The Washington Blade; Friday, January 10, 1997
Brian O'Connell

"I think the center has come a very long way. The community really appreciates what Max Robinson is doing for us," said Jacqueline Massey, an Anacostia civic activist and president of the residents' council at the nearby Valley Green housing complex.

The Whitman-Walker Clinic "had some opposition at the beginning from some in the community, some who didn't like the idea of outsiders coming in," recalled Massey. "But as time went by and people saw how great the need was for services, they began to appreciate the accessibility of the center. Now people can see that this is not about any individual or institution, it's about taking care of people. It's not about Gay or anything like that. People need help and the folks at Max Robinson go the last mile of the way for them."

The shining jewel of the refurbished facility will be its brand-new day treatment facility for people with HIV. There will also be a new endeavor to cultivate "natural caregivers" -- where staffers work to train a client and his or her spouse, friend, or family member to act as the client's case manager, from monitoring changes in health status to navigating them through the often-bewildering bureaucracy of medical and financial benefits.

A fully equipped dental suite will be introduced, as well as new equipment for primary medical treatment. The Robinson Center will also continue providing -- as it has amid the construction work -- vocational and nutritional services, substance abuse and mental health counseling, and case management services.

"We're here to stay; we're a part of the community," said Jim Graham, Whitman-Walker Clinic's executive director, noting that the Clinic purchased the three-floor facility at 2301 Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue, SE, two blocks from the green line Anacostia Metro station, in 1995. "I think the first-class medical and dental services we provide will become even more appreciated once the renovations are completed and the facility becomes fully staffed. Anyone who was there at the beginning would be able to appreciate what a long haul it has been. But I'm enormously proud that we've reached this point."

The clinic estimates that 300 clients received HIV/AIDS-related services at the Robinson Center in 1996 and that the additional space, services, and staff that it will soon enjoy will allow it to help even more people.

That the center would become such a thriving benefit to the community was hardly a certainty when Whitman-Walker first began operating in Anacostia in the fall of 1992. First, there was the question of how well a predominantly Gay-oriented health clinic would be received by the community in Anacostia and whether heterosexual clients would feel comfortable there.

Then, the first two directors of the Robinson Center were replaced amid controversies. The center has also occupied three different locations in its four-year history. Its first home was in a retail space on South Capitol Street formerly occupied by a drug store. The clinic left that location in January 1994 when a lease dispute erupted with the landlord. It next operated for a year out of nearby space provided by the Covenant Baptist Church. In January 1995, the center moved to leased space at its current location in a building constructed as a police station in 1909. Whitman-Walker purchased the building later that year.

The Robinson Center apparently has settled into a period of much-welcomed stability and consistency. The $400,000 in refurbishments will put a shine on a facility that's been operating for two years now out of the same location and with the same director, Barbara Chinn, who also serves as deputy executive director of the Whitman-Walker Clinic.

"I think the work our dedicated staff does here, along with our ownership and renovation of the building, speaks to our commitment to the community and our determination to help alleviate and resolve the crisis that HIV has caused," said Chinn.

She emphasized that people who live east of the Anacostia River, an area marked by much poverty, will now have available at the Robinson Center all of the services that are currently offered at the main clinic location on 14th Street, NW.

"We will now have all of the HIV-related services and we'll have them right here in the neighborhood," said Chinn. "It's about convenience and accessibility. It's a one-stop shopping for health services and people don't have to go far from home, and they appreciate that. We're kind of a 'medical Wal-Mart.'"

The building consists of three levels; two floors above ground and one level below ground. The first floor will house the medical and dental services as well as space for free HIV counseling and testing. The second floor will be completely devoted to day treatment. The level below ground will be for vocational rehabilitation and nutritional services as well as the offices for case managers. An elevator-like lift has been installed to provide wheelchair access to each floor of the building.

The interior renovations are scheduled to be finished by Feb. 1. Exterior work -- repointing brick and mortar and repainting -- will be done after the snow season ends. No date has been set for a formal rededication ceremony, but Clinic officials expect to schedule one when the warmer spring weather arrives and the exterior work is completed.

In addition to the expanded services and hours of operation, Chinn said she is pleased that there will be a new fulltime receptionist who'll be able to direct people walking in or calling to the right person or services they need. She emphasized the center wants to maximize accessibility and have a familiar person as a point of first contact will help make clients feel comfortable and welcome.

"All of this says something to the clients. They can see from our actions that we care about taking care of them and we've done everything we can to create a comfortable, welcoming space to do that," said Chinn.

And the community appears to be responding with a heartening embrace.

"These people [at the Max Robinson Center] have really and truly done everything they could to provide what's needed to meet the needs of people affected by HIV in our area," said David White, an advisory neighborhood commissioner where the center is located.

He said area residents have largely given up any discomfort they may have initially had regarding the Max Robinson Center being a satellite operation of a Gay health clinic.

"The people at Max Robinson are actually a part of the community. People are all working together, there are no stereotypes -- and I consider that a blessing. Everyone knows we're all interested in getting aid to whoever wants it," he said.

Dorothea Ferrell, also an advisory neighborhood commissioner and president of the residents' council at the Barry Farms housing complex, agreed: "Everyone I know is happy with it. I haven't heard of anybody saying they didn't want the wonderful help that's available."

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