For a limited time, if you donate $25 (or more), we’ll send you a set of note cards as our appreciation.
The artwork on the note cards were created by our clients who exhibited their pieces at our Art of Transformation event. Each package contains one of each design pictured.
DONATE NOW to make your gift online.
Or, if you prefer, please send your gift to:
McClendon Center
Attn: Development
1313 New York Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20005
Earlier today, USA TODAY hosted a Facebook Live discussion about the GOP health plan and its effects on mental health and addiction progress. Linda Rosenberg, CEO of the National Council for Behavioral Health and Samuel Hedgepeth, a McClendon Center client, addressed how “the House Republicans’ Affordable Care Act replacement placement plan would dramatically change who is eligible for free or low-cost health coverage, which critics fear could drastically slash mental health and addiction coverage, which many people got for the first time under the law.” Click on USA TODAY for the full article.
Please note: The sound quality at the beginning is rough (static or no sound) but picks up after a minute or so).
We’re so excited to be hosting this year’s Art of Transformation client art show & reception at Capitol at 400, a roof-top venue with spectacular views of our nation’s capital.
Your support of this event is so important to our clients, especially those who use art as a therapeutic tool. In addition to raising critical funds for our arts therapy and other programs, your ticket purchase, sponsorship, and/or gift will help us cover the costs of our meal program for our Day Program participants.
Please don’t wait until the last minute! CLICK HERE to buy your ticket or sponsorship, help sponsor a client to attend the event, or make your gift today.
We are proud to have been selected by the MAXIMUS Foundation to receive a $5,000 grant in support of our programs and services for our community members with mental illness. Over 2,000 men and women come to McClendon Center – all of whom are working toward achieving their highest degree of mental health recovery and independence.
“I’m honored to recognize McClendon Center with this MAXIMUS Foundation grant for its tireless work to promote self-sufficiency and personal growth that empowers families in the local community,” said John Boyer, Chairman of the MAXIMUS Foundation. “McClendon Center’s commitment to enhancing health outcomes and family and community development – while implementing innovative programs and services – continues to inspire the MAXIMUS Foundation. We look forward to seeing more of McClendon Center work in the future as they serve the community.”
With more than 23,000 adults with Severe Mental Illness (SMI) living in our nation’s capital, the need to provide mental health services is clear. In addition to SMI, many of our clients have, or at risk for, at least one co-occurring chronic health condition (e.g., diabetes, asthma, heart disease, etc.). Demographically, a majority live well below the DC poverty line, 88% are African-American, and nearly 30% are homeless. We provide our clients with the treatment and care that improves their quality of life, reducing the risk of hospitalizations and incarceration. In the end, the broader DC community benefits from filling a void in available mental health treatment. While our primary revenue comes from Medicaid reimbursement for clinical services, other crucial but “medically non-essential” assistance and programs must be covered by other sources of funding. This grant from MAXIMUS FOUNDATION is invaluable and will help to defray the costs of our support services.
THANK YOU MAXIMUS FOUNDATION!
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About MAXIMUS: Since 1975, MAXIMUS has operated under its founding mission of Helping Government Serve the People®, enabling citizens around the globe to successfully engage with their governments at all levels and across a variety of health and human services programs. MAXIMUS delivers innovative business process management and technology solutions that contribute to improved outcomes for citizens and higher levels of productivity, accuracy, accountability and efficiency of government-sponsored programs. For more information, visit www.maximus.com.
About the MAXIMUS Foundation: As the philanthropic arm of MAXIMUS, the Foundation extends the mission of the Company by identifying and awarding grants to partners with specialized expertise to deliver results within the same populations and communities served by the public programs the Company operates. The MAXIMUS Foundation is completely funded by MAXIMUS and its employees, and provides grants to local community organizations with programs and projects in the areas of child and youth development, health and community development.
The problems with funding for mental and behavioral healthcare is not new to District of Columbia; but, this year, the effects are overwhelming. By the end of September, McClendon Center will experience a shortfall of over $100,000 due to the Department of Behavioral Health cutting off funding for uninsured clients. This problem appears to be system-wide at this point, threatening the notion that we — as providers — form the public safety net for District residents with serious mental illness. When it became apparent that there was a funding issue several months ago, we as a Center decided there were three basic courses of action. The first was to transfer these uninsured clients back to the Department of Behavioral Health and hope they could find an agency that was sufficiently funded. (The question then would be, why would McClendon Center — as the District’s highest-performing agency — not receive funding when a lower-performing agency had). The second course would be to serve these clients anyway and try to absorb the loss, which is substantial. The last choice would be to simply not serve them and wait for the new fiscal year to bring new revenues on October 1st.
It will come as no surprise that McClendon Center has chosen to serve these uninsured individuals and are doing so at our own expense. We can’t let them go un-served, and we refuse to transfer them to an agency that will not provide the quality services that we do. Our Board of Directors is acutely aware that this decision will likely put the Center in deficit for the fiscal year, the first time that has happened in this decade. But how could we do otherwise? What is the price tag for quality and compassion? And what exactly does the District government value in regard to serving its most vulnerable residents?
If you have considered a gift to McClendon Center but have yet to make a donation, I ask that you actively consider making a contribution to help us cover the cost of providing these services. For the rest of the summer, your financial participation in providing services to the uninsured would be very much appreciated by us all.
— Dennis Hobb, executive director
image courtesy of Stuart Miles at FreeDigitalPhotos.nte
We kicked of Mental Health Awareness Month by earning the only five-star Provider Scorecard* rating by the DC Department of Behavioral Health for the second year in a row. We are very honored to receive this recognition and are grateful to our staff — especially our Community Support Specialists whose teamwork with their clients is reflected in our success; our doctors, nurses, and professional staff; our leaders; and our Board of Directors.
*The Scorecard evaluates 20-plus DC community-based mental health providers for quality of services, adherence to Federal and District regulations and policy requirements as well as financial compliance.
The MC Connection newsletter October 2017October 21, 2018 - 5:47 pm
The MC Connection newsletter May 2018May 21, 2018 - 6:12 pm
The MC Connection newsletter December 2017December 14, 2017 - 6:23 pm
The MC Connection newsletter November 2017November 15, 2017 - 5:57 pm
The MC Connection newsletter July 2017July 20, 2017 - 7:22 pm
