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Never sleep in the woods. Sleep near others, or at least take extra care if you’re sleeping alone. Use the “pouch system” — multiple sleeping bags and a comforter — on cold nights. Rely on prayer and don’t lose faith.

These are just a few of the lessons that Kenneth learned during his 25 years on the streets of D.C. Originally from North Carolina, Kenneth found himself homeless and spent years sleeping behind the police headquarters and in a gazebo in Montrose Park.

But now, Kenneth is adjusting to a new life in a condo. “It’s really nice and everything is new,” he says of his new living space, a brand new building with units for veterans and homeless individuals. In his new home, he can keep up with his favorite shows. Transitioning from living outside to life in a new apartment is quite an adjustment. “It’s nice,” he reports, “but your mind and body have to adjust to the new situation.” He still goes outside and moves around so that his new place doesn’t feel too small and confined. But watching the snow from inside definitely beats sleeping out in it — Winter Storm Stella is the first snow storm he saw from inside.

Kenneth credits GMC with getting him started on the road to housing. He’s known about GMC since it was a single room with no showers, laundry, or bathrooms. Before coming to GMC, Kenneth didn’t have any of the identification needed to get housing. GMC assisted him in getting a birth certificate, ID and SSI benefits, and then referred him to our partners at Miriam’s Kitchen for a housing placement. After 25 years of homelessness, Kenneth was able to get into housing in only 2.5 months. “You guys started the process,” he says of GMC. “If it hadn’t been for y’all I wouldn’t have anything. So thank you so much.”

— Sarah Hartley & David Finnegan-Hosey

Want to help more guests like Kenneth? Between now and May 31, we are once again working to raise $10,000 to receive a matching $10,000 grant from the Morris and Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation. We hope you’ll join with us and help us meet the match!

In 2004 the Mayor of D.C., Tony Williams, produced a bold plan to end homelessness in 10 years. Ten years later in 2014 we had as many homeless people on the street as in 2004, maybe more. We have watched over the years as the numbers ebbed and flowed, but a substantive solution to homelessness has yet to reveal itself.

This year, 2017, is the 30th anniversary of Georgetown Ministry Center. We started in the small space under the entrance to Grace Church in 1987. We have been expanding ever since, thanks to generous support from our community. First we crept into the Sunday school room. Each Friday the lone Lutheran volunteer and I would push our desks into a corner to make room for Sunday school. Eventually we were given the entire space. Still in those days we were not able to offer the bathroom to any of our guests; they had to find a public bathroom nearby. We offered basic case management to people who had fallen through the cracks of the mental health system.

In 2001 we began to look for a bigger space in the community. We had outgrown our existing space at Grace Church. We hoped for space that would allow us to provide bathrooms and showers along with case management. In the end, a novel idea to expand into the basement and mechanical room in the rectory of Grace Church prevailed. We moved into our new digs in the fall of 2003. We had a shower, laundry facilities and three bathrooms.

With the improved facilities there was increased demand. By 2010 we were thinking about ways to improve our space again. We realized we were not going to find another space for our program but maybe we could find space for our administrative staff nearby, leaving more room for programs.

With some donated professional services from HOK Architects, we came up with a plan to open up the Center so that it really began to feel like a place for our guests to belong. Meanwhile, administrative staff moved to nearby office space. The Center was now so nice and welcoming that our numbers increased and people who came in, stayed. We were often standing room only.

This year a generous donor is helping us overhaul the space once more. An ingenious idea will move the mechanical room into another area of the rectory, opening up space in our Center. Moving the reception area to one side we will have more unobstructed space for our guests, 2 washers, 2 dryers and a more efficient hot water system for the showers – all desperately needed. We hope to open this new space in the fall at the conclusion of our 30 year anniversary celebration.While I continue to have hope that we will put an end to homelessness in my lifetime, at least for the most vulnerable homeless folks with mental illness there will be a need for gentle, respectful services.

―Gunther Stern

Join us in marking 30 years of service in the community by helping us meet the match! Between now and May 31, we are once again working to raise $10,000 to receive a matching $10,000 grant from the Morris and Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation. You can donate toward this goal by clicking here.

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Washington, D.C., March 26, 2017 – Hundreds of runners, walkers, and supporters gathered Sunday on the historic campus of Georgetown University for the 2017 Georgetown 5k Race Against Homelessness. Organized by the Georgetown Ministry Center and the Center for Social Justice at Georgetown University, the race raised funds for the work of Georgetown Ministry Center and shed light on the issue of homelessness in the Georgetown community. Georgetown Ministry Center seeks lasting solutions to homelessness one person at a time through its day center, street outreach, winter shelter, and advocacy programs.

“Our partnership with the Center for Social Justice allows Georgetown Ministry Center to provide refuge and support for homeless individuals who are often overlooked,” said Gunther Stern, GMC executive director, who also participated in the race. “This race is both a celebration of our partnership and an opportunity to grow our capacity to serve the most vulnerable members of our community.”

In addition to the 5k run, the event included a family-friend 2k walk and a Post-Race and Spring Fling Celebration, which featured food, games, and music provided by Georgetown University student groups. The event raised $18,000 for Georgetown Ministry Center.

