The right story is more compelling than any set of numbers. Some of our proudest moments come from watching a homeless client leave our program — employed, sheltered and confident. Here are just a few examples of how we have changed lives for the better, some written by the clients themselves.
Joshua’s Success Story
At Community Lodgings, we are always inspired by the resilience and adaptability of our students as they navigate important transitions in their academic journeys. Recently, we spoke with Joshua, who shared his candid thoughts on moving into middle school and the challenges and surprises he has encountered along the way. “Middle school is not boring. […]
Paola’s Success Story
Meet Paola, who is in the 7th grade and a student in our out-of-school time programming at New Brookside Learning Center. Paola is an English Language Learner (ELL). When she began school in this summer, her English speaking and comprehension skills were limited. She didn’t feel confident and initially became resistant to speaking English. The […]
Youth Education Program: Christian’s Success Story
Thanks to our supporters, 120 under-resourced students were provided much-needed educational and supportive services in the past year! Every donor, volunteer, event attendee, or social media follower, made a contribution to help us ensure that our Affordable Housing, Transitional Housing, and Youth Education Programs continue to make an impact on Alexandria’s youth and families in […]
Young Scholar Spotlight: Meet Darwin
Meet 13-year-old Darwin, an 8th grade student attending George Washington Middle School and a participant in our Youth Education Program since the 1st grade. Over the years, Darwin has greatly improved academically and has become a leader amongst his peers. We were thrilled to learn that he founded and won the presidential election for his […]
Have Hope and Never Give Up: The Keys to Candi’s Resilience
After her husband left, Candi and her kids had to move in with her Mom and sleep on the floor. “That was so hard,” she says. “I had to eat my pride.” Fast forward 6 years: Candi entered CLI’s Transitional Housing Program, so she and her kids have a clean and safe apartment with comfortable […]
Jim – A Transitional Housing Success Story
Jim came into the program with three daughters. Due to the loss of employment, he became homeless and ended up in a community shelter. In the beginning, he struggles with finding a job that would provide for the family due to his background. The mother of the daughters left him to raise them alone. After […]
YB – A Transitional Housing Success Story
When YB first moved to the United States six years ago with no job, no home, and no help, he faced a seemingly impossible task: to achieve self-sufficiency while raising his high school daughter on his own. After six months at a local shelter, he enrolled in our Transitional Housing Program. Just two months after […]
Naydelin – A Youth Programs Success Story
Naydelin, a first grader at George Mason Elementary School, enrolled in Community Lodgings’ after-school programming in the start of the 2016-2017 academic year. At registration, we learned she had been in public school system for less than a year after moving from Honduras, and was an English Language Learner with a Special Education Plan to […]
Ama – A Transitional Housing Success Story
Ama and her husband came to America in hopes of a better life and greater opportunities. But for Ama, it was a frightening time in which she found herself totally dependent on her husband. Ama spoke very little English, had no friends or family in her new country and often found herself on the bad […]
From Ziplining to Graduation: A Mentor’s Perspective on the Girls’ Mentoring Program
By Stephanie Hemmert, Girls’ Mentor A little over five years ago, I walked into an Alexandria City Volunteer Information Session knowing I wanted to help in some way and do something, but I wasn’t sure what. I had participated in some literacy tutoring a few years before that, and was looking to get back to […]