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The New Yorker recently published a 15,000-word feature about Bruce Springsteen, which delves into Springsteen’s life and history of clinical depression. This news and word of this feature is making its way into many headlines, news segments, and blog posts.

Maybe you are wondering why we are blogging about it, too. Why would a homeless outreach organization be interested in what Springsteen, an influential and important figure in the music industry, has to say? The answer is this: When the Boss talks about a decades-long struggle with clinical depression, suicidal thoughts, and a family history of mental illness, it opens up a discussion about these issues that affect so many people, including the homeless.

The CDC’s staggering statistic is that one in ten Americans report suffering from depression. Research also show that chronically and street-based homeless people are more likely to experience depression.¹ Whether depression is a cause or result (or both) of homelessness, the fact is that many of the guests who pass through GMC’s doors are depressed, and so we bring in experts like Dr. Ron Koshes, our psychiatrist, to help diagnose and treat those who need help.

The news segment we aired this morning in our clubhouse mentioned Springsteen’s depression, which we hope will open channels of communication between us and our community.

¹La Gory, Mark, Ferris J. Ritchey, and Jeff Mullis. “Depression among the Homeless.” Journal of Health and Social Behavior. 31.1 (1990): 87-102. Web. 25 Jul. 2012.

Summertime for most means fun in the sun, trips to the beach, ice cream for every meal… for us, it means that our towels start disappearing and that we’re left scrambling for new replacements.

This morning, we transferred the last of our bath towels from our storage unit to our center, and we unless we get new ones, we probably won’t have enough to last us through the summer. During the hot and sticky days of summer, our guests tend to walk out of the center with our towels so that they have something to help keep them clean on the streets. Please help us replenish our stock of bath towels!

You can bring bath towels to our center any day of the week between 8am and 5pm.

Fun Ways to Donate Towels

Are you having a barbecue or pool party? If your guests ask what they can bring, tell them to bring a bath towel for us.

Do you know someone on a swim team? Get everyone on the team to donate a towel!

What are other creative ways to help collect towels for us?

Geneticists have long thought that schizophrenia and autism are two separate and unrelated conditions. However, a trio of researchers working on the genetics behind psychiatric disorders have made a new discovery: “People may be more prone to autism spectrum disorders if they have family members with schizophrenia or bipolar disorder.” (Treatment Advocacy Center)

How are schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and autism spectrum disorder similar?

Positive symptoms of schizophrenia such as auditory and visual hallucinations have a sensory component, and sensory processing disorders occur in an estimated 90% of individuals on the autistic spectrum. Negative symptoms such as lack of engagement with the world and other people that occur in schizophrenia also are diagnostic flags for autism.

In the study that was done, analyses of genetic collections revealed that individuals with autism had similar proportions of relatives with schizophrenia or biopolar disorder. The importance of this link is the hope that, with more research on the similarities between the disorders, we will be better able to diagnose and treat them.

On Wednesday, June 20, GMC welcomed Kalli Simon as the leader of our new Fitness Group! Kalli’s high energy and enthusiasm is so infectious. On the first day, the mood our participants quickly changed from hesitant and reluctant to excited and joyful. The next week, one of the participants from the week before came to GMC just to participate in the group!

Not only is Kalli a superstar workout leader, but she also took the initiative and contacted Whole Foods to see if they would donate some reusable water bottles for participating members. Whole Foods agreed and was very supportive! Thank you, Whole Foods, and thank you to Kalli for reaching out to them!

Read on to learn more about Kalli, why she wanted to come and volunteer at GMC, and how to get in contact with her!

Read more…

In May, I briefly mentioned a proposed $7 million cut to homeless services funding. The budget season is now over, and the D.C. Council has voted.

The Washington Legal Clinic for the Homeless reports that

The Council put $4 million into the tenant-based Local Rent Supplement Program in order to provide permanent affordable housing to about 250 homeless families in the District and open up much-needed space in emergency shelters to accommodate families that are currently in crisis and not able to access shelter.  The Council also delayed TANF cuts and added new exemptions to sanctions so that families who are in crisis and cannot currently obtain employment (such as families caring for a child with a disability full-time or families experiencing severe domestic violence) will not be penalized.  While the Council did not fill the $7 million gap in homeless services, it did keep this funding as the #1 priority on the Council’s “wish-list.”

We are happy to hear that the Council will keep funding for homeless servies in mind and hope the full $7 million will be restored next year.