Category: What’s New

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.

After over a year of construction that shut down the Wisconsin Avenue entrance to our alley and impeded access to GMC, we are so happy to announce that both sides of our alley are open once again! This will make it much easier for our guests to access the center, as well as for volunteers and donors, to reach us. Feel free to visit us via Wisconsin Avenue!

We know you’ve probably already read the latest issue of Washington Psychiatrist and seen our article, but in case you haven’t, it’s on pages 9-12: Assisted Outpatient Treatment for Homeless Individuals with Severe and Persistent Mental Illness: An Interdisciplinary Conversation

Gunther and Dr. Michael Morse, one of our consulting psychiatrists, teamed up with two of our board members, Kathryn Cohen and Reverend John Graham, to each write about the need for assisted outpatient treatment (AOT). Kathryn, who works as an attorney for Treatment Advocacy Center, wrote about the need for AOT from a policy standpoint. Reverend Graham tied his experiences interacting with our guests to the Bible, and Dr. Morse talked about medical ethics and how AOT is an ethical way of helping those with mental illness.

We hope you’ll read all of these great perspectives!

Georgetown 5k Race Against Homelessness

Registration is now open for the Georgetown 5k Race Against Homelessness! Join us and the Center for Social Justice at Georgetown University for a 2k walk or 5k run, followed by a cookout, music, and lawn games. There will be prizes, food, and fun!

Walk or run by yourself or get your family, coworkers, or friends together to create a team. Registration allows you to participate in the walk/race, receive a swag bag, and t-shirt. If you can’t make the event, we hope you’ll consider supporting a friend who can come or donating to support the important work that we do.

Our New Donations Policy

Due to changes we are making to our clothes closet, we are no longer able to accept general clothing donations. Please see our post about our new donation policy to learn more.

We have three announcements to share with you this week:

Summer Homeless Census in Georgetown

Every winter, there is a nationwide count of homeless persons called the Point in Time survey. The Georgetown BID and GMC are working together to conduct a summer version of the Point in Time survey in Georgetown, and we need your help!

We are looking for volunteers to help us with the count that is scheduled to take place on Thursday, July 24 at 9pm. Volunteers will receive a brief training before breaking up into teams to cover certain areas of Georgetown and Foggy Bottom. The night usually takes 1.5 to 2.5 hours.

Volunteers should be 16 years or older and able to walk at least a mile. If they have one, volunteers should also bring a flashlight. If you are interested, please email Stephanie Chan at stephanie@gmcgt.org

Clothing Closet Changes

A few days ago, we announced on our blog some upcoming changes to our clothing closet. Just as a reminder, we are moving our clothing closet to a smaller space and can no longer accept general clothing donations. Instead, we have updated our wish list on our website and are encouraging people to take a look at our Amazon.com Wishlist.

Supplies Needed

We have a fabulous volunteer, Kirsten, who is a psychologist and hoping to start an art therapy group in our center. Please help us get this off the ground by donating crayons and newsprint pads! You can find more details on our Amazon Wishlist.