Who We Are

Anne Frank House (AFH) is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization that provides permanent housing to homeless men and women with chronic mental illnesses within Washington, DC. AFH owns condominiums and rents apartments which we then lease at less than cost to our residents. AFH activities are financed primarily by individual donations and grants. . AFH utilizes local social service agencies for client case management and works closely with the Community Council for the Homeless at Friendship Place (FP) for social, medical and psychiatric services.

Our all volunteer officers and board of directors manage all organizational operations and serve as liaisons to our residents. The names and brief descriptions of our board members can be found by clicking this link: Who We Are: Officers and Directors.

Our History

Anne Frank House was established in 1987 as a community service project of Adas Israel Congregation in Washington, DC.  AFH’s first endeavor was a group home for women which operated for 12 years.

Today Anne Frank House provides permanent housing to individuals, who generally live alone in studio or one bedroom apartment units owned or rented by the organization.  AFH fully furnishes and equips the homes for our residents. Our liaisons often purchase groceries and other necessities for our residents and deliver them when visiting. Our liaisons monitor our residents to prevent potential relapses and to help keep them fully functioning.

Our Name

We originally acquired our name, “Anne Frank House,” from our first outreach project, a single home providing housing and services exclusively for women. Over the years the name has come to mean much more. Anne Frank House is named in honor of a young woman who was made homeless by the cruel circumstances of the Second World War. Thanks to the kindness of friends and strangers, Anne Frank and her family were given a home -- and in those walls she kept one of the world’s most famous diaries. Anne Frank House is the celebration of people helping people irrespective of their religion, race or background; improving the circumstances of others and by doing so, improving our society.