Our Day Program
The Day Program is a structured, low barrier to entry program that welcomes over 100 guests into the Center each day to meet their immediate needs while providing case management and other support.
Meeting Needs… Reclaiming Lives
The Program is designed to support men on their journey through homelessness, in keeping with our mission of Meeting Needs … Reclaiming Lives.
Men struggling with homelessness face a range of obstacles. The Father McKenna Center has a well-developed program of services and strategies to support our guests, balancing small goals with high expectations. The ultimate goal of our work is to help each man reach his full potential. Our approach is to meet each person where he is and support him as he works toward a life of stability, productivity, meaning, and hope.
In any week we have over 250 unique guests (in the course of a year more than 1,800 different men spend time at the Center). They range in age from early 20’s to over 80, and are of every race, color and creed, although the overwhelming majority are African American.
Reflecting the diverse impact of homelessness, some men are well educated, while others do not have a high school diploma. We see men suffering from mental illness, struggling with addiction, and isolated from their families. Some men are coming home from incarceration, others are new to the DC area. In each man we see a unique person, beloved of God, deserving of grace, and imbued with innate dignity.
Clothing Distribution
Occurs the 1st and 3rd Thursday of each month. Signups are from 7:30 - 8 am and those who signed up are called beginning at 8 am. Available to men who have completed intake.
Computer Lab
Available from 9:00 am and 10:45 am Mon-Thurs in 30 minute time slots at the discretion of the case manager. Sign up required.
Accountability
Our guests are encouraged and held accountable as they strive to address and overcome the issues that they face.
A man does not become homeless overnight. He does not go from having a home, job, and family to living on the street in an instant. His life unravels over time. Similarly, it takes time to stitch that life back together.
Each individual must be ready and willing to do the hard work (reflection, healing, and focus) to step back to a life of stability, productivity, meaning and hope.
The Father McKenna Center companions him on that journey, providing guidance, tools, encouragement, and love.
Social Justice in Action
Gonzaga College High School
High school seniors in the course, “Social Justice in Action,” developed and taught by Ms. Katherine Murphy at Gonzaga College High School, produced a video entitled “Social Justice in Action” in their effort to uncover what is special about The Father McKenna Center.