The Festival Center is excited to share with you information on our amazing partners and building tenants. The work that these organizations do impact our city, nation, and world.
Get Connected.
What is the mission of your organization?
The mission of Platform of Hope is to amplify the ability of families to define and pursue family success with the support of a platform of coordinated resources in a close knit, community experience.
What makes your work vital to Washington DC and the world?
At the Platform of Hope, we are modeling holistic, family-centered programming in response to the urgent need to identify and disrupt the economic, educational, health, etc disparities facing economically vulnerable families of color in Washington, DC and around the country. Uniquely, Platform of Hope partners with families to set their own goals, connect more deeply to their community and navigate systems of inequity. The POH model works with families to put them in the driver’s seat for identifying and pursuing their goals across the social determinants of health (housing, education, employment, etc) through monthly/bimonthly coaching. As an initiative founded, and with the continued partnership of anchor institutions like Jubilee Housing, Mary’s Center, Sitar Arts Center and Jubilee JumpStart, we are also uniquely positioned to support families across the different non-profit fields. In addition to coaching, we also provide workshops to build shared understanding on common topics of interest (mental health, home ownership, financial literacy) so that we support families on accomplishing their goals while bringing participants together to share their own experiences and build a peer support network (i.e. parenting class, racial equity workshop series). Our strategy is to a) counteract the power dynamic of traditional social services provision by having families self-direct their goals and plans, b) coordinate access to services through partners in order to eliminate barriers and c) seek long-term impact by focusing on the creation of strong social networks. Therefore, in addition to the workshops mentioned above, the Platform of Hope hosts our signature monthly Family Saturdays so that families – parents, children and teens- can come together and build relationships.
What is a recent accomplishment of your organization or what is something your organization is particularly proud of?
In September 2018, Platform of Hope launched its programming with an initial cohort of 20 families as part of Cohort “A” and a vision to serve 100 families over 5 years. As of December 2022, we are about to hit that target! In January 2023, we will be onboarding our fifth cohort “Cohort E” which means 100 families served since 2018– and despite the many challenges of the pandemic.
How can others get involved?
Email us! Or, check out our partner page (www.platformofhopedc.org/partner) to learn about opportunities to engage with us as a group or individual. And, be sure to follow us on our social media channels and join our email list here.
Why is having space at the Festival Center important for your organization?
Our program is all about connection and community– so having a space where we can be together and feel welcomed in our community is critical.
