FEATURE: Meet Revati Joshi, Drop-in Center Event Coordinator for CFLS

SOURCE: University of Virginia

I had the utmost pleasure to reconnect with the Community Family Life Services (CFLS), a homeless outreach organization located in the heart of Washington DC, this past summer to talk about working together once again with my non-profit homeless outreach organization called Purses for a Purpose, Inc. At first, I noticed that it wasn’t my original contact who I had worked alongside last Thanksgiving, but a new person had just taken over, quite literally starting less than a month ago. Introducing my interviewee, the compassionate and motivated, Revati (Reva) Joshi, the Drop-in Center Event Coordinator for CFLS.

        A recent graduate from the University of Virginia with a passion for volunteering and giving back to those who need it, Reva created an individualized course of study that she referred to as Interdisciplinary Studies. Additionally, throughout her life, she told me there was a strong interest and passion to volunteer with kids from all different backgrounds. This highlights Reva’s character of her passion and drive to work within the non-profit sector, specifically within an organization that works to combat the homeless crisis.

Reva informed me that she was drawn to CFLS for its organized and efficient one-stop-shop model. Essentially, the E Street NW location is the drop-in center that consists of food, clothing, diapers, housing, employment, and parenting classes to make immediate relief accessible all in one place. Here, she serves as the events coordinator who manages the clothing closet and immediate crisis help. Moreover, she is the primary coordinator for a few major events hosted by the non-profit including, but not limited to, a Thanksgiving Drive (with which Purses for a Purpose is partnering), a Holiday Drive, and, most recently, a Back to School Bash, on top of establishing partnerships with donors and fundraising for these events. As she just recently got hired for this position, she doesn’t have a definitive daily work routine set in motion yet but informed me that as the holiday season gets closer, the busier she will be. For now, Reva says that she has learned her position by completing different tasks, telling me that her main takeaway from the clients she serves is that they do appreciate the in-house model.

          In conclusion, I enjoyed learning more about Reva’s story starting from being a regular volunteer to a present-day drop-in center coordinator for CFLS. In addition, this interview and subsequent analysis made me feel more impassioned to continue my work within the homeless outreach sector to hopefully have the chance to make my non-profit organization as recognizable as DC’s Community Family Life Services.