Advocacy & Social Justice

SOME’s Advocacy & Social Justice Programs address the shocking prevalence of homelessness and poverty in the capital of the wealthiest nation on earth.

• One in five D.C. residents is poor. For a family of four, this means living on less than $20,400 a year.
• At least 10,000 people in D.C. are homeless at any given time.
• An estimated 35,000 D.C. children suffer from hunger or risk of hunger.

What We Do

While SOME's direct service programs meet daily needs, our Advocacy Program focuses on long-term solutions. These require community education and participation. Working with our volunteer Advocacy Network, other organizations and SOME's program staff and clients, we engage policymakers to better serve the needs of D.C. residents living in poverty.

Through our Social Justice Program, we seek to foster effective and humane responses to homelessness and poverty in our community by educating public officials, school and community groups, and SOME's own volunteers and staff. We provide tools and other resources to encourage volunteering, exploration of the issues, and advocacy.

What You Can Do

Changing public policies is not something any organization can achieve alone. Public officials have to hear from concerned citizens like you. Please join our efforts by signing up for our Advocacy Network.

Do you want to do more to be part of the solution? We have additional suggestions for what you can do to shape public policy and, in other ways, make life better for homeless and other poor people.

Contact Us

The Advocacy & Social Justice Department is eager to answer your questions and to partner with you to achieve long-term solutions to the problems of poverty and homelessness in the nation’s capital.  We also welcome suggestions for improving our program and our website. You can reach us at advocacy@some.org or 202-797-8806, extension 2107.