August 2024

Handcuffing Homelessness Prevention

For years, our nation has learned to more effectively address homelessness by investing in Housing First programs, which in turn is an investment in our nation’s future. Disturbingly, our progress has been stymied by the ill-founded actions of some communities recently supported by the Supreme Court decision to legalize communities’ actions that criminalize homelessness.

Being poor, unable to afford housing, or having a mental illness does not make someone a criminal. Filling jails with people who can be helped through proven Housing First programs which cost less than prison and don’t infringe on citizens’ constitutional rights, is neither the solution nor our best outcome.

We know this because we live this. Pathway Homes works hard to keep people out of homelessness and jails, and we are voicing our objection to outlawing homelessness. Getting people into housing first is the best step to connecting them to life-changing supports and resources. 

Last year, we served 2,074 men and women and managed 526 permanent supportive housing units. As one of our residents who has struggled with schizophrenia and lived on the streets in Alexandria for many years explained: “Having housing is when my life stabilized…it is the greatest thing that has ever happened to me. I wake up every day full of hope. I feel a sense of community...I feel safe in my apartment as opposed to being out on the street.” Jail would not have helped her reclaim her life nor would it have been the answer for thousands of others that we serve.

Our case management services focus on helping individuals attain and strengthen the skills needed to manage their mental and physical health, maintain their home, enhance personal relationships, develop healthy life habits, and achieve personal goals. 

Through partnerships with public and private funders, the faith community, and volunteers, our services are cost-effective, delivering significant savings compared to the costs of incarceration or hospitalization. Notably, almost all the people we serve stay out of jails, out of psychiatric facilities, and off the streets year after year. Best of all, they are able to regain their lives. We saw this firsthand at our annual art show this past month that celebrated the artistic talents of 18 Pathway residents. The exhibition captured their resilience, renewed hope, and journey back to health and stability while in affordable housing. 

Thank you for your commitment and understanding that affordable housing brings stability, safety, good health, and hope. We need more neighbors not outlaws. That is what caring communities do. And with your help, that’s what we will continue to do.

Sylisa Lambert-Woodard, EdD, LCSW, LSATP, MAC

Mission of Pathway Homes

Pathway Homes embodies the spirit of recovery: embracing an attitude of hope, self-determination and partnering with each individual on their personal journey toward achieving self-fulfillment and realizing their dreams. We fulfill our mission by making available to individuals with mental illnesses and co-occurring disabilities a variety of non-time-limited, affordable housing, and services to enable them to realize their individual potential.

MAKE A GIFT

We are thrilled to announce the date and location for our Annual Steps to Pathways Breakfast and Auction. Enjoy a delicious breakfast while supporting our mission of providing mental health services—starting with safe, stable housing—to individuals who are marginalized by poverty and inequity.

It will be a morning to remember, featuring surprise guest celebrities, a lavish brunch buffet, a celebration of our awardees, and exciting live and silent auctions with amazing items! 

Please join us in changing lives and making a difference in the world. Ticket sales will begin in late summer.

Save the Date: Friday, Nov. 1st - 8:30am

Location: Fairfax Marriott at Fair Oaks, 118787 Route 50, Fairfax VA, US 

Thank you to our current and future sponsors!  Sponsorship opportunities are still available, so if you want to throw your hat in the ring, contact Liz Susla

at lsusla@pathwayhomes.org or 571-830-0814.

2024 Sponsors to Date:

Approximately 1 in 14 people face hunger in Fairfax County, struggling to access enough nutritious food to promote and sustain a healthy life. Rising food prices exacerbate the issue, making it harder for individuals and families to meet their basic needs. The average meal cost in Fairfax County is $5.09 (according to FeedingAmerica.org), while the average for the State of Virginia as a whole is $4.06. 

Adults accepted into Pathway Homes’ permanent supportive housing programs are assessed for food insecurity and, through the new Hunger Buster program, will receive a basket of nutritious food at the time of move-in and monthly for their first six months in the program. These baskets will be provided to 15 low-income adults with serious mental illnesses and other disabilities. Having this basic need met each month will allow these individuals to focus on other goals that will help them remain stable in housing long-term. Pathway Homes case managers and volunteers will support implementation of the program to ensure a diverse variety of nutritious food is delivered to each individual in a timely manner each month.



This is a series giving voice to individuals who are part of the Pathways community as they describe the impact of Pathway in their lives, in their own words.

My name is actually Martha Ann Kelly, but my nickname is Marti. My involvement with Pathways began about 20 years ago. After my husband died, I had to go back and live with my parents. I got into a big fight with my mother, and the next thing I know, I'm out on the street and homeless. I was in the Kennedy shelter down by Fort Belvoir for nine months. 

I don't know if it was through my therapist from the Gartner Mental Health Center, or how I got involved in Pathways itself. But now that I have, it's the best thing that ever happened to me. I've got a home; I've got an apartment. But it's just wonderful that even though my husband is gone, and I don't have any kids, I still have a place to live, thanks to Pathways.

Without Pathways, my life would be very rough. I would have nowhere to go. And I'd probably be in and out of more than one homeless shelter and on days when it's excruciatingly hot, I might be six feet under the ground because I don't deal well in heat. All I can say is God bless Pathways.

Pathways has brought me a sense of accomplishment. I thought I should stop thinking about the negative things that people think about me and start thinking about the positive things about myself. You know, I started looking in the mirror and saying, look, you're a good kid. You're going to do well today. You're going to have a good day. Ever since I became a Pathways consumer, I'll admit I still have my downs, but I've had more ups than I've had downs because of Pathways. 

My art is crocheting. I never considered that art until I started bringing the pieces out here to the show [Pathway Homes Summer of the Arts Exhibition]. Last year, my one piece sold for $50. Now I've got a bigger one and it sold for $100. My grandmother taught me how to do what is called a granny square and that’s exactly what that is. I like it because I can keep going around. And the more I go around, the bigger and bigger it gets. My family doesn't like it, but everybody else does. And I've had a couple people come by and ask me, how did I come up with these color combinations? That they're absolutely beautiful! 

My grandmother taught me crocheting when I was 13 years old. I would go with my dad to Lowe’s or Home Depot where they have the strips with the paint colors on them. And now I go to places like Hobby Lobby, Michaels or Joann's and I'll just stand and it's like, okay, which color are we going to start with? I'll grab this shade of blue and then go to a lighter shade or a darker shade depending on which way I want to go. That's how I've done it. I've got 250 gallon containers full of yarn.

I call it my stress releaser. Now, I love to do it even if I'm not under any stress. But definitely when I get under stress, I start looking for the needle and looking for the next color that I'm going to do. It eases me, calms me down, and keeps my hands moving. I've been crocheting for 51 years so I can do it now and still watch TV. I can multitask when it comes to crocheting. And that's my love.