Healing from Within: Why DC Must Bolster Community-Led Solutions to Gun Violence

Across Washington, DC, residents face extraordinary challenges. Yet DC natives hold their own solutions. Local leaders who understand both the pain and potential for healing make daily impact. 

Gun violence is merely a symptom of a larger epidemic. Saving lives requires robust funding of community-based gun violence prevention and Community Violence Intervention (CVI) programs. Two remarkable organizations—the TraRon Center and the National Association for Returning Citizens (NAARC)—demonstrate the transformative power of community-led solutions. 

Ryane Nickens, Founder of TraRon Center at an event for Gun Violence Awareness Month.

The Prevention Imperative: Starting Where Hope Lives 

Ryane Nickens was 15 when her sister Tracy was killed by their next-door neighbor. At 17, she lost her brother Ronnie to a friend's gun. These devastating losses left her clinically depressed and struggling to trust. 

Ryane left DC for college in North Carolina, seeking space to heal. During her senior year, when another close friend fell to gun violence, she felt called to return home. She enrolled in Howard University's School of Divinity and began working with the Washington Interfaith Network on gun violence prevention outreach in Wards 7 & 8. 

"Meeting with community members -- including mothers of victims to gun violence -- was a powerful experience for me," Ryane shares. "I saw in them the same pain and lived experience that I had gone through." 

Ryane realized what policymakers were overlooking: the need to create healing spaces for community members impacted by gun violence, especially in Wards 7 & 8. 

A 2020 DC Health Matters Collaborative study found that nearly 1 in 4 residents in Ward 8 struggle with poor mental health—a tenuous situation where lack of mental health access overlaps with communities marked by gun violence. 

"Our community doesn't have a safe space to process and cope with trauma," Ryane shares, recalling how she would ride the bus for nearly an hour to reach the nearest therapist as a teenager. "Our community needs somewhere that they can process their emotions; their trauma and heal in place." 

Building Sacred Spaces for Healing 

In 2017, Ryane started the TraRon Center—named after her siblings—as a safe space where children ages 4-14 and their families can acknowledge pain, process trauma, and learn therapeutic skills to navigate complex emotions. 

"I want our children to achieve their hopes and dreams. We need to start by helping them process the trauma and pain that is holding them down," Ryane shares. 

Each child takes an Adverse Childhood Experiences Study or ACES—a nationally recognized trauma assessment. Almost everyone registers scores indicating severe or significant trauma. 

"We want these children to thrive," Ryane shares. "Their joy and quality of life is our long-term goal, as an organization." 

Beyond therapeutic treatment, the TraRon Center provides educational opportunities including museum trips, embassy cultural center visits, and team-building summer camps. "We teach them that they are global citizens," Ryane explains, expanding their sense of possibility. 

Ryane's program succeeds through authenticity. She understands violence not as abstract policy but as lived experience, channeling personal trauma into preventive healing. This creates trust outside organizations cannot establish. "Once you have their attention and they know they're in a truly safe space, you can start to unravel the causes of their trauma an begin exposing them to not just trauma informed treatments but open their minds to the beauty around them and inside of them," Ryane observes. 

Since 2018, the TraRon Center has engaged over 150 children and achieved significant improvements in participants' ACES scores as youth move from surviving to thriving. These youth have gone on to become volunteers and advocates for the TraRon Center – extending the cycle of healing for those that need it. 

"We want our kids headed to college, to the workforce, working towards something greater and making generational changes in community and family," Nickens says. 

Intervention That Works 

Eric Weaver, Founder of the National Association for the Advancement of Returning Citizens (NAARC).

Eric Weaver's journey exemplifies the transformative power of second chances. While incarcerated, Eric earned his GED and degree, led self-help groups, and tutored peers, establishing support networks to prepare people for post-release life. 

"When I got out, a lot of people were asking why I wasn't doing the same things I was doing inside," Weaver recalls. How could he continue the transformative mentoring and education work outside of the prison walls? 

The answer came through Peaceaholics, one of DC's earliest community violence intervention programs started in 2004. Eric began teaching GED classes and running programs. His credibility was unquestioned—when he arrived to take program participants to class, "every time, they got in the car. They needed someone who understood." 

