Helping those in need

For a second year, the Kiwanis Club of South Arlington used one of its meetings to help feed those in need.

Club members partnered with PathForward, an Arlington social-safety-net organization, to create bagged lunches that would be handed out to those in need. The event took place June 26, 2025.

The initiative is part of a broader effort by Washington Workplace to support PathForward, formerly known as the Arlington Street People’s Assistance Network. Washington Workplace’s CEO, John Murphy, is a member of the Kiwanis Club of South Arlington and serves as its membership director.

Club members gathered to prepare turkey-and-cheese sandwiches and to bag them along with other food to support those experiencing homelessness across the community. Staff from PathForward then collected them for delivery.

From 2024 to 2025, Arlington saw a 12% uptick in homelessness as reported by the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments’ annual point-in-time survey.

The annual count is conducted in January, and includes both those housed in shelters and those living on the streets.

Across the Washington region, the count found there were 9,659 individuals identified as literally homeless. That was a decline of 115, or about 1%, from a year before.

A decline of those counted as homeless in the District of Columbia was responsible for the regional drop. In the Northern Virginia suburbs, increases were posted in Fairfax and Prince William counties, while in suburban Maryland, a large increase was reported in Montgomery County.

For information on regional efforts to combat homelessness, see the Council of Governments’ video at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0O1Uqecjolc.