Washington, DC - On Saturday June 18, 2005, from 8:00am to 2:00pm, the DC Department of Human Services (DHS), the DHS/Faith-Based Partnership & Advisory Board, the DC Housing Authority and other government services agencies, will join more than 250 ethnically diverse faith-based volunteers to kick-off a beautification project at Benning Terrace, a DC community known for crime and violence. Benning Terrace is located at 4450 G Street, SE.

The “Lift Your Own Boat” Beautification Day Project, the first in a series of 10 events planned throughout the city through October 2005, aims to uplift and improve the lives of DC residents
 in targeted, high crime areas and other areas. Project coordinators hope to achieve this by providing residents with information regarding critical government services and providing better access to services and opportunities that can improve residents’ quality of life. The 260 faith based volunteers and Benning Terrace residents will also carry out such beautification tasks as grass cutting, trash removal, painting benches, planting flowers, mopping entrances, and installing light bulbs.

“We have not penetrated the residents of our most disadvantaged communities as well as we would like to but linking up with the faith-based community will increase our outreach efforts tremendously,” said DHS Director Yvonne Gilchrist. “The plan is to set this up as a model in Benning Terrace and a few other communities, and then take this model of faith-based/government approach to other troubled areas of Washington, DC.”

The DHS/Faith Based Partnership & Advisory Board is a conglomerate of faith entities from across the city representing a wide diversity and made up of numerous cultures and faiths, including approximately 50 Christian faith entities, Muslims, and Scientologists. The Mormon Church of Latter Day Saints is sending over 130 volunteers for this event.

“Faith means nothing unless it is used to uplift someone in need,” said Bishop Carlos Harvin, Pastor of DC’s Imani Temple and advisory board executive chairman. “As people of faith, we
can become a bridge between people and government. We plan to be an ongoing integral part of the DHS effort. We will go door-to-door to provide outreach for these events, provide spiritual encouragement, and serve as a conduit for the services many residents need.”

The faith-based community providing donations so that each participating household will receive one bag of cleaning products and a free bag(s) of groceries, according to household size, for this Saturday’s event.

Gilchrist says she hopes to see this project replicated in other areas of the city plagued by similar incidents of violence, crime and blight but also sees it as a potential national endeavor.

“The plan is to set this up as a model in Benning Terrace and a few other communities and then take this model of faith-based government approach to other troubled areas of Washington, DC,” said Gilchrist. “If we can uplift the residents by empowering them and helping them to beautify their communities then we can turn these communities around and if it works here it can work in cities across the country.”