However, the initiative's impact was short-lived. Following a mayoral administration change in 2010, funding and public support for Peaceaholics quickly dried up. The results were devastating: "Everybody that was in the GED class, every last one of them is dead or locked up. That's what happened when the program stopped." 

Building Credible Community Intervention 

This tragedy crystallized Weaver's understanding: consistency matters in violence intervention work. In 2010, he founded the National Association for the Advancement of Returning Citizens (NAARC). In 2018, when the DC Office of the Attorney General introduced Cure the Streets—a Community Violence Intervention model proven in metropolitan cities—many in the community resisted due it’s connection to cities outside of DC. Where others saw invasion, Weaver saw opportunity. NAARC was among the first to pilot the program. 

For many violence intervention workers—eighty percent of whom are returning citizens—this represents their first real post-incarceration opportunity. "Where other career opportunities look at their background as a burden, here it makes them credible in the neighborhood," Weaver notes. Cure the Streets intervention experts receive signature neon yellow uniforms and training to stop violence before it happens. 

"This work saves them and helps them get on their feet, but this job also is a public safety initiative," Weaver explains. "Had these people not been able to get this job, they could have been a victim or a predator of violence." 

Weaver has watched workers graduate to college and move into DC government positions. The organization includes professional development because "we don't want violence intervention workers to make a career out of it—we work with them to find the next step in life." 

Beyond Crisis: Expanding Possibilities 

Weaver's genius lies in understanding that intervention means more than stopping fights or retaliation—it means expanding possibilities. Beyond intervention, he has organized etiquette classes, purchased suits for youth, and provided new experiences and opportunities for those that have not been afforded to them. 

"It expands a person's range; it expands their dreams," Weaver reflects. "When you give them the opportunity to explore other opportunities and see that anything is possible, they start trying to do more." 

Yet like the TraRon Center, NAARC faces the fear of funding instability. DC has a pattern: violence prevention and intervention funding follows political cycles rather than community needs. Programs start with fanfare, build relationships and trust, show results—then vanish when administrations change. 

"Our work is 100% based on trust," Weaver explains. "Our community trusts that no matter what happens, we'll do whatever it takes to show up for them. We need our elected officials to do the same." 

A Call to Action 

DC stands at a crossroads. We can continue the expensive cycle of responding to violence after it occurs—through emergency rooms, courts, and prisons—or we can invest in community-based solutions that address root causes and build lasting peace. 

As Nickens puts it: "We know that our community faces obstacles beyond their control. We want to love them through it, while giving them the tools to plow through the obstacles and reach their dreams -- no matter how impossible they may seem." 

Funding community-based gun violence prevention and intervention isn't just about public safety—it's about justice, dignity, and recognizing that every person deserves the chance to thrive rather than merely survive. 

The question isn't whether we can afford to fund these programs. The question is whether we can afford not to. 

Loud & Proud - Supporting LGBTQ+ Advocacy Across Greater Washington

Throughout the year - and especially during Pride Month - The Community Foundation is proud to support the work of our partners who advocate for systems change on behalf of LGBTQ+ communities across the DMV.

We know that Pride isn’t just about celebration - it’s about recognition, resilience, and ongoing work towards a world where everyone can live authentically and feel seen, heard, and loved.

This Pride Month, we celebrate not just the vibrant diversity of the LGBTQ+ community, but also the incredible advocates, allies, and everyday heroes who stand up for equality and inclusion.

• DC LGBTQ+ Budget Coalition

  Which Communities/Neighborhoods do you serve?

  The DC LGBTQ+ Budget Coalition serves LGBTQ+ communities across all eight wards of Washington, DC, with a strong focus on those who are most systemically marginalized.

  This includes:

  • Black and Brown transgender and gender-nonconforming individuals

  • LGBTQ+ youth and seniors

  • Low-to-no-income residents

  • People with disabilities

  • Unhoused and housing-insecure individuals

  Briefly describe the story behind your organization. What was the inspiration to focus on changing systems rather than just providing services?

  The DC LGBTQ+ Budget Coalition was born out of a shared frustration with the status quo, where LGBTQ+ organizations had to compete for minimal funding, and structural change felt out of reach. Rather than focusing solely on direct services, a small group of community organizers and advocates came together to ask: What would it look like to reshape city systems and budgets to reflect the needs and leadership of LGBTQ+ people?

