In many ways Tiombe is just like you and me. Her life was moving along and then a few challenges came up that created an imbalance. First, in 2015 her mom passed and before she had fully healed from her mother’s death she began a difficult divorce. We all handle and process stress differently and for Tiombe her stress manifested physically. It proved debilitating for her and quickly she found herself nearly immobile. Her 2018 diagnosis included stress induced catatonia. Tiombe found it difficult to walk on her own and became reliant on her son and daughter for nearly everything. Day to day living had become not only a mental struggle but a  physical struggle too.

Things began to turn around when she found the McClendon Center. In 2019 she began attending the Day Program and found new ways of handling her stress and managing her life. She just needed some caring people to trust in while she found her way. Slowly her physical strength grew as she began working with MCC counselors. She credits MCC staffer “Mr. Woody” with helping her with his kind and consistent guidance. Once she was strong enough she began painting with Tyler Strusowski in the art therapy sessions. She found a natural talent for creating and expressing herself through art. Her confidence grew as her art flourished, and life began to feel manageable again. She also began to think about the future which include aspirations of attending the University of Maryland’s art program one day.

In the early days of the pandemic Tiombe continued to create and keep in contact with her MCC support team. She also joined the online MCC art therapy sessions. Two of her pieces were part of our recent online art show and both sold! She was grateful for the extra money the art sale generated and said she planned on using it to buy Christmas dinner for her family. Interested in the art sale? Click here

Whatever Tiombe’s goals include MCC will be here for her, supporting and assisting her to improve the quality of her life to the fullest potential. Thank you to our donors who make this happen, we really couldn’t do it without you.

For 40 years we have been making a difference for those recovering from mental illness. Kindness and compassion are not billable services – but that doesn’t stop us from providing them. It is dedicated donors like you that bridge the financial gap and make what we do even more meaningful. Thank you!

This year we are thankful we are still serving our clients despite Covid19 difficulties. We are thankful for our resourceful staff. And we are incredibly grateful to our donors that have stood by us this year.

Many of our clients are food insecure. As part of our virtual Day Program we always provide lunch delivery. However this year we made sure they were able to enjoy a special thanksgiving meal on Wednesday. Over lunch an important discussion began; was pumpkin or sweet potato pie was better? In the end, sweet potato came out the winner. If you are looking for ways to support MCC and important programs like this, we have included a few creative ideas below.

If you’re shopping virtually this year you may be visiting Amazon. Amazon Smile is a program where they give a small percentage to the charity of your choice. Simply sign up on Amazon and MCC will benefit! For details click here: Amazon Smile

Giving Tuesday was created in 2012 as a simple idea: a day that encourages people to do good. Over the years, it has grown into a global movement that inspires hundreds of millions of people to give, collaborate, and celebrate generosity. If you’re going to give on Giving Tuesday consider giving locally – to MCC.   Whether it’s a large gift or small gift anything that’s meaningful to you is meaningful to us.

If a donation isn’t an option right now you can support us by joining us online on December 9th at 6:30 pm for a free virtual event. Click for more info and signup Art of Appreciation

Did you know the new CARES (Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security) Act allows taxpayers to take a charitable deduction of up to $300 ($600 for married couples) for those who take the standard deduction? For those who do itemize their deductions, the new law allows for cash contributions to qualified charities such as McClendon Center to be deducted up to 100% of your adjusted gross income for the 2020 calendar year.

As a thank you to everyone who has been supporting us throughout the year we are hosting the Art of Appreciation.  We would like to invite all our supporters to join us for a night of fun and games – couldn’t we all use that? There will be an interactive art therapy* demo lead by our art therapist Tyler Strusowski, a chance to win two JetBlue tickets to anywhere they fly, and the opportunity to purchase client art online – something we’ve never offered before. Join us December 9^th at 6:30 pm. This is a free event, though we are suggesting a $40 donation in honor of our 40 years serving the District. Details and sign up is available online at mcclendoncenter.org

