For people with serious mental health challenges, addictions, and long histories of homelessness, for those recently displaced by a job loss, health setback, or family crisis, Friendship Place addresses the immediate needs: showers, meals, basic needs, blankets, healthcare, and more. But the end goal is getting people out of homelessness and into stable, permanent housing. In 2020 they served 418 families and 2,246 individuals, along with 661 veterans, 606 children, and 231 youth. Operating out of eight different sites, programs include street outreach to adults and youth, drop-in services, free medical and psychiatric care, transitional shelter, permanent supportive housing for individuals and families, job placement, homelessness prevention, rapid rehousing, and specialized services for Veterans and their families. Friendship Place ended or prevented homelessness for 2,664 people in 2020. Shouldn't shelter be a human right?

Headquarters: DC-Ward 3

Where They Operate: DC-Citywide; DC-Ward 1; DC-Ward 2; DC-Ward 3; DC-Ward 4; DC-Ward 5; DC-Ward 6; DC-Ward 7; DC-Ward 8; MD-Montgomery County; MD-Prince George's County; MD-Frederick County; VA-Arlington County; VA-Fairfax County; VA-Loudoun County; VA-Prince William County; VA-City of Alexandria; VA-City of Fairfax; VA-City of Falls Church; Street outreach, drop-in and job placement in upper NW DC (although our job placement program works with clients and employers throughout the region); Housing services throughout DC; Veterans services throughout Metro Area

Age Groups Served: All

Ethnic Groups Served: African American; Asian American; Caucasian; Latino/Hispanic

Population(s) Served: All


  • Number of people (clients, patrons, students, etc) we serve annually:   2600

Awards & Recognition

2010 -- Meyer Foundation Exponent Award for Visionary Nonprofit Leadership (to our Executive Director)
2013 and 2014 -- Awarded Mentor Status by U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs for our Veterans Services
2014 -- The Community Partnership for the Prevention of Homelessness 25th Anniversary Award for Outstanding Services to Homeless Adults
2015 -- National Association of Workforce Development Professionals Leadership Award (to the Director of our job placement program, for the program's innovations in the field of employment services for people experiencing homelessness)

Press

  • On D.C. Streets, the Cellphone as Lifeline
    Wed Mar 25 2009  
    The Post's front-page article illustrates how cellphone technology helps homeless people stay connected with society and reverse the downward spiral of homelessness. As the article pointed out, however, most homeless people do not have cellphones. For them, social service agencies such as Community Council for the Homeless at Friendship Place, located in Tenleytown, are a lifeline. Friendship Place receives mail and takes phone messages for people who are homeless. And we give people the option of participating in Community Voice Mail, a nationwide nonprofit service that offers service through 19 locations in the District. Through CVM, 20 clients of Friendship Place have their own free voice mail, to which they have access from any phone. This provides a valuable link to employers, medical care, and families for those who can't even afford pay-as-you-go phones.
    connect here

Budget (FY2023)

  • The current budget for Friendship Place is: $3 million or higher
  • $1 million to $3 million
  • $500k to $1 million
  • Less than $500k

Catalogue charities range in size from $100,000 to $3 million. This graphic indicates the budget range of the organization featured here. If you see an organizational budget above the $3 million mark, that is because the featured charity has grown in size since it first appeared in the Catalogue. We proudly present on our website the work of these "growth" charities.

About Spur Local

Each year 150+ community advocates review applicants on the basis of governance, equity, and impact. Each featured nonprofit has been successfully site visited and its financials given the thumbs up. Spur Local charges no fees and raises funds separately to support its work. Since 2003, it has raised over $57 million for nonprofits across the Greater Washington region.

Spur Local looks to friends like you to keep our services independent and entirely free of charge. Consider a small contribution to Spur Local to cap off your gift and help the causes you care about get the full support they deserve!

If you like Friendship Place you might also like



This organization collaborates with