Tag Archives: celebrations

Jul 27 2017
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Uncategorized, Updates on Anthony

Time to celebrate

Anthony is celebrating four years of housing tonight. As we’ve done the three previous years, we’re celebrating tonight at Rumors – it’s actually now called District Anchor. And not only are we celebrating the fact that Anthony has had a safe place to sleep and keep his belongings for the past four years, but it’s also his 60th birthday! Ok, so it’s actually Saturday, but we’re celebrating tonight.

Anthony turns 60 on July 29th.

If you are in the DC area, please stop by. We’ll be there from 5-8 and possibly later. It always draws an eclectic crowd. Even people who hardly know Anthony but have been touched by his story often stop by. It’s beautiful to watch.

If you are following along from some other part of the world, but want to wish Anthony well, please feel free to leave a comment here and I’ll be sure to pass the message along.

I’ll post some photos from the event later this week.

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Jul 29 2014
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Updates on Anthony

One Year Celebration for Anthony

Anthony’s life changed on July 15, 2013 when he received the keys to an apartment in the Columbia Heights neighborhood of Washington, DC. And while we celebrated that moment, we both knew that a hard road, possibly harder than the one we had just traveled, awaited us.

Anthony with friends at his one year celebration.

Anthony with friends at his one year celebration.

Recent numbers reported by David Berns of DC’s Department of Human Services show that 91% of people who were experiencing homelessness in the district and were rehoused remained in housing after one year. This gave me hope, but Anthony had been on and off the street for nearly 20 years. I was worried that he might be that one person out of ten that doesn’t make it.

Anthony and me at his celebration

Anthony and me

My worrying though was for nothing. Anthony worked hard to stay housed and we celebrated his one year anniversary on July 14th at Rumors – a restaurant across the street from where he has sold the Street Sense newspaper for the past nine years. About 40 people – friends, supporters, employees of local businesses, etc – showed up to celebrate with him. He didn’t stop smiling all night.

Today, July 29th, is Anthony’s 57th birthday. My wish for him today is that he stays housed and celebrates many more birthdays. Happy birthday Anthony!

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Jul 07 2014
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Updates on Anthony

Interviewing Anthony

Last week Anthony and I got together to talk with a reporter from Street Sense. They’re doing a story on the one-year anniversary of Anthony being housed. Pretty cool.

Anthony uses a personal hand-held battery-operated misting fan to stay cool - on his corner and on the 42 bus!

Anthony uses a personal hand-held battery-operated misting fan to stay cool – on his corner and on the 42 bus!

I got to Anthony’s corner at 19th and M earlier than we had agreed that day. We often meet at the Au Bon Pain next door, so I walked over there to see if he had slipped inside to escape the blistering sun. My intuition was right.

Sporting a broad smile and walking slightly better than the last time I saw him, Anthony was in good spirits. We boarded the 42 bus toward Metro Center and got off at 13th and H.

Stepping off the bus I saw some deep purple clouds forming above. “Did you bring an umbrella,” I asked Anthony. He smiled and not missing a beat quipped back, “Nope. Just a towel and a bar of soap.” Now we were both smiling.

We sat down with Sophie from Street Sense for the interview. We talked about how we got connected and a bit about the challenges of finding Anthony housing. I learned something new in the interview. No it wasn’t a new recipe from Anthony’s cooking repertoire, it was that he had been thinking about trying to finish his education and get his GED. I think that would be great if he wants to do that. He’ll need to work on his reading and writing (and probably arithmetic as well) though.

I’m taking him to the doctor on Wednesday, so I’ll have an update later this week. For those of you in DC, please join us on Monday, July 14th at 5:30pm at Rumors to celebrate Anthony’s one-year anniversary of securing housing.

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Jun 28 2014
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Updates on Anthony

Celebrating One Year of Housing


It was a little more than 18 months ago that Anthony and I were meeting at Au Bon Pain on 19th Street. It was one of our regular biweekly meetings that we have. I had asked him during the previous get-together to think about where he wanted to be in one year or five years. “Don’t answer me now,” I told him. “Think about it and we’ll talk about it when we meet next time.”

Anthony and me on Nov. 27, 2012 when we started on our journey to get Anthony housing.

Anthony and me on Nov. 27, 2012 when we started on our journey to get Anthony housing.

Two weeks went by. We sat down at our usual table; Anthony carefully accommodating the multiple bags of personal items that lugged around with him all day long. Before we had even taken the first bite of our lunch, Anthony said that he had been thinking about what we talked about the previous week.

“I’ve been out on the streets for too long. I’m 55 years Continue reading →

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