Veteran Who Found His Way Circles Back to Help Others.
Please read about my previous experience with homelessness.
Gerard is an Army veteran who served his country honorably in a stateside military hospital during the Vietnam War.
After completing his years of service, and as a result of his undiagnosed and untreated paranoid schizophrenia, Gerard found himself caught up in the drug culture of the 1970s: in and out of prison, mental institutions and eventually homeless – sleeping on park benches, in alleys and even in the woods of Rock Creek Park.
During this 30-year period, Gerard lost his job, his family and friends, and worst of all, he lost hope.
Ten years ago, Gerard found Pathways to Housing DC and his life changed once again. ... Read more about Gerard & Pathways to Housing
My Employment / Work History: Summary
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Starting In 2007 thru 2024 (17 yrs.) I was a Certified Advanced Level WRAP Facilitator.
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Starting in 2012 thru 2024 (12 yrs.) I was a DC Department of Behavioral Health Certified Peer Specialist.
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Starting in 2012 thru 2014 (2yrs.) I was a Veterans Outreach Worker & a Veterans Peer Health Specialist Worker employed by Pathways to Housing DC: Veterans Housing First HUD/VASH Program
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Starting in 2015 thru 2018 (3 yrs.) I was employed as a Certified Peer Specialist / Advanced Level WRAP Facilitator for Our Door Consumer Focused Activity Center
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Currently I am employed by Dreamers & Achievers Center in Washington DC. 2019 - Present
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Adams Place Shelter Tuesdays - Thursdays 9am - 11am
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Dreamers & Achievers Center Tuesdays - Thursdays 1pm - 3pm
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I Facilitate WRAP Seminar I: Developing Wellness Recovery Action Planning (WRAP) workshops at both locations on Tuesdays and Thursdays.
I work with people who have experienced psychiatric symptoms to discover the strengths they have and can use to enhance their recovery, emphasizing the underlying concepts necessary to recovery: hope, personal responsibility, education, self-advocacy, and support.
I teach about wellness tools and strategies, such as medication management, changing negative thoughts to positive, and developing a wellness lifestyle. Empower and motivate people to work toward recovery - feeling the way they want to feel, making their lives the way they want them to be, and moving toward meeting their life goals.