Educator Mary Ellen Graham became involved in social work at an age when most people consider retirement. After volunteering at a homeless shelter, Graham was inspired to leave academia in order to serve the poor full-time. It was in 2007, while working as a case worker at St. Vincent DePaul’s health care center, that the specific difficulties her middle-aged male clients faced gave birth to the idea of My Place Germantown.

Graham believed the poor conditions her clients were living in undermined the health center’s work.   “When the housing isn’t stable, medical routines aren’t consistent.”  She made it her mission to create housing that would be an appropriate option for these hard-to-place individuals.

After sharing her dream with fellow parishioners at Germantown’s St. Vincent DePaul parish, Graham received an enthusiastic response. When St. Vincent’s decided to sell its convent dating from the 1860’s, and Community Ventures, a non-profit developer of low income housing agreed to partner as the developer, Graham was able to set about making the dream a reality. The location was perfect for her clients at the health care center who considered the neighborhood their home.

Germantown residents, however, were initially skeptical of the project and blocked the rezoning effort. Founding board member Tom Volkert, convinced of the value of the project to the community, agreed to chair a neighborhood advisory committee to involve and inform neighbors. Today, both MPG residents and neighbors have representation on the advisory committee.

In 2010, after a total renovation of the building, the first tenants began moving into the 12-unit residence. In order to qualify, each resident must meet two requirements: he must have a certifiable disability and have experienced a recent bout of homelessness. Two of the apartments are wheelchair-accessible while one has been retrofitted for the visually or hearing impaired. Each resident signs a lease and pays an affordable rent.  Although the residents live independently, they benefit from support services and the presence of around-the-clock staff.

In anticipation of Mary Ellen Graham’s retirement as Executive Director in 2015, a study was conducted to plan for the future of My Place Germantown. It was determined that forming a partnership with a larger organization with a compatible mission would be in the best interest of MPG. A service agreement was entered into with Horizon House to assume program and maintenance operations at the site, with the goal of eventual merger. MPG remains responsible for administering its HUD grant and raising the matching funds required by the grant.

MPG and Horizon House represent the best in human services and are both committed to constant assessment and improvement. This match for MPG promises to continue Graham’s original mission of providing affordable housing and support services to a vulnerable population in a small community-based setting.

Board of Directors:

President and Executive Director:
Jeffrey S. Williamson

Vice-President:
Joe Clay

Secretary:
Jack DiFeo

Treasurer:

Beth C. Hamlin

Emeritus Director:
Mary Ellen Graham

Directors:

• Judy Christis
• Joe Clay
• Jack DiFeo
• Stephanie Fedoroff
• Mary Ellen Graham
• Beth C. Hamlin
• Kathy Lieberman
• Peg Mc Fadden
• Joan M. McGowan
• Tom Stevens
• Charles E. Washington Jr.
• Tamika N. Washington, Esquire

Staff

Director of Homeless Services: Dwayna Durham
Program Manager: Andrene Grizzle

Resident Support Specialists
Samantha Scruggs • Gloria Massey