Research on Wander Alston Foundation

Research on Wander Alston Foundation

Interview Activity

The interview during the research activity was conducted with Brian Watson, the Executive director of the Wanda Alston Foundation Inc.

Description of the Program Offered

The Wanda Alston House is certainly the first and the only housing program located in the Washington D.C. The Foundation is exclusively dedicated to provide the pre independent living facilities to the young homeless GLBTQ that range from the ages between 16 and 24. The skills counselor is assigned to every young person who works on daily basis to provide the employment/vocational training, housing and other issues. The young person is given a separate room in this regard and they are told to share it with an Advocate. They are the people who have a large amount of experience in dealing with the youth problems (Wendy, 2011).

The nature and breadth of sources covers extensive information related to the services provided by the Wanda Alston House. The Wanda Alston House has prepared different schemes in order to facilitate the youth. The first scheme has a title “Transitional Housing for LGBTQ for Youth”. The services provided under this scheme are mentioned in the following paragraphs:

The long term transitional housing covering up the period of 18 years or even more.

The proper strategy for Case Management.

The educational guidance and support with the help of useful materials.

Job training and guidance.

Supportive Service Referrals.

The second scheme is related to the Capacity Building Assistance. The Capacity Building Assistance has its own value because it consists of all the resources needed for the LGBT Community. There are numerous funding sources for the Wanda Alston House that includes the charity, donations, grant from various sources etc. The aspect of funding carries immense value for the Wanda Alston House because it is a financial requirement to cover the needs of the young people. The staffing of the workers is also a vital aspect because they are the people who provide the services to the affected youth. The staffing needs is fulfilled with the help of the US Government and some other organizations that includes Casa Ruby, US Helping and US Staffing. They have the list of professional workers who can help in the organization services. The qualification requirement of the workers is that they need to have college degree. The qualification of the Executive Director, Brian Watson is that he has a college degree. Some of the volunteers are also working in the organization that is helping the major staff in executing their work in the best possible manner. There are many educational programs along with the career counseling advice that is also a vital need of the young people. The life skills programs and advocacy programs are an important requirement for the young people as well. This is the reason why they are offered to them that can certainly help them in their life. The professional staff has high responsibility to look after the young people in a proper ...