Answering the Call: The Relocation of Central Union Mission

Answering the Call:
The Relocation of Central Union Mission


What is Central Union Mission?
Central Union Mission is a faith-based social services agency that has been dedicated to serving hurting and homeless people in DC for 122 years with emergency food, lodging, warm clothing, hot meals, and long-term rehabilitation. The Mission has a long and proud history of successfully helping men, women and families get off the streets and change their lives for the better.
Over the years, our services have evolved with the times. We currently offer:
- emergency shelter, food, and counseling to men in the Overnight Guest Program
- residential rehabilitation through the Men’s Spiritual Transformation Program
- outreach to youth through Camp Bennett, Christmas and Back to School Bags, and partnerships with local youth organizations and churches
- regular grocery support to senior citizens and single-parent families through Food Depot
- various social services to immigrants through the Hispanic Ministry, including English-as-a-Second-Language, food and clothing, health education, and vocational counseling

Central Union Mission is relocating to provide more service to the community
Although Central Union Mission has thrived alongside its neighbors on 14th Street for over 20 years, our current facility is no longer adequate for us to serve our clients to the best of our abilities. Our five-year Strategic Plan calls for the construction of a new facility that will enable us to properly support those we serve.
The proposed facility at 3500 Georgia Avenue affords us an opportunity to expand our services with a state-of-the-art facility, increased service capacity, and a convenient location for our clients.
· Today, 41% of our DC clients live in Ward 1, yet our facility is located in Ward 2.
· Our food and community outreach, our largest programs by far, will be greatly improved with the new location and facility.
· The Georgia Avenue location, conveniently located only 2 blocks from the Petworth Metro Station and serviced by over 28 bus lines, will be far more accessible to those we serve, including senior citizens, single parents, and children.
With the new facility, we will also be able to expand our programs for men. By increasing our bed capacity, we will have additional space to meet some of the overwhelming needs of homeless men in DC as we seek to provide them with emergency shelter and effectual rehabilitation.

The proposed facility will offer:
- Approximately 200 beds for our Overnight Guest program and residential rehabilitation program, the Spiritual Transformation Program (STP). Up to 170 will be allocated for overnighters in the beginning, but as the growth of STP is our priority, these will shift to support this program in time.
- A day room for Overnight Guests who cannot leave our facility during daytime hours
- A 200-person capacity chapel for events and distribution of food and other goods
- A 200-person capacity dining room
- Free community medical and dental clinic
- Street-level café training men in the food service business

The proposed facility can decrease crime and vagrancy in the Georgia Avenue neighborhood
The need for shelter services for transient men is extremely high in the District of Columbia, and Central Union Mission is therefore seeking to meet that immediate need by increasing the beds available. It will take time for us to build our reputation, meaning that the area will not immediately service 170 men.
Our long-term plan is to transition these beds from serving the overnight guests to supporting growth in our residential STP. Eventually, we want to primarily work on restoring men to healing and wholeness, but we realize that building a program such as this takes time and space. The proposed facility will offer these.
In the meantime, we will provide care for individuals who are unable to leave our facility during the day (those who are elderly, or mentally or physically ill) and work to find permanent, appropriate care for them with other service providers.

The Mission is a good neighbor and addresses community concerns
Our Good Neighbor Plan
Central Union Mission cares deeply about working to build up its community. We are committed to being good neighbors. Community members concerned about the economic and civic implications of Central Union Mission’s arrival to their neighborhood should keep these facts in mind:
14th Street has revitalized all around us as we have consistently provided services to homeless and needy members of the DC area for over 20 years from this location.
Property values have skyrocketed and numerous successful businesses have opened in our current neighborhood, even on the properties adjoining our facility. Our presence has not hindered economic growth, but rather helped create a safer, more secure neighborhood by addressing the needs of the community
We bring security to the neighborhood because those who live with us are "locked in" at night. When a man enters our building at 4:00 p.m. as our guest, he does not leave until after breakfast the next morning.
Our supervisors remain attentive to the activity in and around our facility day and night and quickly report any suspicious activity in the neighborhood to the police. Over the years we have become well aware of the dangers of working with troubled men, but we also believe it is worthy work which we strive to do with excellence.
Our men look on us as they would a church and behave accordingly. Those who are unable to treat our facility and programs with respect are asked to leave.
Individuals who choose not to abide by our operational procedures are not allowed to receive our services. Our policies are well known by the homeless in the community, so they choose note to come to us if they won’t comply with it. Some men simply need a place to “sleep it off,” which we provide. Others who are openly belligerent are removed by the police.
Central Union Mission is committed to establishing and maintaining open lines of communication with our new neighbors as we have with our neighbors on and around 14th Street. All who are interested in visiting our current facility, learning more about our operational procedures, and speaking with our Executive Director are welcome to do so. To arrange a meeting, please contact our Community Liaison, Brittany Noetzel at 202-MISSION.