  With a vision of collective power, we shifted toward budget advocacy to secure long-term, systemic investments in housing, healthcare, safety, and economic opportunity. What began as a handful of voices has grown into a powerful coalition of over 20 LGBTQ-led and LGBTQ-serving organizations working in unison to push for transformational change.

  What changes have you seen that give you hope, even when the work feels challenging?

  In just a few years, we’ve helped secure over $20 million in investments for LGBTQ+ programs and services. We’ve seen the District fund initiatives led by trans-led organizations, expand shelter and housing options, expand governmental competency trainings to include LGBTQ+ identities and experiences, provide seed funding for the new and improved DC LGBTQ+ Community Center (akin to centers in LA, NYC, Chicago, etc.) and invest in mental health resources tailored to our communities.

  Perhaps most heartening is the shift in narrative — policymakers are beginning to see LGBTQ+ people, especially those at the intersections of race, gender identity, and class, as essential voices in shaping policy, not just as service recipients.

  How do you make sure the full diversity of LGBTQIA+ experiences shapes your work?

  First and foremost, we are mission-driven. We prioritize leadership from those most impacted: Black and Brown trans folks, youth, and disabled LGBTQ+ residents, and ensure they are at the center of priority setting, strategy, and meetings with decision-makers. We engage in continuous dialogue with community members through listening sessions, surveys, and peer-led convenings. This happens on small and large scales, including organizing the first-ever LGBTQ+ housing summit in DC in 2023. We also support individuals and smaller, underfunded grassroots groups to ensure their perspectives are heard and uplifted.

  What do people misunderstand about the challenges LGBTQIA+ communities face today?

  There’s a widespread misconception, largely rooted in high-profile wins like marriage equality, that LGBTQ+ people have “won” the fight for rights. But beneath these legal victories lies a more complex and painful reality: trans people of color still face disproportionate violence, many queer youth are unhoused or unsupported by their families, and affirming healthcare remains out of reach for many.

  People often overlook how structural issues — housing, policing, education, mental health — impact queer and trans people uniquely. Our work is about addressing those root systems of harm, not just symptoms.

  In particular, Black and Brown LGBTQ+ individuals continue to face increased risks of HIV due to systemic barriers to prevention, testing, and care. Economic inequity and limited employment opportunities — especially for Black and Brown trans and nonbinary people — further entrench cycles of poverty and marginalization. Legal progress like marriage equality doesn’t erase the material realities our communities still navigate every day.

  What resources or support have been game-changers for your organization's effectiveness?

  Support from The Community Foundation and other funding sources over the past several years has been transformative. Multi-year, flexible funding has allowed us to invest in the often-overlooked foundations of systems change: relationship-building, community-led strategy, and sustained political education.

  Strategic support from a lead coordinator of the DC LGBTQ+ Budget Coalition has enabled the alignment and coordination of over 20 partner organizations, ensuring we move with clarity and purpose toward shared goals.

  Access to the DC Council budget process and strong partnerships with legislative allies, built and maintained through this support, have helped shift public resources toward LGBTQ+ communities most impacted by systemic inequities.

  While this progress is significant, continued and expanded investment is essential. Additional funding is needed to sustain momentum, deepen impact, and ensure long-term support for the work and infrastructure of the coalition.

  If we were having this conversation again in five years, what change would you hope to be celebrating?

  • A fortified and fully funded LGBTQ+ agency within DC government — the Mayor’s Office of LGBTQ Affairs (MOLGBTA) — equipped to lead, coordinate, and resource transformative policy and programming across the city.

  • A fully funded youth homelessness services continuum that includes prevention, emergency housing, transitional programs, and long-term supports tailored to LGBTQ+ young people.

  • Permanent funding for trans-led housing and safety programs.

  • Sustainable, affordable, and dedicated housing options for LGBTQ+ youth and seniors — designed with and for community members to ensure dignity, stability, and long-term impact.

  • Full access to comprehensive healthcare and affirming care for everyone in the LGBTQ+ community — with a focus on ensuring trans people can receive the respectful, competent, and life-saving services they deserve.

