Part Two

Our group has two main focuses that intertwine into one. They are the issues of homelessness and its effects on the local area of Fairfax, and the raising of awareness of the earlier issue. We feel that the community does not have a full grasp of how big the issue stretches right here in our very city. FACETS have been able to decrease the number of homeless in Fairfax this year. From 2008 to 2009 respectively they counted 1,835 people to 1,730 homeless this year.

FACETS goal is to assist the homeless into a better living situation and out of their poverty stricken lives. They educate and allow people to feel empowered by creating their own improvements. This year FACETS assisted over four thousand people into a better life. The direct effect of their work touches the homeless that they help, but at the same time assists the common taxpayers. It benefits everyone in Fairfax and in its proximity as well by alleviating the monetary dependencies that the homeless may have on the government. FACETS tries to reconnect the impoverished people with family members and friends in the area. If you visit FACETS website you can read more on some of the stories http://facetscares.org/about_us/success_stories.htm. One quick brief of a story was of two children named Asma and Jarod, they lost their father, two of six children, no money, and FACETS has set up a competitive scholarship to allow the children to go to George Mason upon an A/B standing throughout high school. FACETS is making real connections that people can build a meaningful life off of.

There are a few barriers we want to overcome with helping the homeless, the first, of course, is money. As with anything money is the deciding factor of whether or not a project is put into action. But FACETS has plenty of fund raisers and other charitable events for that. Next will come the man power which is where our group is going to come in. We are taking the reins on one of the projects available right now, it is to educate and hold our own booth at the November Fairfax Walk-a-thon. We also have been and will be participating in many other volunteer positions throughout the semester building up to our final educational project. As of current events, FACETS has been successful in helping and meeting the criteria and needs of the impoverished. In 2008 FACETS was able to prepare and deliver over 35,000 nutritional meals and serve them at an average of 93 meals per night. They served over 100 families in a night. If you want more information on FACETS community impacts feel free to visit their website, http://www.facetscares.org/about_us/community_impact.htm. The success of FACETS is unmatched in Fairfax; they are the premiere non-profit organization addressing the issues of homelessness and explains why we chose them as our sponsor.

Our main contact for this project is going to be Ilana’s internship sponsor, Carrie Idol. She will extend to us the resources of FACETS; our capabilities will only be limited due to the resources extended to us. As long as we can have a venue, our group will be successful in expressing our message. The strengths of Fairfax that our group can build on exist within the organizations already doing the work. There are three churches doing meals nightly for the homeless, and there are other known establishments in which someone can sleep with a roof over their head for the night. This may not directly change someone over night and make them turn the corner, but it is a start, and lets the homeless know that someone somewhere cares, and that they themselves are not alone. This is a mission of ours, and the vision is something that FACETS itself holds.