Community Services Agency of the Metropolitan Washington Council AFL-CIO

Working family support programs to help workers attain economic self-sufficiency, including emergency financial assistance, lay-off/job search assistance, pre-apprenticeship training, support for unions/their members and community change activities.

Why do we exist?

The Community Services Agency of the Metropolitan Washington Council, AFL-CIO (CSA) exists to improve the lives of working families by meeting their human and social services needs; by building broad and diverse coalitions  to promote and protect dignity and justice for workers; and by empowering workers and their unions to make their communities better, more responsive places to live, work, raise a family and retire.

What have you accomplished?

Our agency assists annually 400 working families with emergency financial assistance.  We have recently assisted two women who had to take maternity leave with no health insurance coverage from their jobs.  Both had to take leave without pay, causing them to fall behind in their rent and utilities.  We were able to help them come current and avoid evictions and utility cut-offs until they were able to get back to work.
We have assisted 250 unemployed DC residents, including 40 women, to enter building and construction trades apprenticeship programs, which pay them while they learn and have moved them into living wage, family-sustaining jobs.

We have provided financial counseling classes to over 200 area workers, enabling them to stay out of financial trouble, better manage their finances and save for the future.

We have provided volunteers for many community projects including one in Ward 5’s Trinidad neighborhood as part of President Obama’s community service initiative where we helped do a neighborhood clean-up and distributed emergency resource info for renters, homeowners, and residents.

	How do you help people in my community?		Why do you need my support?
	How can I be sure that you will use my money wisely and won't waste it?		Can I Volunteer? How?