News February 2022

2/8/2022

How are you feeling? It makes sense that conversations about mental health seem to be everywhere these days. Undoubtedly the stress and isolation of the past two years has taken a toll on everyone. Those already stressed are really feeling it. For many folks HIPS is the last (or only) resource they can tap into for care and community. Knowing that is what keeps us going - and probably why you care about HIPS too.
AND - love is abundant and (sometimes) free so we intend to spread that all over the place. All of HIPS’ work is non-judgmental and based in love and respect, so let’s really turn that up this month. Join us in spreading the love by sending a HIPS Valentine to your beloved! Read on for details…
Love & lube,
HIPS Team
PS Also, frustratingly we’re underfunded as we start this year. In some cases, the once abundant government grants we’ve relied on have dried up. Not a great way to start 2022. If you can give a donation now it would be a great time to do it.
Thank you!

Women's Wellness Program

In the summer of 2020, because HIPS has a vision to care for everybody (sometimes taking on a lot!), we created the Women’s Wellness Program, thanks to a grant from HAHSTA at the Department of Health. The program seeks to boost self-esteem, provide a safe community, and support cis women of color experiencing homelessness, partner violence, or a range of health related issues.

Pictured: Clients create affirming and empowering Valentine’s Day cards for themselves in 2021.

HIPS staff outreach to women in need of support by tabling on H Street, visiting shelters, or just meeting women in the streets. They have a variety of individual needs. For folks experiencing homelessness or living in an abusive home very often don’t feel they have a safe space to share or even be. To ease some of these feelings of vulnerability weekly meetings are offered to talk and address mental health issues clients might be experiencing. Basic needs are addressed with hygiene kits containing toothpaste, tampons, new socks and other necessary items. Coping skills for grief and loss are discussed as well as various useful topics like job readiness training, job interview prep, and information on getting a GED. HIPS’ own take on art therapy is also offered. Painting supplies and freshly made smoothies offer a safe space where clients can feel a part of something and discuss their work when their art pieces are finished. Imagine how normal that feels?
Boosting confidence is also important. By creating a buddy system, where clients are paired up with one another, women have someone to go with them to appointments or to offer support during childcare exchanges with former partners that may have been abusive. Peer to peer support is something HIPS is all about. Who better to understand the situation than a person with lived experience?
Holidays aren’t forgotten either. Valentine’s Day in particular is celebrated wholeheartedly. Teddy bears, balloons, chocolate covered strawberries, and cupcakes are part of the fun, but maybe even more meaningful are the valentines. The women write encouraging love notes to themselves, cultivating self-love and encouragement from within. And yes, this year we will celebrate again on February 14th.
There are 215 women participating in the Women’s Wellness Program. The only requirement to participate is a desire and need. As always, HIPS is about taking down barriers to care and human kindness, not creating them.

Send Some LOVE

This year why not send a Valentine that spreads love even further?
Just make a donation of $5 or more and HIPS will send an e-Valentine card to your valentine. We will let them know that this Valentine is in their honor and sent from you. You can customize and even add a personalized comment if you like.

More Amazing Community Support

Jonathan Zucker, Esq. (He/Him/His)
Recently Jonathan raised an amazing $10,000 for HIPS with a birthday fundraiser on Facebook. We thought his goal was ambitious - and it was, but he and his generous network made it happen.
Jonathan is more than a local hero - he also sits on the board of directors at HIPS serving as the treasurer.
HIPS is always so grateful for the varied and creative ways our supporters help sustain our work. Thank you!

Meet Our Board Members

Gabrielle Newell, Board Vice Chair
(She/Her/Hers)

Gabrielle Newell is committed to boosting the effectiveness and equity of our safety net services. Gabrielle is a proud Washingtonian who came to HIPS in 2014 first as a volunteer, and in 2019 as a Board Member. Her paid work is in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Administration for Children and Families, where she leads work to make safety net programs more effective and equitable. Gabrielle is a committed organizer who believes in the power of collective effort to meet our needs.

We asked Gabrielle why she joined the Board at HIPS.

I joined the Board because when I was a volunteer, I developed a deep respect for the talented HIPS staff and clients and wanted to do what I could to make sure they had the tools and resources to continue to succeed and feel valued by the organization. As a native Washingtonian and a Black woman, I've seen this city gentrify violently and I'm sensitive to the lack of investment in ensuring Black and queer people continue to have a place to belong in DC. HIPS is leading the way in resisting these forces by providing affirming services. And as an organizer with mutual aid efforts, I've witnessed the powerful role of HIPS in campaigns in DC to decriminalize sex work and drug use, as well as to provide stable jobs for members of our community. I joined the Board to support our incredible staff, and it's an honor to continue to do that.

