Kristi Whitfield is fairly adept at chess, but last month, she admits, she “got trounced several times” by a young man who was once a middle-school champ and has since aged out of foster care.
“My victory was that he beat me in more moves than he predicted,” Whitfield says, with a laugh. “That was my bragging rights.”
Whitfield, the Downtown Business Improvement District’s public space operations director, faced off with her opponent at a new drop-in center for homeless teens and young adults. It’s a pilot program being hosted at the First Congregational United Church of Christ, at 945 G St. NW, each Monday evening until mid-November. While the church provides the space—for up to about 50 people—at a low cost, the BID and Sasha Bruce Youthwork, a local organization devoted to ending youth homelessness, provide the programming and services. All three bring volunteers…