SOME is expanding its accelerated housing program by adding nine additional units.
SOME (So Others Might Eat), an interfaith, community-based service organization supporting residents of our nation’s capital experiencing homelessness and poverty, is opening nine units of newly-renovated accelerated housing at its Thea Bowman House property on Minnesota Avenue near the Minnesota Avenue Metro Station and Unity Healthcare.
The Thea Bowman House units are reserved for families earning no more than 30% of family median income (FMI) and offer wrap-around support from SOME’s integrated continuum of care, which includes healthcare, mental health supports, job training, and more.
SOME’s accelerated housing program was created on February 1, 2020, to better support families already living in SOME affordable housing as they prepare for home ownership. Families pay market-rate rent to acclimate to the financial realities of homeownership. SOME then places 30% of that rent payment into escrow. When they move out of SOME housing, they get that money back to help them with a down payment or security deposit, move-in costs, or other expenses they might incur.
“Accelerated housing is the next level for families living in our affordable housing as they move through our continuum of services,” said Ralph Boyd, President and CEO of SOME. “Our goal is to support our residents as they work toward physical, emotional, financial, and spiritual wellbeing. We are delighted to expand this unique program from five to 14 units.”
SOME’s affordable housing allows our residents to explore their potential, supported by practical resident programs such as financial education, employment initiatives, intensive case management and after-school programming for children. In addition to being located close to mass transit, Thea Bowman House residents will have access to amenities such as free Wi-Fi, on-site laundry facilities, a gym, a business center, a virtual concierge system and a playground for kids.
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About SOME Affordable Housing
SOME opened its first transitional housing program in 1986, its first long-term affordable housing program in 1989, and now operates 1,100 units of supportive-service, affordable housing for families and single adults experiencing homelessness and poverty.
Most nonprofit housing developers in the District focus on housing for households up to 80% or below of the FMI (Family Median Income); few concentrate on developing affordable housing for those in the lowest economic bracket. SOME has stepped into this vacuum and is filling a critical niche by providing housing to those at 30% or less of FMI ($38,700 for a family of four as of 2021).
In addition to pioneering the Single Room Occupancy concept in the District, SOME has acquired and developed properties for use in addressing different issues and stages of homelessness. These housing properties include transitional housing for families at the Weinberg Building, a crisis stabilization center for those with mental illness at Jordan House, a shelter for abused and neglected older adults at Kuehner Place, and transitional housing for those in substance abuse recovery at Leland Place.
In 2005, recognizing the great need in DC for the creation of affordable housing SOME launched its Affordable Housing Development Initiative with a goal of creating 1,000 new units of housing. We are more than halfway to our goal, with 783 units completed or in the development pipeline.