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The 2014 Point in Time survey is scheduled for Wednesday, January 29, 2014, and we need volunteers! The Point in Time (PIT) is an annual, nationwide count of unsheltered homeless individuals that takes place every January. We need volunteers to help us walk around the neighborhood, count, and survey unsheltered individuals.

Volunteers will be split into teams and led by a team leader and should dress warmly and bring a flashlight if they have one. If you can help the night of the PIT, please let us know!

Here is our schedule for the night:

7:30-8:00pm — Volunteers arrive at Georgetown Ministry Center. We are located at 1041 Wisconsin Avenue in the alley next to Grace Church. Due to construction at one end of the alley, all access to our center is via the alley entrance on 31st Street next to the Capella Hotel. Here is a map for reference. If you get lost, please call the front desk at 202-338-3801 for help.

8:00-8:30pm — Volunteer training will start promptly at 8:00pm.

8:30-9:00pm — A few minutes of practicing administering the survey, followed by breaking up into teams, map distribution, etc.

9:00pm-2:00am — Teams are dispatched. Teams are usually done by 11:30 or midnight and report back to GMC once they are done. The official count goes until 2am, but we’re usually not out past midnight.

Brrrrr! We hope you all stayed warm this week as the polar vortex made us all shiver and bundle up. Hopefully, most of you were able to stay indoors and stay warm.

Many of the homeless population we see at GMC usually stay away from shelters, but for many, it was simply too cold this week. After the first night or two of braving it in the elements, some finally caved and went to hypothermia shelters. Of course, GMC was open all day, every day with an endless supply of hot coffee and sandwiches for our guests.

For those who braved the weather despite the sub-zero temperatures, DC was really proactive and had warming buses throughout the city where the homeless could go, sit, and warm up for a little while throughout the night. During the day, homeless outreach teams also braved the cold– and Georgetown Ministry Center was no exception!

On Tuesday, Communications Director Stephanie and Program Coordinator Amie were out on the street for nearly two and a half hours, passing out blankets and granola bars with Craig Keller from the Department of Behavioral Health’s Homeless Outreach Team. They didn’t think they were going to see anybody, but they still saw several people who were thankful for the blankets.

On Thursday, Dr. Catherine Crosland came to see patients at GMC and afterwards did street outreach for a few hours with Gunther and Amie. They checked up on people for signs of hypothermia and to see if they were doing okay.

The temperature this weekend is supposed to be a balmy 60 degrees, but though it may be warm, the weather is still dangerous since it’s also supposed to rain. And with the mercury bouncing up and down like this, it’s difficult for people to know how to dress from one day to the next.

Thank you to everyone who has helped by donating socks, hats, gloves, and scarves, as well as to all of our volunteers and sandwich donors! We appreciate all of your efforts and dedication to our mission.

Every winter right when it starts to get chilly, Gifts for the Homeless brings us a big donation of cold weather gear. We were overwhelmed with their generosity this November as boxes of thermal socks, thick gloves, knit hats, and fleeces were delivered to our center one afternoon. It was probably one of the first truly numbingly cold days in DC, and our guests were so appreciative. Everyone was able to leave our center that evening with new winter accessories.

In addition to purchasing much-needed items for organizations all across DC, Gifts for the Homeless also runs one of the best winter clothing drives in the city. (At least, we think so!) The 2013 GFTH Annual Used Clothing Drive took place during the week weekend in December, and shortly after volunteers sorted all of the clothes GFTH collected, they dropped off several bags at GMC.

Thank you so much to Gifts for the Homeless and all of your amazing volunteers! We are grateful for all of your support and are inspired by all of your hard work.

Georgetown University students Ryan Fan and Zohaib Khalid wanted to learn more about the homeless living in Georgetown, so for their Leadership class, they set out to create a video capturing some of their stories, feelings, and thoughts.

Here is what they learned.

Miss what, you ask? Our winter newsletter, of course!

It is packed to the brim with some amazing stories detailing the welcoming environment we create in the center, how it helped us house two individuals this fall, and an editorial piece by Dr. Ron Koshes, our psychiatrist. They all tie together, and we hope it will paint a picture detailing what we do, the challenges we face, and how we overcome them.

Hard copies of our newsletter are at the printer’s right now, but we could not wait to share it with you electronically. We hope you’ll take a few minutes to hear more about all of the amazing things that have been happening in our center!