  • Multiple pathways to and expanded access for culturally competent mental health services — especially for LGBTQ+ individuals experiencing homelessness, living with chronic conditions, or navigating trauma.

  • A culture shift where queer and trans leadership is reflected more in the DC government (and nationally) as elected officials, agency leads, etc.

• Free State Justice

  Which Communities/Neighborhoods do you serve?

  We serve all of Maryland’s marginalized communities. Every day we do our best to connect with and provide resources to LGBTQ+ Marylanders, people living with HIV, Black and Brown communities, and the many other groups who are too often left out of ongoing conversations around support.

  Briefly describe the story behind your organization. What was the inspiration to focus on changing systems rather than just providing services?

  FreeState Justice actually has a very unique origin story; we were created from the merging of two separate organizations, Equality Maryland and FreeState Legal Project. These were both groups that operated in the early 2010s fighting for the rights of LGBTQ+ Marylanders, with Equality Maryland especially being instrumental in legalizing same-sex marriage! In 2016 they combined, taking the most valuable aspects of each to forge FreeState Justice, Maryland’s leading LGBTQ+ legal nonprofit. We were founded through innovation, by organizations committed to improving society for all — we’re proud to say that changing systems has always been a part of our mission!

  What changes have you seen that give you hope, even when the work feels challenging?

  It cannot be overstated how elated FreeState Justice is regarding the recent passing of the Carlton R. Smith Jr. HIV Modernization Act, a piece of legislation we’ve been pushing for years. In a time when our communities are constantly facing legislative attacks, seeing a bill that safeguards the rights of those living with HIV — an illness whose criminalization disproportionately impacts LGBTQ+ and Black/Brown communities — receive so much support has been so uplifting. It's a reminder of the immense good our communities can do when we work together, and it's helped everyone at FSJ re-commit themselves to our mission.

  How do you make sure the full diversity of LGBTQIA+ experiences shapes your work?

  We recognize that the most effective form of advocacy is one that is constantly in conversation with those being advocated for. We are lucky that Maryland's LGBTQ+ community is filled with different identities, and we host many opportunities throughout the year for these people to speak with us on how we can improve our services. From policy listening sessions, to digital town halls, to literally speaking with people at Pride festivals, we are constantly looking for feedback to ensure our work is one that supports the full diversity of the LGBTQIA+ community.

  What do people misunderstand about the challenges LGBTQIA+ communities face today?

  Too often, individuals within the LGBTQ+ community focus on our different identities rather than the fact that we are all one big community. It makes it far too easy for our more privileged members to believe that attacks on our more vulnerable members — especially our Trans siblings — don't affect them. It's only until we overcome this divisive mindset and commit to completely supporting the rights and respect of one another that we can hope to move forward as a community. Now more than ever, we have to unite and remember that an attack on one of us is an attack on all of us!

  What resources or support have been game-changers for your organization's effectiveness?

  While FSJ is immensely grateful for the institutional grants and donations we receive throughout the year, it's been the uptick in local support that has truly been a game changer. Our entire mission is dedicated to serving Maryland's LGBTQ+ community, so to have seen an outpouring of donations from local organizations, coalitions, and individuals in recent years means more than I can describe. Not only is it essential for us to provide what we do, it helps our staff see the direct impact of their work and improves effectiveness overall.

  If we were having this conversation again in five years, what change would you hope to be celebrating?

  In five years, I hope we’ll be celebrating the massive amount of pro-Trans, LGBTQ+ inclusive legislation that FreeState Justice has been able to help pass. Not only will our organization continue providing free legal services and resources to those who need it most, with the recent announcement of our C4, FreeState Equality, we’ll play even more of a role in passing legislation that makes this state — and the entire country — more inclusive for all.

• Equality Virginia

  Which Communities/Neighborhoods do you serve?

  We serve LGBTQIA+ Virginians across the Commonwealth.

  Briefly describe the story behind your organization. What was the inspiration to focus on changing systems rather than just providing services?

