[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 80 (Monday, May 15, 1995)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1035]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


            COMMUNITY PSYCHIATRIC CLINIC CELEBRATES 60 YEARS

                                 ______


                       HON. CONSTANCE A. MORELLA

                              of maryland

                    in the house of representatives

                          Monday, May 15, 1995
  Mrs. MORELLA. Mr. Speaker, on May 17 I will have the honor of 
participating in the Gala 60th Anniversary Celebration of the Community 
Psychiatric Clinic [CPC]. The clinic has been a leader in providing 
high quality mental health services in Montgomery County since its 
founding in 1935. It remains dedicated to serving those who are most 
vulnerable among us--abused children, low-income single mothers, 
immigrant families, and emotionally troubled adolescents.
  CPC was founded in 1935 by concerned citizens who recognized the need 
to bring health services out of metropolitan areas and into the 
community, to serve people where and when they need help. The 
inspiration behind this small group of local citizens was a politically 
active and socially aware suffragist, Lavinia Engle, who became one of 
Montgomery County's most admired citizens, and who is being honored 
with a posthumous award by CPC tonight.
  The clinic began in then-rural outreaches of Montgomery County in a 
small office above a bank in Rockville. Services were available 1 day a 
month and the clinic's initial budget was $50. In its 60th year, CPC is 
a $3.6 million agency that will serve more than 4,500 individuals this 
year.
  While these numbers are striking, what is most significant is that 
CPC has grown in response to the very special needs of our country's 
population, in particular, the needs of those without a powerful voice 
of their own. Many of the economic and social changes of the last 
decade have been particularly felt by women and children and the 
growing elderly population in our community. As early as the 1960's, 
CPC had developed an adolescent ``drop-in'' program. Redl House, a 
residential facility for troubled boys aged 8 to 12, began in 1982, and 
Camp Greentree, a therapeutic summer program for 80 emotionally 
disabled children, will celebrate its 25th anniversary this year.
  CPC's commitment to the community continues. Recognizing the 
emotional strains on many needy families and the difficulties they 
often face in accessing services, CPC has begun offering school-based 
programs. Through its outreach efforts, the clinic continues to work 
with all families in crisis, including adults in work-training programs 
and elderly persons and their families.
  It is with great pride that I join in honoring CPC after 60 years of 
service. CPC is an example of our community at its best, founded by 
local citizens, sustained by a dedicated staff and board, and forging 
new directions through a continued commitment to those in need. I look 
forward to CPC's next decades, knowing that the clinic will continue to 
set the pace in responding to the increasingly demanding and complex 
human needs of the future.


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