Mary Ellen Hombs papers

The materials within the collection relate to the work of the Community for Creative Non-Violence (CCNV) of which Mary Ellen Hombs was a member. From the early 1970s to the early 1990s, CCNV was a major force in the movement to protect the rights of homeless people in Washington D.C. Currently, the CCNV runs a homeless shelter in the city and is very involved in providing food, shelter, and educational opportunities for the poor and homeless in the city.

In a 1981 Washington Post article Mary Ellen Hombs stated her goal as a member of CCVN as wanting to " . . . persuade the churches and the District government to provide shelters in every area of the city, shelters attractive enough 'so that even the most isolated, the most hardened person could feel the desire to come out of the cold". These records give researchers a detailed introduction to CCNV actions especially the non-violent social protest tactics specifically hunger strikes, marches, and sit-ins used by CCNV to present their message to the public.

Founded in the early 1970s by Father Ed Guinan and a group of George Washington University students, CCNV was an activist organization opposed to the Vietnam War. As the war ended, the group began focusing its efforts on the needs of the poor and homeless in the D.C. community. Specifically in 1972, CCNV opened a drop-in center that served meals to homeless people. CCNV quickly followed this meal service with a free medical clinic, a hospitality house for people awaiting trial, and eventually an overnight shelter.

By 1976, CCNV had taken on the dual role of providing shelter for the homeless and making the Washington homeless more visible. They became well known for acts of civil disobedience meant to draw attention to the issue of homelessness in Washington, D.C. For example, in 1981, CCNV erected a tent village in Lafayette Park that they named Reaganville. The tents were meant to symbolize the plight of the homeless in the city. CCNV also erected a symbolic graveyard with 45 white crosses for each of the 45 street people who had died in Washington in the previous five years. Mitch Snyder is perhaps the most well known member of CCNV. His acts of civil disobedience, including several hunger strikes, garnered publicity. He was the subject of a television movie in 1986 staring Martin Sheen. After his death in 1990, the Community for Creative Non-Violence held less protests and focused more on the running of its shelter. The current CCNV mission is " . . . to ensure that the rights of the homeless and poor are not infringed upon and that every person has access to life's basic essentials-food, shelter, clothing and medical care." Today CCNV provides shelter, food, clothing, medical care, and educational support for up to 2,500 people per day in Washington D.C.