Service Spotlight: Teens Opposing Poverty

David Williams spent over a decade on the streets of DC before becoming director of the DC Outreach of Teens Opposing Poverty (TOP). He says his past has enabled him to have a better understanding of those less fortunate.
TOP is a nonprofit organization based in Berryville, Va. that has been leading youth groups on outreaches to the homeless in DC for more than 25 years. TOP provided Williams with food and clothing while he was homeless. Over time, Williams developed a special bond with Executive Director Steve Jennings, and Jennings offered him a job as the outreach coordinator.
In 2011 TOP served approximately 11,500 meals to over 4,000 homeless and low-income people. TOP has also distributed backpacks, sleeping bags, toiletries, and other essential items, according to the organization’s press release.
Jennings has observed that a significant number of people TOP serves would benefit from the resources offered by service providers, but they don’t take advantage of them for a variety of reasons—some suffer with mental illness or discomfort with social situations, others have had bad experiences with outreach programs, and many just don’t like going somewhere new.
TOP’s goal is to expand Williams’s hours so he can reach out to these people, Jennings said. TOP plans to provide transportation for them, and if necessary, Williams will go with them to a facility and walk them through the registration process.
“I only want someone who has been on the streets to direct our DC outreach. [Williams’s] ‘street smarts’ are essential to maintaining order and safety in what can be a dynamic situation among homeless populations in DC. He maintains a level of awareness that people without that life experience may lack,” Jennings said.