About KEYS

Dear Friends,

It is with great joy, a deep compassion for the poor and an awesome feeling of gratitude to all who support the work of our mission that I warmly welcome you to KEYS for the Homeless Foundation-online!

We live in a time when communities throughout our Nation are seeking to implement responsible, sustainable and collaborative solutions addressing some of our most serious social and economic problems. Homelessness may seem like an unsolvable problem, and while the causes of it are complicated, solutions to combating and ending homelessness are within reach. We know of the trends largely responsible for the rise in homelessness-the lack of affordable housing, a rise in poverty and unaffordable health care. We know that painful and difficult choices are made in the lives of the poor when limited resources can only be stretched so far and basic necessities become even more difficult to own.

Over the past 10 years, our mission has expanded to partner with more than 65 non-profit organizations providing homeless services in the Greater Washington, DC Metro Area and also provide direct support to individual men, women and children in need. As Founding Director, my primary focus in this vision is to establish a "Welcome Stop" for different sectors in our community for merging together to obtain valuable information to better manage our needs. In this responsibility, KEYS carefully manages and stewards contributions donated by members of our vast hospitality industry, retailers and other concerned businesses to those who are transitioning from homelessness and poverty to self-sufficiency. We believe that basic household goods are essential in facilitating progress towards an independent, productive and stable future. A safe, secure home environment is KEY to ending homelessness. Our work is fortified by the support of our community, endowed by faith in the power of social justice, strengthened by the spirit of dedicated volunteers and blessed by the special grace of family and friends!

The brilliance of technology connects us all so rapidly into a system capable of communicating our hopes, our life stories, our accomplishments and our sufferings. A login password immediately opens the door for you to meet so many others who are making a vital difference in our community. This feature of our website is 'under construction' so, stay connected.

We believe that our mission embodies a passionate hope for a brighter future for us all. With the launch of our working web site, THE KEYS HUB SERVER, KEYS will serve and act as an inspired conduit so that we can expand the services of our Foundation and spark an innovative way for giving and receiving in our community. Our web site presents a wonderful opportunity for us all to protect the most vulnerable and offers each of us an opportunity to make a vital difference in transforming our communities.

We look forward to hearing from you! You are KEY to the future for ending homelessness and together, we are KEYS for the Homeless!

 
Valerie Guste Johnson
President & Founder