McClendon Center Wins 2026 APA Foundation Minority Mental Health Award

WASHINGTON, DC — McClendon Center has been selected to receive the 2026 Advancing Minority Mental Health Award from the American Psychiatric Association Foundation (APAF). This national honor recognizes the Center’s 45-year history of providing innovative, whole-person mental health care to underserved communities in the District of Columbia.

Established in 2003, the APAF awards recognize organizations that demonstrate excellence in expanding access to quality mental health services for those most impacted by systemic inequities.

McClendon Center President and CEO Sheandinita Dyson accepted the award during a reception on Tuesday, May 19, at the APA Annual Meeting in San Francisco.

“Receiving the Advancing Minority Mental Health award is a powerful validation of the trust we have built within the DC community over the last 45-plus years. For our clients, many of whom can feel invisible to the healthcare system, this award signifies that their journey toward recovery is seen, valued, and supported at the highest level.

“It helps ensure that when our neighbors face their most vulnerable moments — whether transitioning from a hospital or facing a housing crisis — McClendon Center will be there to meet them exactly where they are with dignity and culturally responsive care.”

Sheandinita Dyson, President and CEO, McClendon Center

McClendon Center will direct the awards proceeds toward its Client Emergency Fund, a direct response to a public funding landscape that continues to withdraw resources from the populations that need them most. Its Client Emergency Fund provides flexible, case-by-case relief for food, medication, transportation, and eviction prevention – timely interventions that maintain psychiatric stability before a crisis becomes a hospitalization.

McClendon Center was among 11 organizations nationally to receive this honor, including: