Woodley House

03/31/2026

Our Spring Block Party is fast approaching next weekend! Get ready for performances by up-and-coming local musicians from School of Rock Washington DC/Cleveland Park and the GraceNotes a capella group from Maret School.

In addition to live music from our stage, we'll have free food trucks, virtual golf, games, prizes & more! The Block Party is free to register and fun for the whole family.

Join us in Woodley Park next Saturday, April 11. Let us know you're coming via Eventbrite: https://woodley-house-block-party.eventbrite.com

And please consider a donation when registering! Your support helps ensure Woodley House can continue providing housing and services for DC's most vulnerable residents.

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03/25/2026

Last week, we were fortunate to have students and staff from Washington International School volunteer with us in Woodley Park. They helped us reorganize and clean up items in our Food Pantry, and assembled "welcome home baskets" for participants in our Permanent Supportive Housing program. We really benefited from the extra hands!

Service learning is a big part of the WIS curriculum, and we were glad to share with students and faculty about our work. Thanks again to the WIS community for being good neighbors and partners to Woodley House and our residents.

03/19/2026

You're invited to our inaugural Spring Block Party in Woodley Park on Saturday, April 11, for an afternoon of fun, games, and community.

We’re excited to have CitySwing join us with their state-of-the-art Golf Truck for an immersive virtual experience. Whether you’re a beginner or an expert golfer, you can try your swing, challenge friends, and win prizes, or test your putting skills on CitySwing’s miniature golf course.

The fun doesn’t stop there! Enjoy live music, food trucks, games for all ages, and opportunities to connect with neighbors while supporting a great cause.

Register for free at https://woodley-house-block-party.eventbrite.com. We ask that you consider a donation of $20 per adult and $10 per child to help Woodley House support Washingtonians who face serious mental illness and housing instability.

03/10/2026

Woodley House's group homes (Holly House and Valenti House) and our Supported Independent Living apartments (at Cornerstone House and other locations across DC) offer long-term housing for Washingtonians who face serious mental illness.

Last year, our long-term housing programs served 76 residents, 95% of whom remain stably housed. At Woodley House, we're proud to have achieved this annual metric for many years now.

With every new client who comes to Woodley House, we meet them wherever they are on their recovery journey. Our skilled, compassionate staff ensures they receive dignified care. And we help them regain a measure of independence, so they can reintegrate into their community.

This has been the heart of Woodley House's work for 68 years.

03/04/2026

Welcome spring with Woodley House! Join us on the campus of Maret School on Saturday, April 11, for our inaugural Spring Block Party.

The event will be fun for the whole family: We'll have virtual golf from CitySwing, live music from School of Rock Washington DC/Cleveland Park, free food trucks (first come, first served), games, prizes & more.

To register, visit our Eventbrite page: https://woodley-house-block-party.eventbrite.com. The Block Party is free, though we ask that you consider a donation of $20 per adult and $10 per child to help Woodley House support Washingtonians who face serious mental illness and housing instability.

This event is rain or shine. We hope to see you at our Block Party in Woodley Park on April 11! 🌸🎵⛳

02/25/2026

Woodley House's Permanent Supportive Housing (PSH) program helps individual adults and families with children navigate the process of obtaining a housing voucher from the DC government, and then get stabilized in their new home.

One of our PSH clients is Ms. Brenda, aged 61, who experienced housing instability after losing her job in 2017. Ms. Brenda spent time in shelters across DC, until coming to Woodley House in 2025, seeking stability, support, and an opportunity to rebuild her independence. Despite challenges and moments of uncertainty, Ms. Brenda was highly motivated to secure long-term housing; she actively participated in supportive services and housing planning. Finally, this month, her perseverance paid off when she received her permanent supportive housing voucher. Ms. Brenda deeply appreciates having her voucher and now is working with Woodley House staff on securing her new home.

Last year, we supported 210 people through PSH, about half of them children. Many of these individuals are like Ms. Brenda, emerging from a period of instability and seeking a place to call home for the long term.

Woodley House frequently receives word-of-mouth referrals for our PSH program, because our staff (including Kenyatte and Nieshia, pictured) go above and beyond for our clients. We aim to help even more households achieve stability and security in 2026.