*What is Art Therapy? Art therapy is a type of psychotherapy where art is used as a communication tool. One way to understand this is to consider that we all experience internal imagery as thoughts, memories, the imagination, or sensations and impressions. The only way another person can peek inside someone’s head to see this internal imagery is if it is made into art. Art therapists assist their clients with understanding, interpreting, and exploring the meaning of the imagery communicated through the art created within the context of art therapy. The process of creating art is a multisensory experience. It involves the use of various parts of the brain, such as the visual and tactile systems, as well as brain areas involved with movement and problem-solving. Activating these various parts of the brain can reveal preverbal sensory information, which can come forth as stored unconscious information. Thus, art therapy can potentially bypass a client’s defense mechanisms in a way that is non-threatening broadening self-insight and understanding.

There have been some troubling trends in the news lately. Nationally from January to September 2020, there was a 62% increase on the number of depression screens over 2019 data. While rates of anxiety, depression, and suicidal ideation are increasing for people of all races and ethnicities, there are notable differences in those changes over time. Black or African American screeners have had the highest average percent change over time for anxiety and depression. Over 85% of MCC clients are African American and we can see these national statistics bear out in DC.

At MCC we have seen a disturbing trend in client deaths this year. None are directly attributed to Covid19 – though one client, who was not tested for the virus, passed of “respiratory failure”, though he had no known history of respiratory problems. While we cannot pinpoint the increase in deaths to one cause or causes we know it mirrors nationwide statistics. There is a 30% increase in national death rates not attributed to Covid19. In DC, many of our clients have competing health issues and, fearful of the virus, have been less apt to seek medical care for those issues. For others the isolation caused by the pandemic exacerbates their condition. Last week we saw an increase in Major Unusual Incidents (MUI’s) at MCC. This is when a client needs immediate care for a crisis situation. Normally we would have one or two MUI’s per week. We can speculate on reasons, however, we do know one thing for certain – our services are more necessary now than they ever were.

As a follower of our work you know the unique kind of care we provide. We know our clients. We know more than just their names – we know their stories, their particular needs or individual likes and dislikes, and what works for them and what doesn’t. We see them as individuals, as real people, and that is what makes us who we are. Thank you for being a part of this and for your ongoing support! We hope to see you at the Art of Appreciation.

The work we do at McClendon Center is not always ordinary. When we are looking for new team members we are seeking an out of the ordinary kind of person. Often the job requires staff to think outside the box. A great example of this kind of caring happened a few years ago when a client didn’t want to receive hospital care because it meant leaving their dog unattended. The McClendon Center staff member promised to walk the dog herself until she was able to coordinate care with a neighbor. Relieved, the client received the necessary care knowing her four legged family member was taken care of – and the standard at McClendon Center unofficially became ‘are you willing to walk the dog?’

While our primary goal is to help with mental health care more often than not it also means assisting with housing, other types of healthcare related issues, substance abuse, and more. Even getting basic forms completed to be eligible to receive care is an obstacle. Imagine experiencing homelessness and losing your belongings and documents. Without a birth certificate you cannot get an ID. Without an ID you cannot receive benefits for care or fill out any type of application. Obtaining those kinds of essential documents can be a challenging web for some of our clients – and is something we routinely help our clients with.

We also help to restore dignity. Last year there was a young man who was regularly attending the Day Program but seemed withdrawn. Staff noticed his clothes were torn and often dirty. The fix was simple; two McClendon Center staff member along with the young man hopped into an Uber and set off to Target. He was given $150 to buy the clothes and shoes he wanted. When he returned to the Day Program in his new attire the transformation was noticeable and it wasn’t just on the outside – though he often pointed out his new outfits with pride. He became more engaged and outgoing and began to thrive. In some ways it’s hard to tell who was more pleased – the deserving client or the staff members who could make such a simple yet significant gesture possible. There are countless other examples I could give of this level of caring.

Even before the Covid 19 crisis we were finding solutions outside the expected ways of doing things. This client first way of solution solving is what sets us apart and makes us particularly adaptable during crisis. We are determined to continue this level of individual care and caring – with your support.