On Thursday, January 31st, Tommy gave the keynote speech at the Homeless Women Annual Awards Ceremony which was held at the Goethe Institute. The Dinner Program for Homeless Women (DPHW) began in 1979 as a grassroots response to the first major wave of homelessness occurring on the streets of downtown Washington, DC.  Besides providing meals, the Dinner Program sought to specifically address the lack of safe places for homeless women during their vulnerable evening hours. 

Over time, DPHW incorporated supplemental social services that attended to their clients’ many needs and addressed the root causes of their homelessness.  In 1998, they began serving morning meals to homeless men as well as women, and in 2007, they introduced more formalized case management and educational programming for both women and men.

Erika Barry, DPHW’s executive director opened the ceremony by giving a short welcome to all attendees and volunteers. Then Reverend David Bowers, Vice Chair of DPHW’s Board of Directors emceed the rest of the program. Rev. Bowers gave opening remarks and then introduced Tommy. During this introduction, Rev. Bowers presented Tommy with the first annual “Leadership in Community Change” award on behalf of DPHW.

At this point, Tommy gave his keynote address, which touched on his involvement with social services and why he is proud to be associated with programs such as DPHW.
After his address, former participants of the program took over and began the presentation of the 2007 Honorees. DPHW gave out 22 special awards to supporters that have exhibited tremendous dedication to their mission. This list included individual volunteers, volunteer groups, in-kind donors, major fundraising partners, partner service providers, school groups, and foundations.

If you or someone you know would like to volunteer at DPHW please contact Heather Prince Doss, Volunteer and Community Resources Manager at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it or 202-737-9311 extension 504.