The Observer Newspapers | Reston Interfaith Dedicates 39th House

June 19, 2009

Reston Interfaith Dedicates 39th House

By Leslie Perales

Observer Staff Writer

Community and business leaders gathered Tuesday morning to dedicate Reston Interfaith's 39th house for the benefit of the community, and soon a family in need will move in and make it a home.

During the townhouse dedication Rodney Merril, originally from Saginaw, Mich., spoke about his experience with Reston Interfaith. While living in Michigan he was usually the one offering the helping hand at his job in social services. Though he and his wife had lived in the Northern Virginia area before, they decided to move back in October after facing Michigan's bleak economy and a rising unemployment rate.

After moving back to the Prince William County area Merril was unable to find a job, because he could not find affordable daycare services for his young daughter. Soon, he and his wife and their two children were living out of a van. After his wife found a job in Reston a coworker told her about Reston Interfaith. "I had never heard of this organization," Merril said.

Reston Interfaith helped the family by providing "wrap-around" services, welcoming Merril's youngest child at the Laurel Learning Center and helping the family move into one of the organization's townhouses on June 1. Merril said the community came together to help him and his family get back on their feet.

"Thank you," Merril said to the community supporters at the dedication. "You couldn't be supporting a more worthwhile organization. I am a living witness that this organization is gettin' Ôer done." Now that his daughters are being taken care of and have a home Merril has found a job and he and his wife are working toward getting their family back to normal. Through tears, he said he hopes the community will continue to support the efforts of Reston Interfaith.

Kerrie Wilson, CEO of Reston Interfaith, thanked all of the community supporters, including the Greater Reston Chamber of Commerce, Northrop Grumman, Freddie Mac Foundation and community leaders for their continued contributions. Ralph Boyd, president and CEO of Freddie Mac Foundation, said events like the dedication highlight why his organization works so hard to maintain their commitments. "I am almost tearfully happy to be here," he said.

Boyd said creating healthy families and tending to their needs means finding them stable housing first so they can work on being healthy in other ways. He said he is also grateful for the work of Rep. Jim Moran (D-8) and Hunter Mill district Supervisor Cathy Hudgins and the steps they are taking to try to help end homelessness in Fairfax County.

Wilson said she is thankful that GRCC has worked hard over the years to be a voice for Reston Interfaith and get other community businesses involved. She said she is happy to have their partnership in Best of Reston, which brought in nearly $300,000 at this year's annual gala.

Lynn Gilmore, director of community affairs at Northrop Grumman, said she did not understand what Reston Interfaith and Best of Reston was all about at first, but after working to help organize the event, she is happy to be able to offer support to the organization.

Moran said the heart and soul of America is its families and they all need homes. He said it is important for families to have a stable home and not have to constantly worry about how long they have before they will be evicted. He said he was thankful to see the entire community come together to take care of each other.

Hudgins said although the county had to change the 2010 budget, the board of supervisors will continue to look for other solutions. She said the economy and the county needs people to be able to contribute to the economy by working and one of the top solutions is combating homelessness.