September Developments
"Regarding the Un-regarded"
Friends,

Shana Tova! Happy New Year. I enter this season with wary optimism and somber reflection on the past year and what awaits. I am proud of all Yachad has accomplished, particularly under the difficult circumstances of the last year and a half. Even so, it is important that we go out of our way to see all that remains to be done, b’Yachad (together).

To see is the operative word. During Rosh Hashanah, the new year holiday we recently observed, we read two stories on the theme of “seeing.”
 
First, there is the story of Sarah and Abraham and their actions to cast Hagar and her son Ishmael into the wilderness with no food and water. God hears Hagar’s cries and opens her eyes. She sees a well of water lets the boy drink. Hagar names God, The God who “sees.” The second story is about about Abraham’s failure to see the lamb caught in the thicket until the very last moment as he prepares to sacrifice his son Isaac. God opens Abraham’s eyes, and Abraham sees the lamb and sacrifices it instead. Rabbi Shai Held refers to this as God “regarding the un-regarded.”1 God opened Hagar’s and Abraham’s eyes and it was lifesaving.
 
Yachad’s work is eye-opening, and certainly life-altering, too.
Our partnership with Children’s National Hospital aims to improve substandard housing conditions that affect children’s health — specifically serious and potentially deadly asthma. This program conducts tele-health and housing virtual visits using smartphones to identify serious housing issues that trigger asthma attacks. Virtual visits offer a unique and eye-opening way to, yes, see the work that needs to be done. During these visits, we see, hear and understand a family’s living conditions. We have a new view into the lives of hundreds of children and their families. Since our program began we have conducted over 140 virtual home visits, providing services to children and their families. We see mice running through a family’s kitchen, water damage and mold from leaking roofs and windows, crowded living conditions, peeling paint that might contain lead and more. These are intolerable conditions, and our mission is to eliminate them from these families’ homes. 

This ability to see was not as easily available before virtual inspections. Now it is. We see even more clearly what needs to be done. We are providing swifter remedies and attracting more interest in our work from public and private funders. We’re improving our ability to see the challenges that too many of our neighbors are facing, and we’re taking extraordinary and concrete steps to ameliorate them.
 
We value your partnership in this effort.
 
Shana Tovah,
Audrey Lyon
Executive Director
 
1Rabbi Shai Held, Heart of Torah, Volume 1, “Isaac’s Search.”
Homeowner Spotlight
Dionne White has worked tirelessly to keep up with the repairs of her aging home. But ongoing roof leaks created conditions that exacerbated her family's asthma.

Read the whole story of how Yachad's partnership with Children's National Hospital and supported by the Fannie Mae Sustainable Communities program is helping this four-generational Washington family breathe easier.

Thank You Sukkot in Spring (Fall) Sponsors
With synagogues and corporate sponsors by our side, we can do more for families in need of home remediation this fall. Financial support from our sponsors is essential to cover some of the costs of repairs to roofs, plumbing, flooring, and electrical.

To date we have raised $18,300. It's not too late to join Yachad's work as a community partner.

Adas Israel Congregation
Adat Shalom Congregation
Agudas Achim Congregation
EJF Real Estate
Goldfarb & Associates
Hill Havurah
Machar
National Cooperative Bank
Temple Micah

Contact us to learn how to become a sponsor. We make it easy to do good.
202-296-8563 | www.yachad-dc.org