Woodley House

09/15/2025

Did you catch Woodley House on CNN’s “Champions for Change” special over the weekend?

Among our featured residents, you may have spotted Patricia, who’s been part of Woodley House’s Supported Independent Living program for more than 20 years.

After being discharged from a psychiatric hospital in 2002, Patricia moved into a shared apartment in Northwest D.C. with support from Woodley House. Since then, she finished her master’s degree and became an English professor. Patricia also served as the client representative on Woodley House’s board of directors.

Woodley House case managers visit Patricia every month, to ensure her housing situation remains stable. “I appreciate the support they give me,” she says.

Patricia enjoys independent living, taking advantage of all that D.C. has to offer, including parks and restaurants. She has family in the western U.S., including two grown sons, and is flying out to California this year for her 50th high school reunion.

We’re grateful to Patricia for sharing her story with us. To hear more stories from Woodley House, watch our CNN “Champions for Change” feature: https://www.cnn.com/2025/09/08/us/video/dana-bash-ann-chauvin-cfc-full

09/12/2025

Woodley House’s “Champions for Change” segment on CNN features several of our residents going about their daily routines. One of those is Kevin, a client of our Supported Independent Living program.

Every Woodley House client has a unique story about their challenges and journey of recovery. We thank Kevin for sitting down with us to share a bit of his story.

Kevin worked for 40 years as an airline attendant, a career that he loved. He especially enjoyed traveling and spoiling his passengers. He even got to fly along with the campaign of presidential candidate Michael Dukakis in 1988.

Unfortunately, a serious injury left Kevin in chronic pain and made it impossible for him to continue working. Kevin came to Woodley House because “I needed a place to regenerate, start rebuilding,” he says.

Kevin has great appreciation for the Woodley House staff, especially Tyrica and Nieshia, for helping him through challenging times. “We just gel,” Kevin says of the staff.

Kevin is a fan of comics, movies and puzzles, especially anything from the Star Wars universe. He hopes to eventually move to a home with more space to accommodate his collectibles.

Although he can no longer work on airplanes, Kevin still loves meeting new people wherever he can. He refers to chance encounters as “appointments” and believes they happen for a reason. “The Lord will put you where he wants you,” Kevin says.

Watch for Kevin in our "Champions for Change" segment on CNN.com at https://www.cnn.com/2025/09/08/us/video/dana-bash-ann-chauvin-cfc-full

09/10/2025

Woodley House’s “Champions for Change” segment airing on CNN this week features the story of Reginald, one of our residents.

Reginald has been through some tough times in recent years, including a car accident, a long hospital stay, a relapse into addiction, and bouts of homelessness.

When he was hospitalized and exploring housing options, a case manager connected him with Woodley House. “Before this, I actually had no idea that places like Woodley House even existed,” Reginald says.

He has made tremendous strides since joining Woodley House’s Supported Independent Living program last year. Reginald now has his addiction counseling certificate and wants to give back by helping others and spending more time with his family. He hopes to put his engineering skills to use by returning to the workforce. And he’ll soon move out of his shared apartment and into his own place, through Woodley House’s Permanent Supportive Housing program.

“Kudos to Woodley House for being there for individuals who need help, who want help. You have to want it,” he says. “The process works. I’m living proof of that.”

You can watch Reginald's and Woodley House's story at: https://www.cnn.com/2025/09/08/us/video/dana-bash-ann-chauvin-cfc-full

(Images 1 and 3 courtesy of CNN)

09/09/2025

Woodley House is thrilled to be featured as one of CNN's 2025 "Champions for Change," alongside seven other organizations from across the country doing trailblazing work.

In our segment, CNN Anchor & Chief Political Correspondent (and former Woodley House board member) Dana Bash talks to our CEO & Executive Director Ann Chauvin about Woodley House's history and Ann's own journey. The video also highlights our resident Reginald, who will soon be transitioning from our Supported Independent Living program and moving into his own apartment.

All the Champions for Change organizations will be featured during the primetime special hosted by Dr. Sanjay Gupta on Saturday, September 13, at 10pm ET/PT. Woodley House's segment can now be viewed online at: https://www.cnn.com/2025/09/08/us/video/dana-bash-ann-chauvin-cfc-full

We're deeply thankful to Dana and everyone at CNN for sharing Woodley House's story with a broader audience!

09/02/2025

Woodley House is proud to share that our team member Angel Surratt has been recognized by the Department of Behavioral Health for her “outstanding contributions” to our community. In addition to her role as a peer navigator for the D.C. Superior Court, Angel is an on-call advisor at one of Woodley House’s residential programs.

Angel is dedicated to helping people who come through the legal system, working with them to navigate the complex network of available resources. Every day at the courthouse, Angel sees 30 to 50 clients, many of whom need access to food, shelter, mental health programs or substance use treatment.

She says the empathetic support she provides often encourages clients to open up to her. “It could be the littlest thing for us, but it could be big for them,” Angel says.

Over her career, Angel has worked in addiction counseling, residential counseling and peer advising across D.C.’s system of care. She started as a part-time advisor at Woodley House last year. All that experience has prepared Angel for the dramatic increase in the number of clients now coming from the federal government’s ongoing clearing of local homeless encampments.

“It doesn’t matter their situation, my goal is to support the client,” she says.

Angel has three grown children of her own and six grandchildren. She also has a foster child now, who keeps her busy at home.

We’re all fortunate to have Angel as part of Woodley House and the greater D.C. community, making a difference in so many lives. Congrats, Angel!