  Equality Virginia was founded in 1989 as Virginians For Justice with the goal of advancing the cause of equal justice for all across the Commonwealth. Today, the organization is known as Equality Virginia and our mission is to advocate and organize across Virginia to build a future where LGBTQ+ people thrive. We believe that lasting change happens not just through supporting individuals, but by transforming the systems that harm or exclude them in the first place. While direct services are essential, they often address symptoms rather than root causes. We focus on addressing those root causes, shifting narratives, and building power within LGBTQ+ communities.

  Since 2020, our movement has faced a wave of policy attacks on LGBTQ+ people, especially trans people. Anti-equality forces have weaponized trans youth in particular. Unless we solve this, it’s not just LGBTQ+ rights that suffer - democracy, bodily autonomy, and progress toward racial justice also hang in the balance. As we look ahead, we know the legislative landscape will present challenges, especially given a hostile federal administration and states governed by extremist legislators who continue to target transgender people as part of their anti-rights agenda.

  As a movement, we’ve invested in research on how to talk about specific issues affecting trans people, such as transition-related care and the ability to participate in sports. We see the need to invest in a comprehensive framework that fundamentally shifts worldviews toward empathy and justice for transgender people, is authentic to the diverse experience of transgender people, and is grounded in community organizing and capacity building. Across the LGBTQ+ and allied movements, leaders and funders recognize the need to shift culture through new narratives and organizing strategies, and we are ready to meet the challenge.

  What changes have you seen that give you hope, even when the work feels challenging?

  Pure and simple-- we've seen people power. That's what gives me hope.

  And we're seeing greater collaboration across movements for racial justice, reproductive freedom, and LGBTQ+ rights. That kind of intersectional, community-led momentum gives me real hope. It reminds us that progress isn’t always linear, but it is always possible when people show up for each other.

  How do you make sure the full diversity of LGBTQIA+ experiences shapes your work?

  In early 2024, Equality Virginia embarked on a strategic planning journey to shape a clear, actionable vision for the organization’s future. The process began with a focused pre-Gather phase, where Equality Virginia’s leadership and Strategic Planning Team came together to define key questions and goals that would ensure a strategic plan rooted in the organization’s mission and responsive to the current climate.

  Committed to genuine community engagement, Equality Virginia prioritized gathering input from a broad range of voices. This decision led to one-on-one interviews with 19 stakeholders, engagement with 184 community members through a comprehensive survey, a staff retreat with its five-member team, and a strategically focused board retreat. These conversations provided valuable insights and perspectives that informed the objectives of the strategic plan.

  Our 2025-2027 Strategic Plan is truly informed by the community we serve and the goals within the plan provide continuous opportunities for community engagement and feedback.

  What do people misunderstand about the challenges LGBTQIA+ communities face today?

  Many people assume the work is done because of marriage equality or growing LGBTQ+ visibility. Many people assume that enacting laws and policies addressing the challenges we face makes those challenges go away. Many people assume that the threats we face are not imminent or real, but they are.

  What resources or support have been game-changers for your organization's effectiveness?

  General operating support and volunteers are game-changers!!

  As a small team with a critical mission, general operating support has been an absolute game-changer for Equality Virginia. Flexible funding is both kindness and trust. It allows us to be nimble and responsive. It means we can focus on strategy and impact.

  Equally important are the incredible volunteers who power our work—from leading voter registration drives to sharing their stories.

  This combination of trust, flexibility, and people power is what makes our work both possible and powerful.

  If we were having this conversation again in five years, what change would you hope to be celebrating?

  For Equality Virginia, I hope we're celebrating a larger staff! I hope we're celebrating an increase of meaningful investments in LGBTQ+ movement work in Black, brown, trans, and rural communities.

  Broadly speaking, I hope we're celebrating a culture and narrative shift. I hope we've built, or are starting to build, durable change for transgender and non-binary people through community-informed tools and organizing strategies.

Medicaid: A Lifeline for People Experiencing Homelessness

In the ongoing national conversation about healthcare funding, the debate around Medicaid spending hits especially close to home.

In Washington, DC, more than 257,000 people – 38 percent of the city’s population – depend on Medicaid to get the healthcare they need. That includes 83 percent of all nursing home residents, 51 percent of working-age adults with disabilities – and the overwhelming majority of some of our most vulnerable neighbors – people experiencing homelessness.

