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Jean-Michel Giraud is the President and CEO of Friendship Place, a nonprofit organization committed to ending homelessness and rebuilding lives in the Washington, DC region. He has advanced the entire homeless services system in our nation’s capital by drawing on over two decades of clinical experience in human services, training in psychiatric rehabilitation, expertise in recovery, and commitment to person-centered programming. Giraud is a pioneer of innovative program models and since joining Friendship Place in 2006, has overseen the launching of nine major new programs based on state-of the-art “housing first” service model. As a result, Friendship Place works to meet the needs of the homeless population “where they are,” meaning people are not turned away due to addiction, mental illness or lack of employment. His focus on cost-effective, permanent and rapid solutions to homelessness has been lauded by the DC government, the Department of Veterans Affairs, and homeless service advocates. Giraud is a recipient of the Meyer Foundation Exponent Award for visionary nonprofit leadership and member of the DC Interagency Council on Homelessness and Psychiatric Rehabilitation Association. He holds a Master’s Degree and Doctoral Qualification (DEA) in American Studies from Montpellier University in France, undergraduate degrees in Translation from La Sorbonne Nouvelle and Paris X University, and a Master Certificate in Business Administration from Tulane University in Louisiana. He is a Certified Psychiatric Rehabilitation Practitioner and has earned a Co-Occurring Disorders Competency Designation from DC COSIG and The Danya Institute. Giraud presents field workshops on empowerment, organizational transformation, veterans services, Housing First, Employment First, Rapid Rehousing and senior homelessness. To reach Jean-Michel Giraud, email him at communications@cchfp.org.
