Photo by rjs1322.
Even with Mayor Vince Gray pledging $100 million to create affordable housing in D.C., homelessness is still a problem for over 6,000 people in the city. And for those who use one shelter, conditions aren’t as safe as they could be.
As the Washington Examiner first reported, a D.C. Office of the Inspector General report shows that confiscated weapons at the New York Avenue Men’s Emergency Shelter were kept in an unsecured lock box.
From the report:
On February 7, 2013, the team visited New York Avenue and observed the locked bin where confiscated weapons are stored until they are disposed. One side of the bin was locked with a combination lock, and the other side was “popped” open, rendering the combination lock useless. A New York Avenue employee reported that the weapons storage bin would be replaced with another bin requiring a key, but he/she was not sure about the logistics or timing of the replacement.
When asked about weapons at the shelter, seven respondents said they aren’t prevalent, while four said they are. While not surprising, the report also revealed that the shelter has an issue with mice and pests, including roaches and bedbugs.
Getting D.C.’s homeless into permanent housing has long been an issue, as the homeless population—particularly homeless families —continues to rise.
As part of his budget for fiscal year 2014, Mayor Gray proposed a change the Homeless Services Reform Act that would give homeless families “provisional” placement in shelters then require them to move into housing using rent subsidies. But the D.C. Council voted to remove the proposal from the budget Monday.
The Post reports:
Council member Jim Graham (D-Ward 1) introduced the identical reforms as separate legislation and will hold the first public hearings June 3.
“The mayor was proposing major changes in the Homeless Services Reform Act without any opportunity for public input,” Graham said. “We all had the same reaction. There’s probably some good things in there, probably some not so good. But let’s have a public process.”
The proposal by Gray (D) sought to give homeless families “provisional” placements in shelters, require them to move into their own apartments with a temporary rent subsidy and mandate that they save 30 percent of whatever income they receive, including welfare benefits, in a savings account.
Nearly 200 advocacy groups, including the Washington Legal Clinic for the Homeless, signed a letter rejecting Gray’s proposal, calling instead for it to go through the legislative process. They’ll get their wish as the first public hearing is held in early June.
Update: Amber W. Harding, a staff attorney for the Washington Legal Clinic for the Homeless, said in an email Mayor Gray’s proposal would have accidentally “allowed residents to have guns in shelter without consequence.” Read more here.
