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, MD. We prevent homelessness through our Eviction/Utility Shut-Off Prevention Program, which annually keeps hundreds of low-income individuals from homelessness. We ease and end homelessness through our Outreach Program, working with clients suffering homelessness where they are, physically and emotionally, to place them in housing and ensure that they stay housed.

In 2017, the Adobe community grant was structured to support a specific subset of clients, who need a steeper subsidy than we can to offer: those who have a lost job and secured new employment, but the new job hasn't yet begun, so the client can't pay rent. The situation arises frequently; grants of $1000-1400 completely resolve their situations.

Highlights

In total, the Adobe grant helped over 30 families keep their homes in the face of eviction or coming out of homelessness.

A woman who was a victim of domestic violence and finally left her fiancée. She became homeless and was living on the street, spending her nights at 24-hour CVS or in emergency room waiting areas. Even under those circumstances, she still went to her job as security guard, every day. We helped her both find an inexpensive apartment and paid her first month’s rent, using Adobe funds. After that boost, she has been supporting herself.

A college student, working two part-time jobs, was hit by a drunk driver driving the wrong way on a parkway. Now disabled, the student was experiencing homelessness until last week when we found a room rental for him. We used Adobe funds to pay his first month’s rent; he will use disability payments for future expenses.

A single mom of two children, whose husband died, works as a pharmacy assistant. The pharmacy she works for closed. While she was able to find a new job, she got an eviction notice two weeks before her start date. Adobe funds ensured that she and her children stayed safely in their home.

A veteran who was working two jobs but started to experience PTSD and lost the jobs because of that. A single dad with twin 7-year-old daughters, he is waiting for his disability payments. The Adobe funds prevented his family’s eviction.

A single mom with four boys came to us after she was evicted; she had medical expenses for her youngest, and didn’t have enough money left to pay rent. She was sleeping in her car with her four boys and going to the elementary school in the morning to get ready for work. We helped her locate an apartment and used the Adobe funds to pay her first month’s rent. She will use her salary to pay the rent in the future. The apartment is near her former one, so her children don’t have to change schools.

Solving Homelessness

"Providing someone with housing is the answer to homelessness. In fact, it’s a complete solution to the problem. Moving someone into a home — a studio apartment, a room in a group house — creates the stability from which he can rebuild his life. It offers the foundation from which she can address her physical or mental illnesses. It allows for a place to store clean clothing, in advance of an upcoming job interview." - Amy Freeman