DC Council independent candidates endorse LGBTQ rights at forum
The Wanda Alston Foundation states on its website that it made history in 2008 when it opened DC’s first transitional housing program solely dedicated to homeless LGBTQ+ youth ages 18-24.
As part of the program, the foundation, named after the late and beloved LGBTQ rights advocate Wanda Alston, has since opened two other homeless facilities for LGBTQ youth, including one that opened last year and who also made history.
Called Renita, it is a two-year, two-bed transitional housing program believed to be the first known facility of its kind focused specifically on homeless transgender men of color.
In January 2017, DC LGBTQ youth advocacy organization SMYAL opened the first of five housing sites it currently operates that can accommodate up to 66 homeless LGBTQ youth.
Like the Alston Foundation, SMYAL states on its website that it provides a wide range of services to its young LGBTQ residents in addition to safe and stable shelter, including food, case management services, counseling mental health, crisis intervention and employment skills. development.
Both groups have also designated at least one of their residential facilities to provide their residents with extended transitional housing for up to six years.
Beginning in 2012, Casa Ruby, under the leadership of its founder Ruby Corado, became the largest LGBTQ-specific emergency shelter in the city, operating what she called a larger shelter program. 50 beds in seven locations. The program offered services in English and Spanish to youth and some adults. It had a special scope for transgender women of color in need of housing.
But due to a financial crisis caused by the loss of hundreds of thousands of dollars in DC government grants and which is still under investigation by the DC Attorney General’s office, Casa Ruby downsized and eventually closed. all its operations for one year. long period which culminated last July. In court documents filed as part of a civil suit filed against Casa Ruby, the AG’s office said, among other things, that the loss of city funding was caused by Casa Ruby’s failure to provide the required financial reports verifying how the money was spent. Corado disputes this allegation.
At the request of the AG’s office, a DC Superior Court judge placed Casa Ruby in receivership and appointed the Wanda Alston Foundation as receiver.
In a report released last month, the Alston Foundation recommended Casa Ruby be dissolved, saying its debts far exceed any remaining assets. The judge has yet to issue a ruling on whether to disband the once-loved LGBTQ organization or take steps to determine if it can be revived.
Since its closure, other local organizations, including SMYAL, have taken steps to provide support to Casa Ruby customers affected by the closure.
“After the closure of Casa Ruby, SMYAL worked with our partners at other housing providers, the DC Department of Human Services, and the Mayor’s Office of LGBTQ Affairs to identify and close gaps in services,” said the SMYAL spokesperson Hancie Stokes in Washington. Blade.
“More directly, SMYAL has launched a new Latinx Street Outreach program designed to support young Spanish-speaking LGBTQ people who may have been connected to services or need new services,” Stokes said in an email. “We began piloting this program last month and have already begun working with 22 young Spanish speakers to connect or reconnect them with services, including housing, and help them obtain vital documents and navigate procedures. court,” she said.
In September 2021, the DC Department of Social Services notified Casa Ruby that it would not be renewing its primary grant that funded the Casa Ruby homeless shelter program. Around this time, DHS announced it had awarded a grant for a new DC LGBTQ homeless youth shelter to Covenant House, a nonprofit group that provides services to homeless youth nationwide. . The Washington Post reported the grant was $648,000,
Covenant House announced the opening of the new 24-bed LGBTQ youth shelter, called Shine, on September 30, 2021, in the city’s Deanwood neighborhood in northeast DC. Although other non-LGBTQ organizations currently provide homeless-related services, including shelter housing, for LGBTQ youth, Covenant House Shine is considered the city’s first LGBTQ shelter run by a specific non-LGBTQ organization.
“Most LGBTQ+ youth access services from non-LGBTQ-specific agencies,” Covenant House states on its DC website. “At Covenant House, we are proud of the diversity of young people in our homes and the staff who welcome and serve them,” the statement said. “All homeless young people are welcome here and are greeted with unconditional love, absolute respect and unwavering support.”
With nearly all of DC’s LGBTQ homeless facilities geared towards youth, the city’s first official LGBTQ adult shelter opened on July 14 of this year following a ribbon-cutting ceremony led by the DC Mayor Muriel Bowser.
The 40-bed shelter, located in the city’s Marshall Heights neighborhood at 400 50th St., SE, will accommodate unaccompanied adults 25 and older, according to a statement released by the mayor’s office.
“The shelter will provide trauma-informed case management services, including mental health, addictions treatment, medical services and victim services,” the statement said.
“We are proud to cut the ribbon for a shelter that embodies our DC values as well as our commitment to making homelessness rare, brief and non-recurring,” Bowser said at the ceremony. “With this new facility, we’re removing barriers to housing, building community, connecting residents to the trauma-informed services they need to live healthy, happy lives,” the mayor said.
Under city funding, the new LGBTQ adult shelter is operated by the Community Partnership for Homelessness Prevention (TCP), the statement from the mayor’s office said. It says two other local nonprofit groups, Coalition for the Homeless and KBEC Group, Inc., will help TCP operate the shelter.
At least two other local, non-LGBTQ organizations — the Latin American Youth Center (LAYC) and Sasha Bruce Youthwork — also provide services to homeless LGBTQ youth, including housing-related services, the two groups state on their websites.
Stokes, the spokesperson for SMYAL, said non-LGBTQ organizations that run homelessness programs for LGBTQ people are meeting a need for increased services. But she said additional training may be needed to ensure all organizations can fully meet the specific needs of their LGBTQ customers.
“There is still a lot of work to be done to ensure that LGBTQ youth who are matched with non-LGBTQ community-specific providers are affirmed, welcomed and fully supported,” Stokes said.
“SMYAL and our partners have worked to increase the cultural competency of all housing providers, but there is a need for continued investment in training providers to build capacity to directly serve LGBTQ youth, as well as build foundations strong for additional providers accessible to LGBTQ youth,” she said.
2022 Point-in-Count results show continued downward trend in homelessness in DC Mayor Muriel Bowser pointed out at the time of the April results release that the total homeless count of 4 410 was down from 8,350 homeless in 2016.
The mayor noted that the 2022 results show single adult homelessness is down 12% from the 2021 tally and family homelessness is down 14% from 2021.
