Spotlight On

Mission:
To provide services that empower people to address the causes and consequences of homelessness in an atmosphere of dignity and respect both directly and through facilitating connections in the Washington, DC community.

Background:
Founded in 1983 by a collaboration of churches and local businesses, Miriam’s Kitchen is run by a full-time staff of six, a part-time staff of four, a volunteer Board of Directors of 16, staffed daily from a pool of over 1,000 dedicated volunteers, and supported by area churches, corporations, and individuals. Miriam's serves chronically homeless individuals in the District of Columbia. Approximately 75 percent of its guests are sleeping on the streets and in shelters. This means that Miriam’s may be the only place that they go for help. Miriam's Kitchen is proud to be a winner of The Washington Post 2001 Award for Excellence in Nonprofit Management.

In 1999, Miriam’s Kitchen began to address more comprehensively the needs of its breakfast clients. A needs assessment involving numerous breakfast clients and other service providers was undertaken to identify gaps in services that the nonprofit could potentially address. As a result, in 2000, Miriam's broadened its organizational goals to start an intensive case management program and in 2003, opened the doors to a transitional house, allowing the nonprofit to meet more fully the needs of its homeless neighbors. Today, Miriam's serves 1,200 homeless individuals annually through its programs.

As is the trend with the overall homeless population in the District, Miriam’s similarly experienced a year of striking growth in services in 2003.

Current Programs:
Miriam's Kitchen is a social services program for people who are homeless, located in the Foggy Bottom neighborhood of Washington, DC. Miriam’s operates four free programs to improve the quality of life of its homeless clients and help move them toward self-sufficiency:

• Breakfast Program
  Started in 1983, the Breakfast Program served 42,695 meals to 1,200 clients in 2003.

• Case Management Program
  Started in 2000, the Case Management Program served 853 clients with 3,534 services in 2003.

• After-Breakfast Program
  Started in 1994, the After-Breakfast Program provides an average of 20 guests with therapeutic group activities each weekday morning.

• Arnold’s Place
  Opened in 2003, the transitional house has four formerly homeless male guests as residents.

Funding Needs:
Miriam's Kitchen is seeking general operating funds which will support all of its program services.

The "Spotlight On" highlights the activities of a different 501(c)3 nonprofit organization serving the Metropolitan Washington, DC community. The selection of organizations for the "Spotlight On" is based on criteria such as programmatic interests, geographic focus, and size, to ensure the broadest possible representation of the region's nonprofit sector.

If you'd like to see your NPO in the "Spotlight," e-mail a description of your organization, following the above format, to dclibrary@foundationcenter.org, with "Spotlight Submission" in the subject line.