02/20/2026

We were very happy to have Angel and Christian from DC Mayor's Office on Latino Affairs (MOLA) visit our programs this week. Woodley House seeks ways to better support Latino residents in DC, including through our crisis stabilization residence and our food pantry. We appreciate our growing partnership with the Mayor's Office and we look forward to exciting things to come.

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Nos dio mucho gusto que Angel y Christian, de la Oficina de la Alcaldesa para Asuntos Latinos (MOLA), visitaran nuestros programas esta semana. Woodley House busca maneras de apoyar mejor a los residentes latinos de DC, incluyendo por nuestra residencia de estabilización de crisis y nuestra despensa de alimentos. Agradecemos nuestra creciente colaboración con la Oficina de la Alcaldesa y esperamos con ansias las novedades que nos esperan.

02/18/2026

Last year, our Crossing Place program welcomed 110 residents who were struggling with an acute psychiatric crisis. Our highly trained, compassionate team helps every Crossing Place client work toward regaining a measure of stability, so they can return home or move on to the next phase of their recovery.

More than 85% of Crossing Place clients previously experienced homelessness, and more than 60% have a co-occurring substance use disorder. Crisis stabilization programs such as Crossing Place save our health care system money, because the alternative for many of these individuals is to be hospitalized, which is significantly more expensive.

In 2027, Woodley House will mark 50 years since we opened Crossing Place as one of the country's first community-based alternatives to hospitalization. We know the work of Crossing Place remains as important as ever in the DC community.

If you'd like to learn more about Crossing Place's intake process or how to make a referral, call us at (202) 830-3517.

02/11/2026

In 2025, Woodley House's small but mighty food pantry fulfilled 1,061 orders from 172 unique households. This represents a 60% increase in demand compared to the year before.

Food insecurity continues to affect neighbors across DC, including many of the housing-insecure clients we serve. Our food pantry is expanding its reach through word of mouth, and thanks to the generous donations that help fill our shelves!

We are grateful for Aidan Montessori School, All Souls Episcopal Church, Maret School and other neighbors who are supporting the pantry with donations year-round. Food drives are a great way to engage students and community members in Woodley House's work. Thank you for standing alongside us.

02/05/2026

Four years ago, when we pledged to double the number of people Woodley House serves annually, we didn’t imagine how quickly or dramatically the community need would grow as well.

We're proud to say that Woodley House served 602 individuals across our programs in 2025, which is more than twice our number from 2022. This is also the most individuals ever served by Woodley House in a single year.

But 602 is much more than just a number. These are individuals who are experiencing a mental health crisis, or emerging from a period of homelessness, or struggling with food insecurity. Every person who comes through Woodley House's doors is treated with the utmost care, compassion and dignity.

The need continues to grow every day. With your support, Woodley House is stepping up again in 2026, to serve more Washingtonians facing mental illness and housing instability. Thanks for standing alongside us.

01/27/2026

In this bitterly cold winter weather, it's important to find some warmth. At Woodley House, we're grateful for the recent donation of plush Bella Sonni comforters from our good friends at KEYS for the Homeless.

For many years, Valerie Johnson, the president and founder of KEYS for the Homeless Foundation, has been facilitating donations of high-quality household goods and foods that we use in our housing programs, or distribute to the community through our food pantry.

These comforters will help furnish the new homes of our Permanent Supportive Housing clients, many of whom are transitioning out of a period of homelessness. Thank you to Valerie and KEYS for the Homeless for supporting Woodley House and our neighbors through this winter and year-round.

01/25/2026

We didn't know Carol Sauer. But we know her story all too well: A loved one descending further and further into mental illness, their family exhausting all avenues for helping them.

At Woodley House, our staff does everything we can to build rapport with individuals (and their families) who are suffering serious mental illness and sometimes coming out of a period of homelessness. Over 68 years, our housing programs have supported tens of thousands of Washingtonians on their recovery journeys.

But we know that, sadly, sometimes the illness is too hard to overcome. Thank you to Carol's family for sharing her story and helping to break the stigma. No family is alone in this.

Carol Sauer, 66, spent more than two decades homeless in Northern Virginia and was a well-recognized figure at a bus stop in Arlington.