This event was generously sponsored by Georgetown University’s Office of Campus Ministry, Cox Graae + Spack Architects, Ri Ra Georgetown, 3D Xplosive Performance, and Washingtonian. Race prizes and in-kind items were donated by Saxbys Coffee, Trader Joe’s, Dog Tag Bakery, Launch Trampoline Park, Lilly Pulitzer, SoulCycle, Boating in D.C., Down Dog Yoga, Balance Gym, &Pizza, Orangetheory Fitness and Chaia.

The three fastest male runners were:
Alexander Sanford, age 25, of Indianapolis, IN
Grant Faircloth, age 15, of Aldie, VA
William Schuette, age 21, of Midland, MI

The three fastest female runners were:
Rebecca Downs, age 26, of Indianapolis, IN
Knox Flynt, age 40, of Fairfax, VA
Laura Simmons, age 30, of Bethesda, MD

Full race results are available here.

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Georgetown Ministry Center guides service-resistant, chronically homeless individuals towards stability and housing through aggressive street outreach, provision of a safe and welcoming environment where everyone is treated with respect, and advocacy for the homeless. We seek lasting solutions to homelessness one person at a time.

It was a bitterly cold night in December, and Maddie was concerned about the man in the orange sleeping bag. He had shed his hat and gloves and seemed to be struggling to respond to her queries. She withdrew with our team to a safe distance and reviewed the options.

Ideally, the man — whose speech was slurred and who seemed to have trouble focusing — would have accepted a ride from the District’s shelter hotline vans, but Maddie was unable to get a clear answer from him. Should the team call the hotline anyway? Skip the hotline and call 911? We decided to call the hotline and give them a description and location. It was going to be a long night, and there were a lot more people out on the street to check on.

Maddie is a Hypothermia Outreach Team (HOT) leader. HOT, a collaboration between Georgetown University’s Center for Social Justice (CSJ) and Georgetown Ministry Center, trains and organizes members of the Georgetown University community to perform outreach on the coldest nights of the year. Volunteers check in on people on the street, connect those who are willing to free transportation to shelter, and assess hypothermia risk. HOT members also distribute cold weather gear like hats, scarves, gloves, socks, hand warmers, and sometimes blankets or food.

Although a call to the hypothermia van was the most serious intervention we made on that night in December, Maddie remembers one night when her team had to call 911. “That was really impactful for me,” she says. “If we hadn’t run into that guy, would someone else have called? Would he have made it through the night?”

A sophomore in Georgetown’s pre-med program, Maddie has been volunteering with HOT since her freshman year. She appreciates the opportunity to be in direct service “right in our backyard” in Georgetown, where the homeless population can sometimes be hidden from view. After a year of consistent volunteering through CSJ and GMC, Maddie says she appreciates that she now recognizes people on the streets and in the day center.

This year, more than 250 students, staff, and faculty have been trained as HOT members. The trainings are conducted by Melissa Bernard, a Jesuit Volunteer who works for the CSJ and Campus Ministry at Georgetown University, and also serves as GMC’s volunteer coordinator. Participants learn the basics of outreach, signs and symptoms of hypothermia, and information about Georgetown Ministry Center.

Ultimately, it doesn’t take special training to care for our neighbors experiencing homelessness. “Anybody can save a life just by being aware of the circumstances,” says Gunther Stern, Executive Director of Georgetown Ministry Center. Just a few weeks ago, Gunther was on street outreach with Dr. Ron Koshes, one of GMC’s consulting psychiatrists. They were near Washington Circle when they spotted a solitary figure sitting on a bench with a gray blanket draped over him. When Dr. Koshes’ verbal queries went unanswered, Gunther says he “did something I counsel against. I reached out and touched him.” The man stirred and said he was OK, but he was visibly shivering. “That’s actually a good sign in terms of hypothermia,” Gunther says. “It’s the first stage. Not generally serious but in this case, given that this person didn’t seem to have shelter, we were concerned.” When it became clear that this individual couldn’t stand, Gunther called 911 and the pair waited for a fire engine to show up. It was a simple bit of extra effort for Gunther and Ron, but they very well might have saved a life.

Anybody can save a life. Whether it’s just by being aware, or by supporting Georgetown Ministry Center’s medical outreach and drop-in center, we can help make sure that nobody has to suffer alone on our streets — even on the coldest nights.

— David Finnegan-Hosey

Want to support the collaboration between Georgetown Ministry Center and the Center for Social Justice at Georgetown University? Check out the Georgetown 5k Race Against Homelessness!

And if you see someone in need of shelter from the cold, you can call the DC Shelter Hotline at 202-399-7093

Here is an update about one of our GMC guests from our ED Gunther Stern:

“You have seen him out there pushing his carts — yes, carts. Two, sometimes three carts filled with junk. One person’s junk is another person’s treasures. He has been out here on the streets of Georgetown for 30 years. We really didn’t have much hope for him moving off the street but Friday we were treated to a video of him and his case worker from Metropolitan Family Services celebrating the acquisition of his new apartment. He was so excited. Now the work begins to get him comfortable moving into the place.”