It has been a very tough few months.  The economic crisis has affected everyone, and it won’t be ending soon.

       Yet, the women and children at House of Ruth – who know all too well about living with fear and uncertainty – teach us an important lesson.  When times are hard, you have to take a deep breath and press on.

       And that is just what we’re doing at House of Ruth.

       Right now, there are 300 women and 300 children counting on us to help them escape homelessness and abuse.  Our ability to help these courageous individuals is dependent on the financial support we receive from the community.  Year in and year out, in good times and bad, people in the community have reached out to the women and children at House of Ruth and helped them.  With their gifts, our donors have turned their compassion into concrete, effective action for women and children in need.  Please join this compassionate community who makes House of Ruth’s effective work possible and touch hundreds of lives with your gift.

       In these challenging times, you can count on House of Ruth to be fiercely dedicated to the women and children … to use your gift wisely to provide services and supports that are proven effective … to closely monitor results, so we are sure the women and children are building the skills and capabilities they need.  And you can count on us to keep trying to improve, because we never forget that the lives and futures of the 600 women and children at House of Ruth today are in our hands

Who We Serve:

       House of Ruth helps women, children and families in greatest need and with very limited resources to build safe, stable lives and achieve their highest potential.  We serve women, children and families who are striving to overcome domestic violence, homelessness, mental health disorders and substance abuse.  Underlying their problems is the women’s experience of lifelong neglect and abuse. Not every little girl who is abused grows up to be homeless and a victim of domestic violence, with mental health and/or addiction problems.  However, the reverse is true. At House of Ruth, 100% of the women we serve are survivors of abuse and neglect in childhood, followed by a lack of positive, supportive relationships in adulthood, as well as a high incidence of domestic violence.  At our 13 locations in Washington, DC, House of Ruth works with more than 300 women and 300 children every day.

How We Help:

       Recognizing that complex trauma is at the heart of the many serious challenges facing the women and children who we serve, House of Ruth uses trauma-specific interventions to facilitate their healing and growth. House of Ruth is much more than a collection of "shelters" for "homeless or battered women and families."  Rather, we provide an array of trauma recovery programs, providing nurturing, structured, safe housing and caring, consistent and individualized services.

       The women and children at House of Ruth are remarkably courageous and resilient. We capitalize on these strengths, while addressing the full array of their needs. We also continually evaluate the progress the women and children are making, to be sure that the services we are providing are effective.

How You Can Help:

       More than 25,000 individuals and organizations are partners in House of Ruth's programs and services. Their financial contributions enable us to go beyond meeting basic needs to provide trauma-specific, comprehensive services that allow women and children to heal, change and grow in lasting ways. Government grants and contracts – which we must compete for every year – provide only about half of our $8 million annual budget. All the rest comes from individuals and organizations in the community who recognize that giving to House of Ruth is the best way to help women and children who are homeless and abused.

       If you are already one of our generous friends, thank you! If you are not yet a donor, please read on to learn more about us. We firmly believe that if you want to help women and children who are homeless and abused, there is no better place to invest than House of Ruth. And there is no better time to give than now, when the most vulnerable people in our community are facing even greater odds. Please become a partner in our work with your gift!

Mission Statement:

       House of Ruth helps women, children and families in greatest need and with very limited resources build safe, stable lives and achieve their highest potential. We serve women, children and families who are striving to overcome childhood trauma, domestic violence, homelessness, mental health disorders and substance abuse. House of Ruth provides nurturing, structured, safe housing and caring, consistent, individualized services in order to capitalize on the participants’ strengths such as courage and resiliency.

Guiding Principles:

       House of Ruth's programs and services are focused on creating and sustaining positive change for the women, children and families we serve. Our guiding principles are to:

• Establish an ongoing therapeutic relationship with each woman and child in order to make positive change possible.
  
• Interactions are caring, consistent, respectful and responsive.
• Support every participant and capitalize on their strengths to achieve their individualized outcomes: stable housing, trauma recovery, mental health, addiction recovery, employment and abuse-free relationships.
• Develop the most effective interventions and carry them out with the highest ethical standards.
• Provide an environment that is nurturing, consistent, structured and safe.
• Attract, develop and retain proficient, skilled and supportive staff.
• Serve as a conduit for caring members of the community to effectively assist women, children and families who are homeless and abused.
• Exercise excellent stewardship of and accountability for private donations and public funds.
• Maintain our financial stability and cost-efficiency. 
• Sustain an unwavering focus on our mission, principles and vision and the women, children and families who we serve.

Vision Statement:

       House of Ruth's vision is to enable the largest number of people we serve to achieve trauma recovery, stable housing, mental health, addiction recovery, employment and abuse-free relationships. To achieve this vision, House of Ruth will:

• Seek continuous improvement by identifying and incorporating proven interventions and employing staff and clinicians with specialized skills.
  
• Achieve measurable success by identifying and employing strategies to fully engage participants in the positive change process.
  
• Increase staff's effectiveness in consistently using proven interventions.

House of Ruth is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization.
Donations are tax-deductible to the full extent of the law.
Our Federal Tax ID number is 52-1054102.