08/28/2025

Woodley House is fortunate to be a grantee of the Edes Home Foundation, which supports low-income seniors in D.C. The Foundation's goal is to ensure that Washingtonians aged 65 and older can continue to live as independently and self-sufficiently as possible.

We have many seniors in our group homes and Supported Independent Living (SIL) program. With generous grant funding from Edes Home Foundation this year, Woodley House has been able to provide our seniors with new clothes, shoes, household items, and transportation to medical appointments.

Woodley House's vision is that ALL D.C. residents who face mental health disorders will have a dignified place to live, services needed to thrive, and respect and inclusion in the community. We're grateful to the Foundation for helping us work toward this inclusive vision.

08/21/2025

Did you know that demand has increased significantly for Woodley House's Food Pantry?

A year ago, we welcomed 10-15 patrons to our pantry each week. Now, it's typically 25 or more.

We fulfilled 665 pantry orders in 2024. This year, we're on track to fulfill 1,000 pantry orders.

Donations to our Food Pantry help us keep our shelves fully stocked and our food costs under control. The community need for our services is greater than ever, and we want to make sure we're reaching as many Washingtonians as possible.

We hope you'll consider organizing a pantry drive for Woodley House this fall, with your neighbors, school, office or faith community. It's a fun way to make a big difference for D.C. residents in need. Contact us for more details.

08/15/2025

D.C. is a city where people facing mental health disorders can thrive and lead productive lives, given supportive housing and resources. Woodley House is proud to be part of D.C.'s network of mental health care, and we're proud of our clients and staff.

This past week, our group home residents enjoyed a picnic at Hains Point on a beautiful Saturday, and our Supported Independent Living clients unleashed their creativity during a Sip & Paint event (the sipped beverage was sparkling water).

Our team member Tyrica, who organized the Sip & Paint, says: "We are looking forward to exploring more engaging activities and events that will allow all of our consumers to enjoy themselves while feeling fully supported. Our goal is to continue going above and beyond to ensure they feel safe, valued, and happy."

08/13/2025

Our statement on D.C.'s homeless encampments

07/31/2025

We're proud to debut Woodley House's brand-new video, "Planned Giving: How You Can Make a Difference for Woodley House." We once again collaborated with the talented filmmaker Maria Luz Bravo to capture some of the many reasons and ways to support Woodley House.

The timing is also perfect, since August is National Make-A-Will Month. It's a helpful annual reminder for all of us to take time to craft our last will and testament. If you already have a will, it's recommended to review it for possible updates every 3-5 years. A will is essential to ensure that we're leaving a legacy for our families and our communities, including support for nonprofit organizations that do critical work.

Thanks for watching!

A film produced for Woodley House by Maria Luz Bravo (www.marialuzbravo.net/videography).Founded in 1958, Woodley House is a nonprofit enabling District of C...

07/29/2025

Woodley House's website has a fresh look! Working with our friends at eminjay design, we've streamlined the site to make it easier to navigate and find key information about our programs.

Other new features include:
-An interactive map showing the geographic breadth of Woodley House programs across the District of Columbia.
-A "Woodley Updates" page, where we'll share news items and perspectives from our team.
-A new donation form that accepts contributions via credit card, bank transfer or Google Pay.

Please let us know what you think!

https://woodleyhouse.org

05/21/2025

MEET THE WOODLEY HOUSE TEAM

We’re proud of how Woodley House staff members bring skill and compassion to their work every day. Here we showcase one of our colleagues who helps make Woodley House such a special organization.

NAME AND POSITION: Tyrone Cartwright, Chief Financial Officer

YEARS WITH WOODLEY HOUSE: 20 (2000 – 2009, and 2015 – present)

BACKGROUND: In 1981, Tyrone began his first job as a consumer loans clerk at First American Bank. He then held other roles in financial institutions, including credit unions. In 2000, Tyrone learned about Woodley House’s administrator opening from fellow churchgoer Debra Young, who was Woodley House’s executive director at the time. When Tyrone became administrator, he had oversight of Woodley House’s finance, HR, IT, operations and maintenance.

THE RETURN: Tyrone left Woodley House in 2009 to serve as director of finance and administration at a peer nonprofit, the Transitional Housing Corp. (today known as Housing Up). But he couldn’t stay away from Woodley House forever, and eventually returned in 2015.

WHAT MAKES WOODLEY HOUSE SPECIAL: Tyrone highlights how Woodley House’s clients, staff and board of directors come together as a triad that has persisted for nearly 70 years. “If you’re looking for a group of folks that’ll roll up their sleeves and fight to make our consumers’ lives the best they can be, Woodley House is the place.”

RELATIONSHIPS THAT LAST: Some current residents of Woodley House’s Supported Independent Living program have been with us for decades. Tyrone remembers several residents coming to watch his teenaged son play basketball; Tyrone’s son is now 41 years old.

RETIREMENT PLANNING: Woodley House is sad to bid farewell again to Tyrone, as he heads into retirement later this year. He and his wife, Shirley, plan to relax at their home in North Carolina, spend time traveling, and enjoy their four grandchildren.

LEGACY OF STABILITY: Tyrone is proud of his work helping Woodley House achieve a foundation of financial stability, which he’s confident our leadership will maintain and strengthen. “We’ve positioned ourselves to continue Joan Doniger’s vision of providing services to those who need it, allowing them to live as much a normal life as possible,” he says.