This week, we are wrapping up our Celebrating 45 years of service series! From 2021 to today, Doorways has gone from being in the throes of the COVID pandemic, where flexible, in-the-moment response was key, to looking toward our future and positioning Doorways to best serve ongoing client needs. Join us for our next chapter!

Despite still being in the height of the COVID pandemic, in 2021, after many years of planning and coordination with our partners, Doorways' 24-hour hotline launched the Lethality Assessment Protocol (LAP) in partnership with the Arlington County Police Department. LAP enables police officers and the advocates at Doorways to work together as equal partners to engage survivors.

That year, 80 adults and children escaped abuse to safe harbor in our Domestic Violence Safehouse and Safe Apartments, a record high for Doorways.

"During the pandemic, our doors stayed open, and while others went home, our shelters operated up to and above 120% capacity throughout the longest year," said Diana Ortiz, M.Ed., LPC, Doorways' President and CEO. "Our team is exhausted. They have been serving on the frontlines of two crises simultaneously: COVID and increasing, more severe and lethal domestic and sexual violence."

In fall 2021, Doorways was selected to receive a $2.5 million grant from the Bezos Day 1 Families Fund—the largest private grant in Doorways' history. This one-time grant will allow Doorways to increase its capacity to provide high-quality, low-barrier shelter to families and double the number of families they transition to housing.

In early 2022, Doorways embarked upon a six-month strategic planning process to shape our strategic plan for fiscal years 2023 to 2025. Our goal was to build on the strong foundation Doorways established over the first 45 years and to shape the organization moving forward.

The Bezos Day 1 Families Fund grant coincides with Doorways' strategic priority to determine the ideal model for sheltering families with complex needs, including survivors of domestic violence. This grant will help Doorways bring this vision to life. 

In fiscal year 2022, 107 adults and children escaped abuse to safe harbor in Doorways' Domestic Violence Safehouse and Safe Apartments, another record high throughout Doorways' history. See this chart and more in the Arlington Continuum of Care's fiscal year 2022 annual report.

Today

We are on track to break records yet again this year: Doorways' Safehouse operated at more than 200% capacity during the first three months of fiscal year 2023, sheltering 61 survivors experiencing homelessness—more than half of the total number sheltered all of last fiscal year (107 survivors)​.

This ongoing trend reinforces the direction of our strategic plan, which includes the goal of establishing sustainable safehousing (emergency shelter) solutions that meet the needs of the increasing number of survivors experiencing homelessness in our community.​ As Arlington's only provider of emergency shelter for survivors and their families who are experiencing homelessness, Doorways must expand its capacity to provide safehousing. 

Looking forward

In 2024, we will be to transfer Family Home shelter space to our safehousing program for survivors experiencing homelessness​. Doorways plans to maintain the same total number of shelter beds, transferring our current shelter capacity to the area where we are facing the highest demand year over year: survivors and their families experiencing homelessness​. We will serve the same total number of clients as now, and likely more, as the number of survivors in need of emergency shelter continues to grow.

See the details of these and more important moments in Doorways' history in our 2022 annual report!

Be part of Doorways' next chapter

Save the date for Doorways' Open Hearts, Open Doors event on October 26th!

This series is inspired by our partner PathForward's series marking their 30th anniversary this spring; the idea is used with their permission.

RMD? QCD? Count us IN!

If you are 70½ years old or older, you can take advantage of a simple, tax-advantaged way to support Doorways -- an IRA Charitable Rollover. You can give any amount up to $100,000 from your traditional IRA directly to a qualified charity, like Doorways, without having to pay income taxes on the money. The charitable rollover does not generate taxable income nor does it result in a charitable income tax deduction, so you can benefit even if you do not itemize your deductions. If you are 72 years old and have not yet taken your required minimum distribution for the year, your gift can satisfy all or part of that requirement.

Note: The SECURE Act, passed into law in December 2019, raised the age at which you must start distributions from 70½ to 72, but IRA rollovers to charities are still permitted at age 70½!

Please contact Joy Myers, Chief Development Officer, at (703) 504-9290 or [email protected] for more information on this smart giving strategy!

Deliver or send critical supplies for our clients

Contact Ashley Stewart at 703-504-9271 or [email protected] to schedule a donation drop-off during Drive-Thru Deeds on Fridays from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. to drop off your donations. Alternatively, you can ship a gift directly to Doorways via our Amazon Wish List!

This week, urgent needs include:

• Gift Cards (Target or VISA)
• Trash Bags
• Fidget/Sensory Toys (see list)
• Books (see list)
• Cookware Sets*
• Full-Size Comforters*

*For families moving out of shelter into new homes of their own!

Save the date — Open Hearts, Open Doors is October 26th!