget. GSH 
remains true to its founding vision and mission. GSH works every day to 
reduce homelessness and enable self-sufficiency by

[[Page S2806]]

providing permanent affordable rental housing, emergency financial 
services, budget counseling, and case management to hundreds of working 
families in Fairfax County. Then, as now, GSH helps struggling families 
create and sustain a better way of life for themselves and their 
neighbors.
  In 1975, GSH acquired its first property on Holland Road, built and 
furnished a home, and moved in a struggling refugee family of nine and 
began providing them ongoing support services, starting them on the 
path towards self-sufficiency and housing stability. Two months later, 
several Laotian and Vietnamese refugee families received housing 
assistance upon their arrival in the community. For the next several 
years, GSH continued to serve families and individuals needing housing 
and emergency financial assistance. Under the leadership of its board, 
GSH functioned solely with the support of volunteers and individual 
donations.
  Today, with its affordable rental housing portfolio of 100-plus 
leased and owned units, as many as 120 struggling families are housed 
and supported every year in GSH housing. GSH's emergency financial 
assistance program assists an additional 200 households a year by 
preventing evictions or providing security deposits. GSH case managers 
also provide service referrals to another 200-plus households each year 
to receive community services to address their healthcare, 
transportation, and food needs.
  Additional support services and programs are offered to move resident 
household to greater self-sufficiency. The Children's Resources Program 
supports the 110-plus schoolchildren residing in GSH affordable housing 
units and ensures their educational needs are met. Various financial 
counseling programs help low-income female heads of household create a 
healthy consciousness around money and empowers them to begin to 
establish financial security.
  A president/chief executive officer, vice president/chief operating 
officer, financial manager, and development director lead the day-to-
day operations of GSH. They are assisted by staff of six full- and 
part-time employees. A 16-member board of directors oversees its work, 
while a leadership council of 23 key community stakeholders in the 
service area provides advice and guidance on the needs and human 
services trends within the community and the impact of GSH programs in 
meeting those needs.
  The current service area lies within the Mount Vernon and Lee 
Districts of South Fairfax County, mainly along Richmond Highway from 
Alexandria to Lorton, where many low-income workers live. The deepest 
pockets of poverty in Fairfax County are here. For example, according 
to 2016 U.S. Census Bureau data, 66,618 people 5.9 percent or 1 in 17 
Fairfax County live in poverty i.e., below the Federal poverty level of 
$24,600 per year for a family of four. Based on census data 
disaggregated at the ZIP code and neighborhood level, several of the 
neighborhoods in the GSH service area report that 10 to 15 percent of 
their households live in poverty.
  For more than 45 years, Good Shepherd Housing and Family Services has 
had one outcome in mind: to ensure that the households it serves reach 
housing stability, build financial resources, and never face the 
possibility or reality of homelessness. Every year, GSH programs 
stretch and grow to make this outcome a reality for its residents. 
Recently, several local Northern Virginia and Metropolitan Washington, 
DC, agencies recognized the affordable housing contributions of GSH 
through grant awards that help finance the programs. As the need for 
its services unfortunately continues to grow at a staggering pace, GSH 
will continue to step up, lend a helping hand, and empower its clients 
to do the same.

                          ____________________