Falls Church Rotary Program: Dean Klein - Director, Fairfax County Office to Prevent & End Homelessness

Please join the Falls Church Rotary Club at our weekly dinner meeting for a delicious Chinese dinner (optional) and share the fellowship of Rotary. Public and guests welcome, only $11 (prospective members n/c.)

Our speaker and program on  5/5 will be Dean Klein, Director of the Fairfax County Office to Prevent and End Homelessness (OPEH). Fairfax County/Falls Church is one of the few communities in the nation that has developed – and is implementing – a 10-year Plan to Prevent and End Homelessness. Since the plan’s adoption in 2008, homelessness has decreased more than 14%. Dean will present the county’s initiatives including public-private partnerships both locally with community-based social service organizations as well as businesses including national companies such as Google and Target. And most important, we will learn what we can do as citizens and Rotarians to be part of the solution to help our neighbors in need and to end homelessness in our community.

For more information: http://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/homeless/

BACKGROUND:
Homelessness is a real problem in the Fairfax County - Falls Church community. It impacts each of us, with social and economic costs to our community. The majority of people without homes in our community are children and working families:
    -  Close to 60% of homeless personsare in in families.
    -  More than 75% of children in homeless families are under age 11.
    -  More than 60% of adults in homeless families are working a job or jobs.

The statistics from the recent annual Community Snapshot are astounding:  It will likely surprise you to know that the 2nd largest number of people who are homeless in our greater DC metro area are in the Fairfax-Falls Chuch community. Only in DC proper are there more people without stable homes. Lack of affordable housing in the main cause of homelessness: low incomes and expensive housing are the primary reasons. It is impossible to pay for an apartment when earning minimum wages – even if you work 24 hours, 7 days a week:
  - Monthly rent for a 1-bedroom apartments averages more than $1200/month.
  - A family must earn $22.25/hour to afford this 1 bedroom apartment.
  - 82% of homeless families earn less than $14.24/hour.

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As a Rotarian, you have the opportunity to be part of a local and international organization where you can build friendships and business relationships, give back to the community, and make a world of difference through “Service Above Self.”

Our club website is at http://www.fallschurchrotary.org/
Our club brochure is pdf at : http://bit.ly/FCRotaryBrochureSept10

Fan our club on facebook:  search "Rotary Club of Falls Church VA"

Our club president is Joe Akkara at jaakkara@aol.com, (703) 292-4946.  Learn more about the "Service Above Self" mission of Rotary at our District website: http://www.rotary7610.org/.
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