After 140 years of serving D.C.’s most vulnerable residents, a faith-based nonprofit is expanding into Northern Virginia with a new facility in South Arlington.
Central Union Mission hosted an open house at its new Mission: NOVA Center yesterday (Tuesday) at 5401 7th Road S., on the property of Greenbrier Baptist Church. Strategically located in a high-poverty, diverse area near Long Branch Nature Center, the facility aims to be a one-stop shop for those in need, offering a wide range of resources to help individuals and families regain stability.
The open house attracted dozens of community members eager to learn about the services available, which include meals, medical care, job training and legal aid for underserved populations. Attendees also had the opportunity to tour the facility, meet with staff, and sign up for programs such as ESL classes and job training workshops.
For much of its history, the organization — founded in 1884 — has primarily focused on D.C.
It operates a 170-bed men’s shelter near Union Station, a transitional home for men, and a family center on Bladensburg Road that serves about 5,000 people each month. The organization also runs a summer camp in Brookville, Maryland, for children from low-income families.
Last year, the nonprofit began exploring the idea of expanding into Northern Virginia, recognizing significant unmet needs in the area.
Central Union Mission President and CEO Joe Mettimano notes that the organization spent about six months scouting locations in Fairfax, Alexandria, Woodbridge and Loudoun County, looking for areas accessible to vulnerable groups and close to other nonprofits they could partner with.
Eventually, the nonprofit settled in the neighborhood of Forest Glen, primarily due to the surrounding area’s diversity and needs.
“So this area, which is in proximity to Bailey’s Crossroads, has one of the highest poverty rates in Northern Virginia. It’s also one of the most diverse,” he told ARLnow. “So we know that we are in the right place and accessible to a great population of people who need the very assistance we’re providing here.”
Last year, the nonprofit Community Foundation of Northern Virginia released a report revealing that nearly a third of families in Northern Virginia struggle to afford basic necessities and childcare.
South Arlington reported one of the highest levels of “income inadequacy,” with 52% of families struggling to afford essentials such as food, housing, medical care, and childcare. In contrast, only 15% of families in North Arlington face these challenges.
So far, Central Union Mission has partnered with several nonprofits, including Arlington Bridge Builders in Bailey’s Crossroads, Good Samaritan Advocates in Springfield and Capitol Hill Pregnancy Center in D.C. to help provide services.
“Those are three of the initial ones, and there are others that I can’t mention yet because I don’t have the agreement with them yet, but… there’s going to be a lot. I already have a number in the pipeline,” Mettimano said.
The nonprofit is still in the process of staffing the facility and hasn’t yet determined who or how many people will be walking through its doors. But Mettimano says he expects volunteers and staff will work closely with the region’s Hispanic population, many of whom, he notes, are living at or below the poverty line.
“There’s a lot of immigration in this area, but there’s also a struggle with jobs that pay a livable wage as well,” he said. “If you think about D.C. and the DMV in general, it’s a primarily the white collar area. So finding white collar jobs that pay a livable wage for a lot of people who… aren’t highly educated is a struggle.”
To address this, Central Union Mission plans to equip people with tools to help them compete in the job market, including improving their English proficiency, building stronger resumes, developing life skills and offering job training.
“There’s a variety of areas where we think folks can actually find jobs, and so we’re trying to come alongside them and and give them the skills that they need to get employment,” Mettimano said.
