Politics

Fauntroy’s Friends Lead Fundraising Drive

Published

9 years ago

March 31, 2015

Oakland Post

Walter Fauntroy

By Barrington M. Salmon
Special to the NNPA from the Washington Informer

WASHINGTON (NNPA) – Growing concern for the well-being of the Walter Fauntroy and his wife, Dorothy, has led a number of supporters and friends to rally around the couple in their time of need.

Fauntroy, 82, has been away in Dubai, the most populous city in the United Arab Emirates near the Persian Gulf, working on pulling together resources for some projects dear to his heart such as feeding the hungry, moving towards a green world and accomplishing world peace, said his lawyer Johnny Barnes.

Beginning March 25, Barnes said, the group, which includes E. Faye Williams of the National Congress of Black Women; Barry LeNoir of the National Black United Fund; Ward 8 Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner Keith Silver; radio personality and talk show host Joe Madison; the Rev. Dexter Nutall, pastor of New Bethel Baptist Church; and Denise Rolark Barnes, publisher of the Washington Informer; have led efforts to assist Fauntroy’s family.

“We’re raising money to pay off the mortgage on the home the Fauntroys have shared for the past half-century,” said [Johnny] Barnes, who is the couple’s personal attorney. “We’re starting to raise money. There will be a series of events not just in Washington but probably all over the country.

“We’re planning to raise funds beginning with a full-page ad in The Washington Informer. We’ll continue with the use of social media, electronic address books and so on. I’ve been very encouraged by the amount of support that we’ve received already. People have just been willing to help because he’s helped so many. His help was given at great personal sacrifice. He made a lot of money in his career but gave most of it away. He was always a source as a member of Congress. He made money speaking all over the country but used it for a necessary good. He didn’t plan for a future. Some would say that’s foolhardy. It’s a fabric we see but most can’t wear.”

Fauntroy is a civil rights legend, was a confidante of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and served as a key figure in the city’s quest for autonomy and voting rights. He helped organize the historic March on Washington in 1963 and was active in the Free South Africa and anti-apartheid protests in the 1980s. While serving as D.C.’s delegate to Congress, he also pastored at New Bethel Baptist Church for many years.

In recent months, concern for him has ratcheted up with questions swirling about his whereabouts as well as his mental state.

Fauntroy’s nephew, Michael Fauntroy, recently posted this on Facebook: “I want to thank the many, many people who have reached out to me and the family in genuine friendship and concern regarding recent reports concerning the health and welfare of Rev. Walter E. Fauntroy. My uncle is a man of great faith and determination. He is also a man that has done so much for so many for so long. Whatever circumstances he faces in the winter of his life, we are confident that his great work has created a wonderful legacy that many people appreciate.

“As anyone with an 82-year-old relative traveling alone would be, we are concerned about his well-being. While we are uncertain of his current whereabouts, we remain hopeful that he is well and will return soon to his beloved District of Columbia, the city of his birth and where he built a deep reservoir of good will through a lifetime of service. We ask for his many friends to pray for him and his safe return to the District.”

Attorney Barnes, Fauntroy’s former chief of staff when he served in Congress, said he’s in touch with Fauntroy and sought to dispel a number of the rumors.

“I have had a regular stream of communication with the congressman by email, sometimes every day, and sometimes by telephone,” he said. “He sounds like the congressman to me. I’ve heard the rumors like you do but I’m a lawyer not a mental health expert. He sounds like the congressman who I worked with for 15 years and have known for more than 30.”

There have also been queries about where Fauntroy currently resides.

“I believe with all sincerity that he’s in Dubai. He has represented to me his lawyer, and his wife that he’s there,” Barnes said. “I have received packages from DHL addressed there and I have sent him packages.”

Any income Fauntroy’s receiving is coming from his pension and gifts from friends, he said. Barnes said he’s seen and heard news stories about Fauntroy’s passport being revoked by the State Department and the issuance of a bench warrant in Prince George’s County for a $50,000 bounced check.

“Based upon the indicators I have, the suspension of passport is a rumor,” Barnes explained. “He’s had three different passports: diplomatic, official and personal. He has never said to me, ‘I don’t have a passport.’ On the strength of the rumors, I checked public no-fly lists and he’s not on any of this. Homeland security has a private list. I can’t imagine him being on that no fly list. I treat that as rumor.

“He has indicated on several occasions that he’s coming home and he’s changed his mind. I don’t believe that any potential trouble he might have with would stop him from coming home. He doesn’t fear arrest. He genuinely believes he can accomplish his projects where he is. He’s a dreamer. He lives his life with the faith of a mustard seed.”

###

Oakland Post

Posts by Oakland Post

Up Next

Broader Hiring Practices for Ex-Offenders Receive Bipartisan Support

Don't Miss

Two States Join Colorado as it Defends its Marijuana Law Against Suit

Oakland Post

Click to comment

Bay Area

MAYOR BREED ANNOUNCES $53 MILLION FEDERAL GRANT FOR SAN FRANCISCO’S HOMELESS PROGRAMS

San Francisco, CA – Mayor London N. Breed today announced that the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has awarded the city a $53.7 million grant to support efforts to renew and expand critical services and housing for people experiencing homelessness in San Francisco.

Published

5 days ago

April 20, 2024

Oakland Post

Mayor London Breed

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Wednesday, January 31, 2024

Contact: Mayor’s Office of Communications, mayorspressoffice@sfgov.org

***PRESS RELEASE***

MAYOR BREED ANNOUNCES $53 MILLION FEDERAL GRANT FOR SAN FRANCISCO’S HOMELESS PROGRAMS

HUD’s Continuum of Care grant will support the City’s range of critical services and programs, including permanent supportive housing, rapid re-housing, and improved access to housing for survivors of domestic violence

San Francisco, CA – Mayor London N. Breed today announced that the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has awarded the city a $53.7 million grant to support efforts to renew and expand critical services and housing for people experiencing homelessness in San Francisco.

