Washington D.C.’s Community for Creative Non-Violence (CCNV) knows how to throw a party. On Saturday, Sept. 11, CCNV celebrated its own birthday, its 40th anniversary as an organization.
Amid the food and camaraderie, there were also memories of fierce and flamboyant Mitch Snyder, a leader of the community who has been gone 20 years now. And there was talk of a new beginning for CCNV, a restatement of the principles the organization stands for.
Richard Hor, member of CCNV’s board of directors, helped coordinate the event that included live entertainment, free food and drinks, raffle prizes and a health clinic for check-ups. Though it took eight months to plan, CCNV organizers knew exactly what they wanted this celebration to look like: a simple, come-as-you-are affair, right at the sprawling homeless shelter located on D Street NW and Mitch Snyder Place.
“We didn’t want this in some fancy hotel ballroom where the homeless couldn’t be involved,” said Hor. “We actually have a shuttle bus running picking up homeless people from different shelters around the city and homeless people in the streets.”
After the death of homeless rights activist Snyder, CCNV suffered years of turbulent times, but Hor says the organization is turning a corner. “We’re trying to send a message out now that we’re a different organization under new management and we’re here to fight for homeless rights. We stand for high integrity and ethics.”
CCNV could not have put on this celebration without the help of the volunteers from around the community. The purple-shirted volunteers were everywhere, often times easier to find than attendees of the event. Some volunteers had long histories with CCNV, others just wanted a way to help out their community.
First-time volunteer Denise Naguib’s husband designed CCNV’s website and she decided to contribute some of her time as well.
“This city has a significant homeless population and CCNV impacts those most in need,” says Naguib. “This event is bringing awareness to the community and reaching out to the homeless.”
Though CCNV started as an antiwar group, stemming from the Vietnam War, it evolved into something else, under Snyder’s charismatic leadership. Snyder fought for the building that CCNV currently calls home and the organization still lives by many of his ideals, said Hor.
“Treat people like people no matter who they are or where they came from,” says Hor. “People are homeless for many different reasons. This building serves about 1,400 people; there are probably 1,400 different reasons why they are homeless.”
Willie Ferguson, who has been staying at the shelter, said that with the help he has been finding there, he has been getting back on his feet. He said he arrived at CCNV about seven months ago after coming to the District from Virginia.
Amid the festivities, Ferguson expressed gratitude for the basic things he has found through CCNV: the chance to eat every day, take a shower, and have health care at the clinic. But Ferguson said he has found something deeper at CCNV too: a sense of respect and humanity among the people who support the organization and who gathered to celebrate on Saturday.
“The best part [about the event] is the love they have for their fellow brothers and sisters because some people really need that love,” said Ferguson. “I must have a heart of thankfulness for every one of these people.”