Beyond Basic Healthcare: How Medicaid Transforms Lives

For those experiencing homelessness, Medicaid provides far more than just basic healthcare coverage. It creates pathways to stability, dignity, and permanent housing solutions.

Recognizing the relationship between health and affordable housing, in 2022 the city created the Housing Supportive Services (HSS) Medicaid program to leverage Medicaid funds to help people experiencing homelessness receive the case management services they need to obtain and maintain stable housing – including Permanent Supportive Housing (PSH).

Since then, The Partnership to End Homelessness has provided funding to support training for dozens of PSH providers across DC to help them adapt to new billing procedures to fund their housing case management services. These trained PSH providers are also now better equipped to help their clients navigate the complex Medicaid system to access benefits.  

“Medicaid isn't customer-friendly,” Shauna Figueroa Vice President of Housing Services at Friendship Place shared. “It's multi-layered and convoluted, with steps that must be done in a specific order and a lot of paperwork required. Without our case managers, hundreds of people who qualify for Medicaid simply wouldn’t have access.”

 “We recognize that the population we serve really needs access to these resources – but they also don’t have access to a computer or a mailing address,” added Christy Respress, President & CEO of Pathways to Housing DC. “Our staff play a big part of getting people on Medicaid and keeping them enrolled.”

““People will die if Medicaid is cut - for any population. For most people, the fear of losing a job isn’t just about losing income. It’s also about losing access to healthcare.””

— Christy Respress, President & CEO, Pathways to Housing DC

The impact of this work is immediate and life-saving.

"Two weeks ago, a gentleman we'll call Mr. J came to our U Street location in really bad physical and mental shape,” Figueroa shared. “He was living on the street and was HIV-positive with bipolar disorder and active addiction issues. He told us he couldn't sleep on the street anymore – you could see the look of despair on his face.”

“Because he was in the Medicaid system, we were able to quickly provide him with food, secure his medication that he hadn't taken for 60 days, and get him into bridge housing within just two hours."

Arianne Clyburn, Acting Director of Housing at Miriam's Kitchen, notes that Medicaid has "opened up the door for clients to be transferred to higher levels of care" and provides access to medications and preventative care for those who need them most. “Our clients can get yearly medical exams or access eye care and dental work that they haven't had in many years."

In addition to PSH and basic healthcare treatment, Medicaid coverage provides access to:

• Essential medications: For those experiencing chronic homelessness, accessing critical medications is a challenge. "Medication is so expensive," Respress explains. “If you had to choose between taking your meds and having a roof over your head or food to eat, which would you choose?”
  
  “Medicaid allows people to get the treatment they need for things like diabetes and hypertension so that conditions don't reach a point where they need to be hospitalized. It also covers medications for depression and anxiety, which are essential for behavioral health."

• Holistic support services: Medicaid-funded programs provide critical wrap-around services that dramatically improve accessibility and quality of life for those at risk of experiencing homelessness. These services can include transportation to medical appointments, nutritional support, and even gym memberships for high-risk individuals.

• Respite & rehabilitation services: For those experiencing critical illness or struggling with substance abuse or mental health challenges, having access to a place of refuge is critical to their rest, recovery, and long-term stability.

• Durable medical equipment: Items like walkers, canes, wheelchairs, and other assistive devices provide increased mobility and improved quality of life – especially for seniors and individuals that are recovering from traumatic events or living with a disability.

• Home health aides: For many in Permanent Supportive Housing (PSH), access to a home health aide is crucial. As Respress notes, "Many DC residents are aging in place and just need help with basic activities of daily living. They don't need to be in a nursing home (which many can’t afford); they just need a helping hand so they can stay in their home and maintain their independence."

A senior with Open Arms DC, a permanent supportive housing provider in Congress Heights.

Beyond the Individual: How We All Benefit

When Medicaid helps our neighbors experiencing homelessness, the positive effects ripple throughout our entire community. These aren't just abstract "system benefits" – they're tangible improvements that touch all our lives:

• Less crowded emergency rooms: When was the last time you or a loved one waited hours in an emergency room? Those wait times grow longer when people without healthcare access are forced to use the ER as their primary care provider. Christy Respress explains, "With regular access to medications and preventative care through Medicaid, people don't reach the crisis point that sends them to the emergency room. This means shorter wait times and critical resources for everyone who needs emergency services."

