It feels a little hard to believe, but next month marks my first year as CEO of Interfaith Works. It has been a year filled with challenges and with inspiration.

NEW VOLUNTEER POLICY effective immediately:

All volunteers coming to the Interfaith Works ClothingCenter — including HUB volunteers — must submit proof of COVID vaccination, or proof of a negative COVID test 72hours prior to volunteering.

Join us Thursday, Sept. 30, at 7pm via Zoom for a Community Conversation that will provide an update on vaccination efforts in Montgomery County.

Thanks to a partnership with the organization Be The Good (BTG), the IW Clothing Center will host a Little Free Food Pantry on-site to help our neighbors experiencing food insecurity. The concept is similar to Little Free Libraries, providing easy access based in the community.

Join us for a sorting party so families can get the essentials they need sooner. The community’s generosity in donating items to the IW Clothing Center to help those hit by recent flooding has been huge – overwhelming, in fact.

We have opened the IW Clothing Center to affected families so they can come shop for free for any home goods and clothing items they need. While families/individuals are shopping, we also are working with them to find out if they have other needs, so we can connect them to more resources to respond to those issues.

County Councilmember Will Jawando (At Large) is scheduled to discuss his proposed legislation to provide additional protections to renters affected by the COVID health emergency. He will take part in the Emergency Assistance Coalition (EAC) meeting on Wednesday, Sept 1. The bill would limit rent increases and prohibit landlords from charging fees accrued for late rent payments during the emergency and for one year after the emergency expires.

Join us for a Community Conversation: Answering Your Questions About Homelessness.

Interfaith Works gathered a panel of experts to explore the hurdles confronting parents who are trying to find and hold down jobs but are unable to access affordable child care.

Do you remember that “fall feeling” just before the start of a new school year? Thinking back, I remember a sense of anticipation, maybe mixed with just a bit of trepidation. Would I be assigned to a homeroom with my friends? Would I like my teachers? Would I feel ready to take on new classes?

I recently took part in a moving ceremony honoring the memory of 88 people who had experienced homelessness and passed away in 2020 and 2021. We honored them by saying their names out loud. It was a somber occasion that pointed to the negative impacts homelessness can have on people’s health. In the end, having a place to call home for all of our neighbors is essential to their well-being.

IW CEO Courtney Hall and IW Senior Case Manager Katie Guzzey joined nonprofit, faith, and governmental leaders at a service honoring the memory of individuals who had experienced homelessness and passed away during 2020 and 2021. The event was an opportunity to reflect on the importance of ensuring a home for everyone in Montgomery County and that the experience of homelessness is rare, brief and one-time only.

CEO Courtney Hall recently was interviewed by The Truman Charities Podcast: A Community of Caring. Courtney provided insights into IW’s transforming impacts, including providing more than 50,000 bednights of safe shelter each year to vulnerable Montgomery County neighbors, feeding hundreds of families made food insecure due to the pandemic, and helping 147 people find living-wage jobs. Take a listen.

Interfaith Works is dedicated to preventing homelessness and providing programs that serve as a catalyst to help lift vulnerable neighbors out of poverty. In light of our mission, we are concerned about the plight of residents of Middlebrook Mobile Home Park in Germantown. Some residents of this community, many of whom are immigrants, face the possibility of eviction or losing access to water due to unusually large water bills they cannot afford to pay.