Photo by rjs1322.
D.C. is preparing for a 16 percent increase in homeless families seeking shelter this winter, according to a plan approved today by the Interagency Council on Homelessness.
“A projected increase for this winter is consistent with the trends tracked during the summer of 2014, from May through June, since there was a 26 percent increase of families requesting assistance at the Virginia William Family Resource Center compared to the same time period last summer,” states the plan, which is created each year to prepare for hypothermia season. The city is not required to provide shelter for families during the summer, as it is during the hypothermia season, which runs from November to the end of March.
ICH expects there to 409 units in the city’s inventory for homeless families at the beginning of the season, but “many or most,” either at D.C. General or smaller shelters, will be occupied. Deborah Carroll, interim director of Department of Human Services, said as much at a Council hearing in June. In addition, approximately 40 units at D.C. General do not meet the criteria set for a “private room” by a judge who ruled against the city’s practice of sheltering families in recreation centers. That lawsuit is still pending, according to the city, so it’s unclear if those units will be available.
No one from The Community Partnership for the Prevention of Homelessness, which coordinates the city’s Continuum of Care and runs D.C. General, attended the ICH meeting. Residents of D.C. General in June complained about poor living conditions at the shelter and said Community Partnership Executive Director Sue Marshall was unwilling to meet with them.
A request for comment from the Partnership was not immediately returned.
“If Mr. [Allen] Lew, [City Administrator], can be here, I think everyone can be here,” one ICH member representing the homeless said. “Homelessness will become very important if it happens to you. Let’s be real … about attending these meetings. The bulk of the same people are doing all the work.”
The winter plan calls to “decrease the number of entries into the system … and to accelerate exits out of shelter.” Case management and “housing stabilization support” are two ways to decrease entries, according to the plan, and an increase in “resource investments, improved landlord outreach and workflow improvements” are expected to hasten exits. Just 52 families exit shelter per month at the moment, and 164 are still in motels as of the last census.
“Through these efforts, the District will be able to meet more of the need with the existing capacity,” but a need for overflow capacity is expected by December. The winter plan recommends the Department of General Services prepare an options analysis to consider solutions for the overflow issue, from short-term leases to motels. One member noted that, in 20 years, the city has never brought on additional units after September 1st.
The city’s fiscal year 2015 budget did not provide for motel and hotel funding for homeless families during hypothermia season. It was noted by a member of the ICH that the document does not make budget recommendations.
The plan expects 1,597 men to seek shelter this winter — the peak number from last season — and 479 women — just below the peak number. It passed unanimously, without any objections from government members of the ICH.
