Media Updates

PRESS RELEASE: CIVIL RIGHTS BATTLE FOR DC’S HOMELESS CONTINUES IN FEDERAL COURT AS ANOTHER PUBLIC SHELTER CLOSES IN WARD 1

Friday, October 8th at 9:00 am
US District Court for D.C., 333 Constitution Ave., NW in Courtroom 16

Contacts: Eric Sheptock 240-305-5255
Jane Zara (202) 390-2449

With winter fast approaching, the rise in homeless numbers in DC, and the closing of the last public emergency shelter for men in Ward 1, Franklin Shelter plaintiffs press forward to lift the stay on Federal Court proceedings to reopen shelter in downtown DC.  The hearing will take place at the US District Court for D.C., 333 Constitution Ave., NW in Courtroom 16 on Friday, October 8 at 9:00 am.*

In a manner similar to that preceding the closing of Franklin Shelter, men are being housed in what seems to be a haphazard fashion in Permanent Supportive Housing (PSH) units in far flung parts of the city, with little or no indication that supportive services are being appropriately provided to ensure the will men will in fact be able to remain in that housing.

And while the Permanent Supportive Housing program was initially applauded by public officials as a means to end homelessness, it is clear that the numbers fall short of the growing needs for shelter in the District.**  Yet officials keep closing shelters, while giving hefty tax abatements to developers for building luxury condos and luxury apartments, leading in turn to displacement of the poor and the working class from their communities.  What’s more, the PSH programs provide uncertain housing at market rates, in undisclosed locations in the city, with little or no transparency or accountability to the public as to the success or failure of the programs.  In this sense, precious resources earmarked to help the poor are being used to jack up property values and increase rents in the city, contributing to the vicious cycle of unaffordable housing in the District.

The closing of La Casa shelter, where former Franklin Shelter residents have resided, is not without controversy.***  The city has let the property deteriorate over the years, despite the millions of dollars of funding the shelter has received.  This in turn has generated an eyesore to the community, which helps serve the needs of developers in seeking approval from the community to close the shelter.  Ironically, Franklin School Shelter was considered too pretty for the homeless to remain in Ward 2, now La Casa Shelter is too ugly for the homeless to stay in Ward 1.  That leaves all of the remaining public shelters in the poorest wards in the city - a pattern fairly clear to most residents in DC who pay any attention to the situation.

*The District Courthouse is located at Third Street and Constitution Avenue, Northwest, Washington, D.C. It is located one block west20of the United States Capitol. The building faces Constitution Avenue where Constitution and Pennsylvania Avenues have merged. There are two convenient METRO subway stations within walking distance to the Courthouse: Judiciary Square (Red Line) which is located at the east side of 4th Street between D & E Streets and Archives-Navy Memorial (Yellow Line) which is located at 7th and Pennsylvania Avenue.

**Since Permanent Supportive Housing was instituted in the District in 2008, as of July 23 of this year, 1000 homeless people were housed in PSH.  Despite this, however, a single point in time count in January, 2010 of homeless living on the streets of DC grew by 5% in the past year.  And with an expanded definition of homeless, there are an estimated 12,000-20,000 homeless persons living in the greater DC metropolitan area.

***According to William Jordan, Columbia Heights Commissioner ANC1A05, the Council of the District of Columbia is in danger of breaching a "moral hazard" on the order of AIG by passing Budget Bill 18-731 without adding language of accountability to SUBTITLE C. PARK PLACE AT PETWORTH, HIGHLAND PARK, AND HIGHLAND PARK PHASE II ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT ACT OF 2010.   The city is continuing to reward a developer with projects and tax breaks in neighborhoods, while we have reports from the DC Auditor and other sources indicating that the developer is not meeting its community/neighborhood commitments.  As indicated in previous email, the sitting is basically paying this Developer approximately $1.5M for costing DC residents at least $2.1M in employment opportunities…  According to accounts in the Washington Business Journal (June 11-17, 2010) reporting on finding recently released by the DC Auditor, Donatelli Development's failure to comply with DC First Source Laws has cost District Residents approximately $2,153,568 in wages.  As well, may be out of compliance with city Storm Water Management regulations, Highland Park Project, yet during one of the toughest budget years in a decade, the Council & Mayor plan to reward this development company with over $8.0M in property tax relief, with zero strings attached.  In fact, if the budget passes as is Donatelli Development will be issued a refund check for approximately $1.5M.