• Safer, healthier communities: We all want to live in neighborhoods where people aren't suffering on the streets. Medicaid coverage means fewer untreated mental health crises in public spaces, less suffering, and communities where everyone can access the care they need. "When people get proper treatment for mental health issues or substance use disorders, we see dramatic improvements not just in their lives, but in neighborhood stability and safety," notes Respress.

• Your tax dollars working smarter: Like it or not, we all pay for healthcare one way or another. Figueroa points out: "Treating someone's chronic condition through regular doctor visits and medication is dramatically less expensive than paying for an ambulance ride and emergency room visit every time they have a crisis. When we invest in preventative care through Medicaid, we're actually saving significant public funds for emergency services." Those savings can translate to lower healthcare costs and taxes for everyone.

• Reduced strain on public services: From police responding to non-violent mental health crises to sanitation workers addressing public health concerns, many public services are stretched thin dealing with the consequences of untreated health conditions. As Clyburn from Miriam's Kitchen observes, "When our clients have access to appropriate healthcare through Medicaid, they're less likely to need emergency interventions from other public services. This frees those resources for other community needs."

A young family served by Friendship Place’s Permanent Supportive Housing Program

The Threat of Medicaid Cuts: "Unfathomable" Consequences

When asked about the potential impact of Medicaid cuts, our partners didn't mince words.

Christy Respress of Pathways stated: "It's unfathomable. It is literally unfathomable.”

“People will die if Medicaid is cut - for any population. For most people, the fear of losing a job isn't just about losing income. It’s also about losing access to healthcare."

The consequences would cascade throughout our communities:

• Hospitals would suffer: Proposed cuts to DC’s Medicaid would slash more than $2 Billion from local hospitals – forcing hospitals to lay-off doctors, cut services, and even close facilities to make ends meet.

• Emergency services would be overwhelmed: Without access to Medicaid, those without insurance will be forced to go to hospitals and urgent care centers to get the care they need, putting additional strain on already stretched emergency services.

• Housing stability would collapse: Figueroa from Friendship Place warns, "Without Medicaid, our clients wouldn't just lose their healthcare – they'd likely lose their housing too. This would cause a level of instability that would bring about relapse for many, cause children to be displaced from their families, and increase demand for shelter placements that we simply don't have capacity for."

• Seniors would struggle: Across DC and our region, many seniors rely on Medicaid to cover rising medical costs – such as home health aides - that Medicare and private insurance won’t cover. In DC alone, 34 percent of Medicare beneficiaries are also covered by Medicaid.

• Community safety concerns: Without access to proper medical care or housing support, some fear that many experiencing homelessness would be criminalized and forced into the criminal justice system – resulting in increases in crime (including violent crime), as desperate needs continue to go unmet.

When asked about potential Medicaid cuts, Clyburn from Miriam's Kitchen expressed immediate concern about "whether we would be able to continue providing essential services and whether our clients would be able to get the support they need to survive and move forward with their lives."

Conclusion: Medicaid as Essential Infrastructure

For people experiencing homelessness, Medicaid isn't just healthcare coverage – it's essential infrastructure that enables stability, dignity, and the possibility of recovery. As Figueroa from Friendship Place summarizes: "Across the board, Medicaid provides individuals the ability to get wraparound holistic services – housing, medical, behavioral, and mental health support. Medicaid is truly invaluable in creating pathways out of homelessness."

"There's something profoundly important about living in a society where we don't allow our neighbors to suffer without medical care," Respress reflects. "The knowledge that we're not abandoning our most vulnerable citizens benefits us all on a fundamental human level."

As our nation debates the future of healthcare funding, we must remember that Medicaid is not merely a line item in a budget. For our most vulnerable neighbors, it is quite literally a lifeline – and cutting it would have profound, far-reaching consequences for individuals and communities alike.

