Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week

Want to do more this holiday season? See 12 ways to support Doorways during the holidays.

1) Join the Good Neighbor Club

Give the gift of safety and stability by supporting Doorways’ life-changing programs and services all year round. Your monthly support will provide much more than shelter to individuals and families at Doorways.

Join the club

2) Join the Caring Community

The Caring Community is a group of community members who help fulfill Doorways’ urgent needs for our clients and shelters, mainly personal care and household items. Learn more.

Sign up

3) Create a fundraiser to rally your friends in support of our cause

Help Doorways maintain our current and newer services that bring people to safety and meet the long-term, more complex needs of our clients. Create and personalize your fundraising page now to invite your friends, family and colleagues to join you in creating pathways out of abuse and homelessness toward brighter futures! Create your own page now.

4) Get kids and youth involved

Parents, teachers, club leaders and other caregivers often ask how kids can support Doorways’ mission. Young people are a very important part of our community, and there are several ways they can volunteer their time to help their neighbors! Visit the Kids’ Corner now for a recommended reading list, community service projects, and more.

5) Raise awareness

Especially as we take time to count the things we’re grateful for, consider what life might be without those things: a safe place to call home, a loving partner or family, economic stability, and more. Raising awareness of the challenges facing our neighbors who are experiencing or escaping abuse and homelessness is a critical part of creating change in our culture. As simple as it may seem, it’s important to talk about the issues of youth and family homelessness, domestic violence and sexual assault.

 Share our Facebook with your friends

 Retweet us on Twitter

 Repost our photos on Instagram

By bringing these often hidden issues to the forefront, we’re better able to support our neighbors, address these issues, and create a more peaceful community. Whether you talk about it around the dinner table at home, during Sunday School at church, in the elevator after work, or in your favorite coffee shop, you can make a difference simply by making conversation.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

Doorways’ approach goes well beyond providing a safe roof overhead. Why? To address “all of the other things that come with it,” as AJ Dellinger described in a recent article for Mic: “The fear of #homelessness isn’t just about not having a roof over one’s head — it’s all of the other things that come with it. The effects of homelessness and #housing insecurity can be devastating on individuals and families who are suffering from it. Homeless people are often the victim of abuse, according to the National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty. It also increases the likelihood of dealing with illness and severe health conditions, as care is rarely accessible or affordable. Serious illnesses including HIV and AIDS, diabetes and tuberculosis are more common in homeless people than they are in the general population. #Mentalillness is often more likely to go untreated in homeless people. #Foodinsecurity often accompanies homelessness, and can result in poor health outcomes. Homelessness also can result in broken families as some shelters will refuse to take people of a particular gender identity or can’t provide shelter for children. At risk populations like members of the #LGBTQ communities particularly struggle with homelessness because there are fewer resources available to them and they often struggle with issues of acceptance.”

A post shared by Doorways (@doorways_va) on Nov 7, 2019 at 8:26am PST

https://www.doorwaysva.org/donate/ways-to-give/seasonal-giving/holiday-wishes/holidays/