Lauren Webre, Board Member
(They/Them/Theirs)

Lauren Webre is a D.C. based education researcher, programmer, and performing artist. Lauren has a diverse background spanning social work, trauma-informed care, efficacy research, relationship coaching, data analysis, and exotic dance. They are honored to be working with HIPS toward dignity and harm reduction for those who most need it.
We asked Lauren why she wanted to join the Board at HIPS.
Initially, joining the board was proposed to me by outgoing board member Jon Zucker. I, like many I'm sure, did feel intimidated - I've never been on a board! Jon and I had connected through theater, and when we first met, I was writing a screenplay about my time as an exotic dancer (I haven't finished it ;) ) . I carry a strange perspective on the field by virtue of having done it while working toward a masters in social work (also unfinished) and having started in my 30s. I've got all kinds of work experience in theater and hospitality and research - even consulting at this point - but wouldn't think of myself as a board member! But having close connections to sex workers of various kinds and witnessing the impact of FOSTA SESTA made me aware of how policy can change the safety of vulnerable people. I'm also just fundamentally the sort of person who feels compelled to help others, particularly when aware of a struggle - so being offered a chance to help those who are helping is always something I'll work to do. Additionally during my psychology and social work degrees, I focused heavily on the relationships between sexuality, gender, and mental health. It was the example of other exotic dancers that led me to finally embrace my own gender-queerness, and I know personally how transformative a little bit of support and acceptance can be in finding peace in who you are.

Perhaps most importantly, having internalized a systems perspective from social work and understanding how one barrier in life leads to so many others. So the mission of HIPS couldn't feel MORE personal to me. Treating drug users and sex workers with dignity is a kind of humane-ness that's hard to come by, but I understand how compassion is the only way to open the gates forward for the marginalized. I know all to well also how the trans-folk and the gender non-conforming experience all degrees of violence and marginalization, and that there's a relationship between addictions and a lack of acceptance. So the fact that we focus our services on people who face the MOST challenges - trans folk, sex work communities, and those struggling with housing and addiction - feels like one of the most important places to focus effort and care. I believe HIPS holds the power to heal, and I'm grateful for the opportunity to support the mission. I think the scariest part of joining the board was committing to fundraising, especially after periods in my own life of financial scarcity. Jon helped me understand that there's no consequences here for needing a learning curve, which is that same kind of compassion that opens the doors to motivation. But I've also seen how expressing my personal connection to a mission can motivate others to action - so I'm excited to focus some effort, communicate my passion, and hopefully see it blossom into support for the organization. In candor, I think for someone like me, being on the board of HIPS is a huge opportunity to learn about nonprofits and their needs and functions, as well as a way to integrate my past into a public social identity that garners respect more than derision. I think overcoming the imposter syndrome of 'Me? on a board of directors?' is just one more step in my own empowerment - and that's exciting! I think it'll widen the landscape of opportunity in my own future, and I hope to give this kind of forward momentum back to others I know who've lived through THEIR struggles with marginalization and transformed them into action and compassion. Believe it or not, there's even MORE to this already wordy story I hope I can figure out how to communicate concisely in the future.
We also asked when and where they are the happiest?
Right now. I'm living my best life today. I'm on vacation with a loving partner, I have 2 fantastic cats. I'm openly queer in my life in DC, I'm training circus arts in my spare time, I'm singing with my music partner on weekends, I'm progressing in my data analytics career and I'm learning how to harness social good will to aid the under-served. Hard to ask for more, no?

HIPStar Johnny Bailey

(He/Him/His)
Johnny is a Community Outreach Coordinator and a lifelong Washingtonian with a BSW from the UDC where he worked to combine his background of lived experience with academic training in addiction and alternative recovery and harm reduction methods for those who are struggling with Substance Abuse Disorders.

We asked Johnny a few questions...
What do you consider your greatest achievement?
My current life.
8 years ago I was unemployed, dropped out of school, in bad health, separated, living in a squat with several other people with no heat, and just drinking myself to death while using enough amphetamines to kill a horse, Basically my life was a country song.
Now my marriage is great, I’ve been abstinent for 8 years, beat my depression and managed my other psychological issues we just bought a house, and I have a job I love doing something I care about.
I can’t narrow it down to one particular act, but getting from there to here is definitely my greater achievement
What is your current state of mind?
Conflicted, I feel like over the last 2 years my mind has been in a constant state of conflict. On one hand objectively my life is better than it’s ever been, so many good things have happened to me both personally and professionally, however they are all happening across a backdrop of so much pain, suffering and loss. I feel the uncertainty and fear that of the world we live in, I see so many horrific things happen to good people and feel completely helpless. I know that everything right in my world is always hanging by a thread, and it always feels like walking the thinnest line between the light and the darkness.

Which talent would you most like to have?
I would love to be able to sing, I have always wanted to be a musician, but have zero talent. This is why I DJ and produce events. It's allowed me to be a part of the music scene despite my horrific voice and inability to play anything.
Thank you for sharing Johnny!