A D.C. Superior Court judge today delayed ruling on whether or not to issue a preliminary injunction against the District of Columbia’s practice of housing homeless families in recreation centers on freezing nights. But the judge did give homeless families sheltered in recreation centers in the past, present and future a conditional class certification, and rejected the city’s definition of private room.
Attorneys from Hogan Lovells, representing three homeless families sent to sleep in recreation centers on cold nights this year, argued for a preliminary injunction against the city, saying the partitions provided in two recreation centers did not met the definition of a private room and caused irreparable harm to the people sent to sleep in them.
Kimberly Katzenbarger, representing the District of Columbia, argued that the city does not believe they are required to provide private rooms for families seeking severe weather shelter. However, they do provide spaces created by partitions.
Michele Williams, the Department of Human Services’ administrator for family services, testified that the partitions are six-feet tall, on rollers, interlock and are soundproof by design. (Red Cross partitions that showed gaps were previously used, but aren’t now, the city says.) When asked by the plaintiffs’ attorney if there are doors or locks, Williams said there aren’t but that the partitions can come together to create privacy. She could not say what they are made of or if they definitely keep sound out.
The plaintiffs and city also disagreed on the definition of private room. Attorneys for the plaintiffs used Merriam Webster’s first definition for room: “A part of the inside of a building that is divided from other areas by walls and a door and that has its own floor and ceiling.” In a March 4th notice of emergency rulemaking from DHS, the city defined private room as “a part of the inside of a building that is separated by walls or partitions for use by an individual or family.”
While an attorney for the plaintiffs argued that the city released this definition because a suit was filed, the city’s attorney said they were simply letting others know the definition that has long been practiced by D.C.
The judge ruled that the city is indeed required under the Homeless Services Reform Act to provide private rooms to homeless families on hypothermia nights when apartment-style rooms are not available. Okun also rejected the city’s definition of private room, saying the adoption of the new rule “hastily” after a suit was filed did “not demonstrate careful consideration.”
While the city’s actions were “far from frivolous,” Okun said, “ultimately it did not convince the court.”
But Okun said that the plaintiffs’ attorneys did not make the case that irreparable harm had been done to their clients. Just two homeless families submitted declarations and neither proved irreparable harm, which is required for a preliminary injunction to be ordered.
Attorneys for the plaintiffs said they would provide further information at a Friday hearing, and Okun agreed to rule after that.
Currently only the Benning Park Recreation Center is being used as an emergency severe weather shelter, an attorney for the city said. Since January 30, when the city stopped sending families to motels, 79 families have been placed in a recreation center, with about ten to 12 seeking shelter every night. Of the city’s approximately $120 million appropriation for homelessness, $3.2 million was set aside for severe weather shelter. Approximately $4.5 million has been spent so far this season, which ends on March 31.
Two judges previously sided with the families represented by Hogan Lovells. But those rulings only applied to them, not to all the homeless families in their position.