Gun Violence Awareness Month: Elevating Community-Centered Approaches to Violence

Friends and organizers with T.R.I.G.G.E.R. Project, a DC-based gun violence prevention organization on Wear Orange Day

June is Gun Violence Awareness Month and at the Greater Washington Community Foundation, we aim to provide both local and national context to the region around our efforts-and those of our partners-to promote community safety. This is particularly timely as funding for Community Violence Intervention (CVI) programs both nationally (and here in DC) faces uncertainty. 

The Origins of Gun Violence Awareness Month & Wear Orange Day  

The House of Representatives first designated June as Gun Violence Awareness Month in 2021. But the movement began years earlier as a tribute to Hadiya Pendleton - a high school student from Chicago who was shot and killed on a playground in 2013, just one week after marching in President Obama’s inauguration.  

On the first Friday in June – what would have been her birthday - Hadiya’s friends chose to celebrate her life by wearing her favorite color, orange. The gesture was quickly adopted by advocates across the country, as a way remember and honor victims of gun violence.  

By 2015, communities across America began observing Wear Orange Day/Gun Violence Awareness Day on the first Friday of June – to honor those - like Hadiya – who lost their lives and to take a stand against gun violence. 

The Role of a Community Violence Intervention (CVI) Ecosystem 

Reducing gun violence is complicated and requires multifaceted approaches and work across sectors. But some of the most promising solutions lie in the communities that are most impacted. CVI Ecosystems link a variety of approaches toward gun violence reduction to holistically address the issue. These ecosystems are most impactful when community, hospital, and school-based interventions collaborate, are rooted in data and are connected to city resources and supports. 

In most cities, a very small percentage of people - often less than 1% - drive most of the gun violence. CVI leans into this population through intensive engagement and interventions led by relatable teams of frontline workers (sometimes called credible messengers or violence interrupters). 

To learn more about these strategies and CVI more broadly, check out our webinar from February titled Building Safer Communities: A Donor's Guide to Community Violence Intervention Strategies. 

DC’s Violence Prevention Network - The Promise & Potential 

Members of Cure the Streets, a CVI initiative driven by the National Association for the Advancement of Returning Citizens (NAARC) with Councilmember Kenyan McDuffie (I - At-Large)

Here in DC, we’re fortunate to have a fully committed network of people working to prevent and interrupt violence. Through city-led efforts via ONSE and OAG and their partnership with those on the ground and in hospitals, a group of individuals with diverse expertise are invested in this work. Over the last year, we partnered with the Public Welfare Foundation to convene the DC Community Safety Collaborative - a group of philanthropic, corporate, business, and community leaders that have been working to identify key priorities for local attention and investment. We know that through continued collaboration and cross-sector investment, DC has the ability to further drive down violence and build capacity in public health approaches.  

In addition to our philanthropic and private sector partners- several key city and nonprofit representatives sit at a table with us in developing our strategy. Below, those partners and the work they lead to reduce and prevent violence locally (making up elements of our local CVI Ecosystem) are highlighted: 

• Office of the Attorney General of DC’s Cure the Streets operates in discrete high violence neighborhoods using a data-driven, public-health approach to gun violence by treating it as a disease that can be interrupted, treated, and stopped from spreading. 

• NAARC (National Association for the Advancement of Returning Citizens) is committed to supporting formerly incarcerated residents of DC. While NAARC leads a variety of programs, their work to lead several Cure the Streets sites helps to interrupt local violence through trusted, credible violence interruption teams. 

• Peace for DC is committed to addressing gun violence holistically. The DC Peace Academy provides advanced, hands-on classes for the professional and personal development of DC’s violence intervention professionals.  

• Office of Neighborhood Safety and Engagement (ONSE) leads a Violence Intervention initiative that uses a three-pronged approach that incorporates a public health perspective. The approach focuses on all persons affected by violent acts, including victims, perpetrators, and their support systems/networks 

• Project CHANGE is the District’s Hospital-based Violence Intervention Program (HVIP) and provides services to individuals and their families who have experienced a life-threatening intentional injury. 

While negative headlines can sometimes overshadow progress, we're committed to highlighting the positive, life-saving work happening in our local gun violence prevention and intervention space. 

Join Us in Making a Difference 

Throughout Gun Violence Awareness Month, we'll be sharing more insights on this critical issue. Together, we can build safer communities through collaborative, community-centered approaches to preventing violence.