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Have you been to the 14th street corridor of Washington DC lately? It is a destination spot for upscale restaurants, furniture stores, galleries and newly constructed apartment buildings. If you venture to a leafy side street you will find a courtyard that leads to N Street Village, a local nonprofit whose programs and advocacy serve 2000 homeless and low- income women in 5 locations each year. Many of these women grew up in the shadows of an earlier incarnation of 14th Street, devastated by rioting after the assassination of Martin Luther King and in the clutches of poverty and the crack epidemic for decades. As N Street Village CEO Schroeder Stribling, explains, when these women arrive, they are looking for what we all need: a supportive community, safe and affordable housing, and attention to mental and physical health challenges. It is Schroeder’s mission to provide a “radically welcoming” environment. 

The N Street Village model is to provide women in need with community-based housing and wrap-around services. This means ensuring that women have access to medical care, treatment for trauma and, ultimately, a safe place to call home. Schroeder and the N Street Village staff and volunteers manage an array of facilities and services in a fashion that Schroeder describes as emergency room triage. The bigger picture, she reminds us, is that housing solves homelessness. Reaching that goal requires collaboration and advocacy. N Street Village advocates for homeless people and for permanent housing through the DC Interagency Council on the Homelessness. Listen, learn about the Dalai Lama’s visit to N Street and find out how you can get involved.