SOME is one of Washington, D.C.’s leading nonprofits addressing homelessness, hunger, and poverty. Serving around 10,000 people experiencing homelessness each year, SOME provides affordable housing, healthcare, job training, and other wraparound services to help residents move from crisis to stability.
Statement from Ralph Boyd, President & CEO of SOME (So Others Might Eat)
Let’s provide long-term solutions.
At SOME, we believe that every unhoused person deserves dignity, safety, and the opportunity to rebuild their life. We acknowledge that the President has elevated the national conversation about homelessness and the need to act. The question is not whether to act, but how to act with compassion, effectiveness, and a commitment to lasting change.
When it comes to homelessness, there are no quick fixes, at least none that are effective, lasting, and enduring. Forcing our unhoused neighbors out of public spaces does not erase homelessness; it ignores the reality that people in our community need housing, not displacement. Significantly, SOME’s services align materially with certain of the Administration’s and Congress’s foundational principles regarding the provision of taxpayer-supported services to vulnerable people. All of our programs and services—whether housing, healthcare, job training, or food and nutrition support—require clean and sober settings. Over time, this has been a non-negotiable element of our service provision.
This approach works. In the addiction treatment component of SOME’s continuum of care, our five-year sobriety rates among clients are nearly double the national average.
In Washington, D.C., most unhoused residents are within reach of critical, life-saving resources—medical and dental care, behavioral health services, drug treatment, daily meals, job training, and case management. Forcing people far from these supports severs the continuity of care essential to achieving sustainable progress. It can also place sudden strain on other communities that may not have the resources or infrastructure to provide consistent support.
Relocation can mean missed medical appointments, loss of access to necessary medications, and interruptions to employment training, mental health services, drug treatment, and housing options. This makes it far more difficult—not easier—to secure and maintain stable housing. SOME provides all these services 24/7/365.
Displacement also severs community ties that take time and effort to build. Informal support networks—neighbors, friends, and well-informed service providers like SOME—are critical to an unhoused person’s ability to be safely housed and achieve stability. Removing people from these connections forces them to start over, prolonging the very homelessness we are trying to end.
Decades of research and our own experience demonstrate that the most effective way to reduce homelessness is through permanent housing paired with comprehensive, wraparound supportive services. SOME’s Whole Person Care model addresses homelessness, poverty, and need through housing, employment training, prepared meals, food pantries, medical and dental care, mental health services, and addiction treatment. Together, these services give vulnerable people the foundation and resources they need to succeed.
This approach has worked for many years. In more than half a century of advancing our mission in the District, SOME has helped thousands access long-term housing solutions with supportive services—stabilizing their housing situations and putting them on a path to self-sufficiency and prosperity, materially, emotionally, and spiritually. In other words, we help people first survive safely and stably, and eventually, thrive.
It is important to understand that homelessness often is not a matter of unemployment. Many people using our services—whether living in our properties or nearby shelters—work full-time but still cannot afford D.C.’s high rents. Some stop by our Father John Adams Community Resource Center for breakfast before work or while taking their children to school because every dollar counts when most of a paycheck goes toward housing costs.
The biggest driver of homelessness remains the severe shortage of affordable housing stock. This makes public investments in affordable housing, medical, dental, and behavioral healthcare, addiction treatment, and workforce development all the more essential. These priorities align perfectly with SOME’s mission, expertise, and current programming.
Despite the complexity of this issue, Washington, D.C. has made real progress under Mayor Bowser’s administration. Homelessness is gradually declining. Crime is down for the second year in a row, with last year marking a 30-year low. People experiencing homelessness are far more likely to be victims of crime than perpetrators. Keeping individuals connected to stable housing, robust services, and supportive communities is humane—and it strengthens public safety.
When people remain connected to care, housing, and opportunity, we build stronger, more stable communities for everyone’s benefit.
We invite government leaders—including the Administration and members of Congress—the private sector, businesses, and community organizations to join us in this work. Let’s build more affordable housing, increase access to health and human services, and strengthen the resources that help people move from crisis to stability.
