78 YEARS HEARTBEAT COMMUNITY

UTILITIES ASSISTANCE
The goal of this cadre of programs is to help people become self-sufficient and
to provide short term crises intervention. The programs cover emergency assistance
for water, gas and electricity bills.
“People are in need because we’re still dealing with the prolonged
effects of an economic crisis that is forcing vulnerable populations to
choose between basic needs and paying their utilities. Our services
are free and we will work with anybody who asks for our help. We
gladly partner with PEPCO and WASA to assist clients unable to pay
their water, electricity or other utilities to get back on their feet,”
says Audrey Epperson, Director of Special Services.
1,400
individuals benefiting from
utility assistance each year
EMPLOYEE SPOTLIGHT: AUDREY EPPERSON
When Audrey Epperson accepted a job
to volunteer for the Greater Washington Urban
League’s Operation Rescue program in 1982, she
had no idea she’d still be with the civil and human
rights organization 33 years later.
Epperson, a Petersburg, Virginia native,
now serves as Director of Special Services,
overseeing a portfolio that includes employment,
training, utility assistance and a range of education
and cultural enrichment activities and programs
that include taking children on theatre trips, visits
to baseball games, basketball clinics and DC
attractions.
“I didn’t expect to be at the Urban League
or in Washington, DC this long. I came to DC in
1969 and expected to be here maybe five, six
years,” she said with a chuckle. “I fell in love with
Washington and the mission of the Urban League.
I’m still attempting to fulfill that.”
1956 - When Sterling Tucker became executive director of the Washington
Urban League in 1956 the struggle for civil rights was just getting underway;
but by the time his tenure ended considerable progress had been made
toward equal opportunity and full citizenship rights.
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