Category: Advocacy

Please call (311) or email (Fenty.mpd@dc.gov) the Mayor and ask him to protect DC families by vetoing this bill before he leaves office! In a shockingly callous and short-sighted move, the DC Council passed the Homeless Services Reform Amendment Act of 2010 (B18-1059) at Tuesday’s legislative session, with Councilmembers Cheh, Graham, Mendelson, and Thomas strongly opposing the harmful measure. B18-1059, introduced by Councilmember Tommy Wells, purports to prioritize DC residents for shelter services by requiring proof of DC residency before a family can access emergency shelter even during hypothermia season. In reality, the bill adds yet another bureaucratic hurdle in… Read more…

Background: B18-1059 was introduced by Councilmember Tommy Wells. After holding a hearing at which the public voiced unanimous opposition to this legislation, the bill was very close to being tabled (the vote was 6-6), but unfortunately failed and passed on first vote. The second vote on the bill will take place this coming Tuesday, December 21st . With your help, we are confident we can defeat this harmful legislation. WHY: B18-1059 would do two things that threaten the lives and well-beings of our homeless residents: 1) It would require families who are homeless to prove they are District residents before… Read more…

Bill 18-1059, the Homeless Services Reform Amendment Act of 2010 (HSRA), introduced by Council member Tommy Wells, presents a number of serious problems for at-risk District residents (including vulnerable children), for providers of homeless services, and for the DC government itself. The bill puts the lives of DC residents at risk, is administratively and financially cumbersome, and opens the District to potential legal trouble. Additionally, the proposed law would reduce homeless services while increasing cost of administration. What Bill 18-1059 does: • Requires verification of DC residency before one can access emergency shelter or almost any other homeless service, including… Read more…

By Scott McNeilly, Washington Legal Clinic for the Homeless Staff Attorney The Interagency Council on Homelessness (ICH) voted on Tuesday to approve the Winter Plan for 2010-2011.  The Winter Plan describes how the District will implement the severe weather provisions of the Homeless Services Reform Act –how individuals and families can exercise their right to shelter on freezing nights and the steps the District will take to prevent weather-related deaths and injuries.  The Plan was developed by the ICH’s Operations and Logistics Committee through a process that involved lots of meetings and hearings and consequently lots of community input.  (I… Read more…

The DC Interagency Council on Homelessness is holding a special meeting on Tuesday, October 26th at 9:30am, to vote on the Winter Plan for the upcoming hypothermia season. The meeting will be held at MPD Regional Operations Command (ROC) 801 Shepherd St NW. With regard to meeting the needs of families this winter, the current version of the Plan relies upon outplacing families into housing at a quick enough pace to free up capacity in the shelters. Already the District has been unable to keep up the anticipated pace, and there is no back-up plan identified. We urge concerned community… Read more…

Here is a copy of the permanent legislation that Mr. Wells introduced on Tuesday.  To listen to the statement that he made when he withdrew the emergency version of the bill, click here.  There will be a hearing on November 8, 2010 at 11:30a.m.  We are currently reviewing the language and will update the blog with a more substantive post soon.  In the meantime check out Kathryn Baer’s blog post on this issue. Read more…

By Nassim Moshiree, Washington Legal Clinic for the Homeless Staff Attorney Responding to the community’s concerns, Councilmember Wells pulled the emergency bill at yesterday’s legislative meeting.  In its stead, he has introduced a permanent version of the legislation that he said he will move quickly through the Council process.  Co-sponsors of his new bill (B18-1059) include Councilmembers Catania, Bowser, and Michael Brown.  Mr. Wells’ stated reasons for pulling the emergency bill are to ensure greater discussion on this issue and to prevent unintended consequences.  From the dais yesterday, Mr. Wells correctly raised the concern that the city is facing a… Read more…

By Nassim Moshiree, Washington Legal Clinic for the Homeless Staff Attorney Contact your Councilmember NOW and Ask Them to Vote “NO” on the “Homeless Services Reform Amendment Act of 2010.” Background: Councilmember Wells plans to introduce as emergency a bill that will significantly change the District’s obligation to provide life saving emergency shelter.  The vote on this bill is scheduled to take place tomorrow morning, October 19, 2010 at 10:00am. There has been no community input.  At the very least, this should not be emergency legislation. The Proposed Bill: Requires verification of DC residency during emergency conditions that many DC… Read more…

By Ann Marie Staudenmaier, Washington Legal Clinic for the Homeless Staff Attorney NOTE: The Senate Committee on the Judiciary, Subcommittee on Crime and Drugs, has scheduled a hearing entitled “Crimes Against America’s Homeless: Is the Violence Growing?” for Wednesday, September 29, 2010 at 10:00 a.m. in Room 226 of the Dirksen Senate Office Building. It’s open season these days in Georgetown, and I’m not talking about the federal health plans.  Instead, the specter of anti-homeless police activity is rearing its ugly head in one of D.C.’s top tourist destinations once again, just as it did more than 10 years ago… Read more…

By Andy Silver, Washington Legal Clinic for the Homeless Staff Attorney Imagine that you have lived in the same apartment for 12 years. One day you go to the rental office to ask if you can pay your rent a few days late because you get one check at the beginning of the month and one check in the middle. You have asked for this favor several times before and it has always been granted, but this time the new property manager says she just needs to check to see if you are current in rent before she can say… Read more…