HUD’s Continuum of Care (CoC) program is designed to support local programs with the goal of ending homelessness for individuals, families, and Transitional Age Youth.

This funding supports the city’s ongoing efforts that have helped more than 15,000 people exit homelessness since 2018 through City programs including direct housing placements and relocation assistance. During that time San Francisco has also increased housing slots by 50%. San Francisco has the most permanent supportive housing of any county in the Bay Area, and the second most slots per capita than any city in the country.

“In San Francisco, we have worked aggressively to increase housing, shelter, and services for people experiencing homelessness, and we are building on these efforts every day,” said Mayor London Breed. “Every day our encampment outreach workers are going out to bring people indoors and our City workers are connecting people to housing and shelter. This support from the federal government is critical and will allow us to serve people in need and address encampments in our neighborhoods.”

The funding towards supporting the renewal projects in San Francisco include financial support for a mix of permanent supportive housing, rapid re-housing, and transitional housing projects. In addition, the CoC award will support Coordinated Entry projects to centralize the City’s various efforts to address homelessness. This includes $2.1 million in funding for the Coordinated Entry system to improve access to housing for youth and survivors of domestic violence.

“This is a good day for San Francisco,” said Shireen McSpadden, executive director of the Department of Homelessness and Supportive Housing. “HUD’s Continuum of Care funding provides vital resources to a diversity of programs and projects that have helped people to stabilize in our community. This funding is a testament to our work and the work of our nonprofit partners.”

The 2024 Continuum of Care Renewal Awards Include:

$42.2 million for 29 renewal PSH projects that serve chronically homeless, veterans, and youth
$318,000 for one new PSH project, which will provide 98 affordable homes for low-income seniors in the Richmond District
$445,00 for one Transitional Housing (TH) project serving youth
$6.4 million dedicated to four Rapid Rehousing (RRH) projects that serve families, youth, and survivors of domestic violence
$750,00 for two Homeless Management Information System (HMIS) projects
$2.1 million for three Coordinated Entry projects that serve families, youth, chronically homeless, and survivors of domestic violence

In addition, the 2023 CoC Planning Grant, now increased to $1,500,000 from $1,250,000, was also approved. Planning grants are submitted non-competitively and may be used to carry out the duties of operating a CoC, such as system evaluation and planning, monitoring, project and system performance improvement, providing trainings, partner collaborations, and conducting the PIT Count.

“We are very appreciative of HUD’s support in fulfilling our funding request for these critically important projects for San Francisco that help so many people trying to exit homelessness,” said Del Seymour, co-chair of the Local Homeless Coordinating Board. “This funding will make a real difference to people seeking services and support in their journey out of homelessness.”

In comparison to last year’s competition, this represents a $770,000 increase in funding, due to a new PSH project that was funded, an increase in some unit type Fair Market Rents (FMRs) and the larger CoC Planning Grant. In a year where more projects had to compete nationally against other communities, this represents a significant increase.

Nationally, HUD awarded nearly $3.16 billion for over 7,000 local homeless housing and service programs including new projects and renewals across the United States.

Oakland Post

Posts by Oakland Post

Activism

Oakland Post: Week of April 17 – 23, 2024

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of April 17 – 23, 2024

Published

6 days ago

April 19, 2024

Oakland Post

To enlarge your view of this issue, use the slider, magnifying glass icon or full page icon in the lower right corner of the browser window.

Oakland Post

Posts by Oakland Post

Barbara Lee

Congresswoman Barbara Lee Issues Statement on Deaths of Humanitarian Aid Volunteers in Gaza 

On April 2, a day after an Israeli airstrike erroneously killed seven employees of World Central Kitchen (WCK), a humanitarian organization delivering aid in the Gaza Strip, a statement was release by Rep. Barbara Lee (D-CA-12). “This is a devastating and avoidable tragedy. My prayers go to the families and loved ones of the selfless members of the World Central Kitchen team whose lives were lost,” said Lee.

Published

1 week ago

April 17, 2024

Oakland Post

Congresswoman Barbara Lee

By California Black Media

“This is a devastating and avoidable tragedy. My prayers go to the families and loved ones of the selfless members of the World Central Kitchen team whose lives were lost,” said Lee.

The same day, it was confirmed by the organization that the humanitarian aid volunteers were killed in a strike carried out by Israel Defense Forces (IDF). Prior to the incident, members of the team had been travelling in two armored vehicles marked with the WCF logo and they had been coordinating their movements with the IDF. The group had successfully delivered 10 tons of humanitarian food in a deconflicted zone when its convoy was struck.

“This is not only an attack against WCK. This is an attack on humanitarian organizations showing up in the direst situations where food is being used as a weapon of war. This is unforgivable,” said Erin Gore, chief executive officer of World Central Kitchen.

The seven victims included a U.S. citizen as well as others from Australia, Poland, the United Kingdom, Canada, and Palestine.

Lee has been a vocal advocate for a ceasefire in Gaza and has supported actions by President Joe Biden to airdrop humanitarian aid in the area.

“Far too many civilians have lost their lives as a result of Benjamin Netanyahu’s reprehensible military offensive. The U.S. must join with our allies and demand an immediate, permanent ceasefire – it’s long overdue,” Lee said.