Photo by Dennis Dimick.
As has been reported over and over again, this was an extremely harsh winter for the homeless men, women and children in D.C. Tomorrow, city agencies will hold a hypothermia debriefing to unpack just how bad it was. According to a report prepared in advance, here’s the answer: Really bad.
A report prepared by the Coalition of Housing and Homeless Organizations — whose members include the Central Union Mission, Coalition for the Homeless, Miriam’s Kitchen, the National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty and SOME, Inc. — states that on January 30 of this year, 4,279 people were in the shelter system, the highest number all season. Hypothermia alerts were called on 100 nights between November 1, 2013 and March 31, 2014, as well for two nights in April. The report states that, “based on actual data, it is possible that alerts should have been called during11 additional 24-hour periods when the statutory threshold was reached.”
However, the Department of Human Services would like it to be pointed out that it can be difficult to match the calling of Alerts with the actual or forecasted weather status. For example, it has been stated that the weather can vary from one location in the District to another.
While the number of men and women served at single-person shelters exceeded the winter plan, they did not do so in the amount that families did. While the Winter Plan expected 509 families would need placement during the season, this number was exceeded by February. Indeed, the highest number of families in shelter on one night was 775, on January 30. That’s 2,470 people.
The use of recreation centers to house families began on February 3 and continued through March 23, when a judge ruled against the practice.
The report also states that the Office of the Medical Examiner reported four deaths, two inside shelters: “Two other persons were found deceased out of doors; one was inappropriately dressed and possibly homeless, and one was believed to have been homeless.” In addition to these four deaths, it’s believed the person found in Franklin Square Park this March was homeless. There were also two men found dead outside on April 16.
