Bethesda Cares

Who we are

Founded in 1988 by a group of faith-based, community and government entities, Bethesda Cares' mission is to prevent, ease and end homelessness throughout Montgomery County. We meet our goals through our Outreach and Eviction/Utility Shut-Off Prevention Programs.

What we do

Outreach: Ending Homelessness: We work with clients suffering homelessness wherever they are, physically and emotionally, to successfully refer them for housing placements.  Often deeply disenfranchised, clients can initially be unwilling to talk or work with us. We invest however many months or years it takes to build the relationships necessary to help someone undertake the unavoidably anxiety-provoking process of applying for housing.

Despite being a positive change, moving into housing after years of living on the street is extremely challenging, not unlike the struggles of someone released from long-term prison. Once a client is housed, we offer supportive services, including Critical Time Intervention (CTI), to ensure the transition succeeds. Intensive, time-limited casework, CTI helps clients rebuild their lives and adjust to a new way of life.

Outreach: Easing Homelessness: Living unsheltered is miserable and dangerous. Bethesda Cares works to mitigate the harm clients suffer while we work with them on the long path out of homelessness. Every service we offer is intended not only to ease their lives, but also to serve as tools of engagement, a chance to build trust. Our services include a daily hot meal program, clothing closet, shower program, mental health and other services.

Eviction/Utility Shut-Off Prevention:: Low- and middle-income workers in our County are often but one crisis from choosing among food, heat and rent. While sometimes evicted clients find a temporary, eviction often forces families to split up to stay with friends and families, or children have to precipitously move school districts, or job commutes become untenable. When hospitality runs out, those clients become homeless. Bethesda Cares pays landlord/utility companies directly, buying the clients time to weather their crises. Our grants keep roughly 1400 people safely housed, each year; approximately half are children.

Last year, Bethesda Cares:

• Successfully referred 11, each averaging 14 years of homelessness, for housing placements.
• Prevented 193 evictions and kept the utilities on for 254 households, keeping 1268 people safely housed. Roughly half were children.
• Provided 11,000 hot nutritious meals to those in need.
• Held 734 meetings between clients and social workers.
• Provided clothing 276 times.
• Distributed thousands of pairs of socks, gloves, ponchos and blankets.
• Welcomed clients to our Drop-In Lobby for services, coffee or a respite from the elements 5,688 times.

How people make the difference

Give Time: Your gift of time will make a difference to people in our community. Opportunities include but are not limited to setting up, serving lunch, assisting in the office and running drives for much needed items such as bottled water, socks and toiletries.

 

Donate Goods: We gratefully accept food donations of both perishable and nonperishable items. We can use perishable items either at our meal program or as snacks at our Drop-In Center; we’ll incorporate non-perishables into soups, stews or casseroles for meals.  We always appreciate fresh fruit and vegetables to ensure that clients receive well-balanced, nutritious meals. Because our clients don’t have ready access to fresh water, we welcome bottled water, year-round. And finally, we also love getting coffee, creamer, sugar, tea, oatmeal and the like to put out for clients’ breakfasts in the mornings.

We also accept seasonal adult-sized clothing, particularly menswear. Please note that we don’t have the capacity to repair or clean any items.

Shopping online? Use Amazon.Smile.com, designate Bethesda Cares and we’ll get a portion of the proceeds!

You can also donate your used vehicle, with just a phone call. Click here for more information.

Donate Money: Bethesda Cares has extremely low overhead costs, as our office space and utilities are donated. Your money goes immediately to work to assist those in the community.

Contact us for Volunteer Opportunities (Volunteer AT BethesdaCares.org)

Success Story

Bethesda Cares’ outreach team is out on the streets at all hours of the night, working with those unable or unwilling to seek services. That’s how we met “Ronald,” who slept on a patch of dirt in Rockville, tucked into some woods for more than a decade. While it can be hard for us to fathom, Ronald had gotten to the point that he felt safer outside than inside. Turning his mistrust around was a slow process, requiring deliberate and strategic outreach.

But we stuck with him. Eventually, he felt ready to make the transition to housed. For the first month after he moved in, he slept half his nights outside. The times he slept indoors, he slept on the floor, his mattress in its plastic case, untouched. His transition to living indoors has been gradual, but he’s adjusting.

Ronald didn’t become homeless overnight, nor will he shake the effects right away. Living unsheltered has devastating effects on the mind and the body. But even in a matter of months, his health has improved enormously. His skin tone is brighter.

He even smiles.

Please visit us!

Web: bethesdacares.org