Author: Felicia Akoh

Last January, GMC partnered with Georgetown University’s Center for Social Justice to create a volunteer Hypothermia Outreach Team (HOT) to do street outreach on the coldest nights and to make sure that those living on the street in our community are safe.

WAMU featured the Hypothermia Outreach Team in a segment today. We think this is required listening and hope you will share it with your friends and family! It does a great job of telling the story and showing the interactions between our volunteers and those who stay on the streets.

On February 12, Dr. Michael Morse, one of GMC’s psychiatrists, spoke at a congressional hearing about the limits of HIPAA and its impact on those with untreated mental illness. Read his testimony.

Recently, there have been some great articles about homelessness and mental health in the news. Here is our round up:

Data and Homelessness, Just like AirBnB (The Economist, Jan. 6, 2015)

District Brings Homeless in from the Cold (Washington Post, Jan. 8, 2015)

Homelessness and Hoarding (The Atlantic, Jan. 7, 2015)

The Homeless Homed (The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, Jan. 8, 2015)

Often, people assume that after someone is housed, it’s case-closed, problem solved, and the ending is happily ever after. However, there is still a struggle that occurs after one finds housing. Medications, refilling prescriptions, various appointments — there is a lot to keep track of, and often, especially if one has a mental illness, it can be difficult to stay on top of all that needs to get done.

The Washington Post recently had an article that shows a glimpse into this world. It’s a great article and paints a good picture into this world.

Take a few minutes with us to reflect on all that happened in 2014! Here is a month-by-month review of the amazing year we had: Before You Ring in the New Year