So Others Might Eat (SOME) is a nonprofit organization that provides services to assist those dealing with poverty and homelessness in Washington, D.C. The organization provides affordable housing, job training, counseling and other healthcare services, and daily needs such as food and clothing to the poor and homeless. It spends the largest portion of its annual budget on affordable housing, with a majority of its residents recovering from addiction. SOME describes its mission as helping "our vulnerable neighbors in Washington, DC, break the cycle of homelessness through our comprehensive and transformative services".
History
1970s
SOME was founded in 1970 by Horace McKenna as a soup kitchen. Meals were served in the basement of the St. Aloysius Church on the campus of Gonzaga College High School on North Capitol Street. Father John Adams was appointed as its inaugural president. Over the next few years, SOME bought a property on Abbey Place NE to be used as a rehabilitation center for people with alcoholism. SOME also bought a property on nearby K Street NW called Shalom House for homeless women. The Substance Abuse Program was started in October 1975, including individual and group counseling as well as vocational and job training.
In 1978, SOME appointed Adams as its chief executive officer. The organization also moved to 71 O Street NW, and started the Provide-A-Meal Program in November, with the soup kitchen transitioning into a nutritional meal program serving breakfast and lunch daily. In October 1979, SOME opened a dental clinic to provide dental care to the homeless and others unable to afford a dentist. The Georgetown University Dental School later began to provide care.
1980s
In January 1982, SOME opened a medical clinic, operated by the Columbia Road Physician Group, that provided healthcare and counseling services for homeless and low-income individuals. Their Caregivers Program began in May 1984, with case management and volunteer services provided to isolated, home-bound elderly persons in Southeast, Washington, D.C. In January 1986, Isaiah House opened in a townhouse in Northwest, Washington, D.C. as a therapeutic socialization residence for individuals who are homeless and have mental illnesses. SOME's first transitional housing facility opened in February 1986. The facility helped homeless men prepare to live in permanent housing in the community. Six months later, Dwelling Place Emergency Shelter for Abused Elderly opened in Southeast, Washington, D.C.
In July 1989, SOME opened Shalom House through a public-private partnership in Northeast, Washington, D.C., as the organization's first single-room occupancy (SRO) housing residence. The building provided housing for 96 formerly homeless and low-income men and women, including the elderly and the disabled.
1990s
A second 90-day transitional housing program, Mickey Leland Place, for homeless men opened in October 1990. Exodus House, a 90-day residential substance abuse treatment program for homeless men, was opened on a mountaintop plot in West Virginia in June 1991. In September 1991, the Thea Bowman House opened as a 10-unit, two-year transitional apartment house for women with children in Northeast, Washington, D.C. Gandhi Place, house for long-term volunteers, opened in July 1992 in Northeast, Washington, D.C. SOME opened the Anna Cooper House in April 1993 from a converted hotel. In May 1993, SOME opened its third SRO, Jeremiah House.
The Maya Angelou House for women was dedicated in January 1996, located on that were donated to SOME, and providing a 90-day residential substance abuse treatment program for homeless women. SOME renovated and opened a new facilities for homeless individuals at 60 O Street NW in June 1996, including medical, dental, and eye clinics as well as social service and addiction counseling offices. In August 1996, SOME opened Harvest House Women's Program opened as 12-bed transitional housing with a job readiness training program for homeless women. The Women and Children's Dining Room on O Street was opened in May 1997. In June 1998, SOME's Center for Employment Training opened as an employment training program that will incorporate support services, human development, basic education, and skills training in a program lasting from four to six months. The Center for Employment Training's goal is for adults to find full-time jobs with benefits at a living wage. As an extension of the Thea Bowman House program, SOME opened townhouses in September 1998 to provide two-year transitional housing for formerly homeless families,