BASIC/EMERGENCY SERVICES
Thrive DC’s basic/emergency services includes an on-site breakfast program that feeds approximately 200 men and women every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday morning, and an on-site dinner program that feeds 30-50 women and children on those same days. Monday through Friday we offer lunch “to go” through a partnership with the sandwich shop Pret A Manger in which clients choose from an assortment of salads and sandwiches to take with them when they leave our facility. In 2017, Thrive DC provided more than 150,000 meals on-site and to go.
Clients who are able to prepare their own meals but may lack the resources to purchase food can receive shelf-stable groceries through our emergency food pantry. Clients can also choose from a variety of fresh fruits and vegetables at our weekly free “farmers market,” with produce provided by local markets and/or farms. Thrive DC distributed more than 86 tons of groceries and fresh produce to our neighbors in need in 2017.
Supplementing the nutrition programming, Thrive DC also provides free showers, laundry, and personal care and hygiene supplies, which are available daily. Our basic emergency services not only provide our disadvantaged neighbors with life-sustaining meals and personal health and wellness supplies, they act as a gateway to our step up services. Over 4,200 showers, 1,200 loads of laundry, and 50,000 personal care items kept our clients healthy and clean in 2017.
STEP UP SERVICES
Our computer lab and mail services provide clients with critical communications tools. The computer lab, open Monday through Friday, provides computer/internet access for job searches and email usage. Our mail services provide more than 900 homeless individuals with a mailing address.
Through referrals to other social service agencies and help navigating the bureaucracy of government assistance and benefits, Thrive DC is able to ensure our clients can access the widest variety of service possible, including dental and health care, housing, and legal assistance.
Thrive DC helps people become employment ready through a variety of weekly workshops and one-on-one assistance with searching, applying, and interviewing for jobs. We have a full-time job developer who builds relationships with employers and connects our unemployed clients with appropriate job opportunities. We also offer an intensive 20-week culinary arts training program that includes soft skills training, kitchen skills training with our Executive Chef and an internship in a restaurant. Trainees complete this program with a nationally-recognized food handler’s certification as well as the knowledge and experience for careers in the food service industry. A majority of trainees are hired by their internship site directly after completing the program.
For individuals coming out of incarceration, Thrive DC provides case management, employment assistance, and additional support to ease the process of re-entering the community and reducing the rate of homelessness and recidivism. Begun in 2014 for women only, this program expended to include men in 2017.
Finally, Thrive DC offers therapeutic and enrichment groups including substance abuse counseling in both English and Spanish, music therapy, and a gardening group. These peer-supported groups help clients address stress, addiction, and other mental health issues. In the past year our substance abuse counseling groups have had over 800 participants. An average of one client every month entered a formal treatment program.
