DC is a magnet for the homeless

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:DC's policies have made it the dumping grounds for the Mid-Atlantic's homeless:

http://www.nbcwashington.com/news/local/DC-Homeless-Population-Has-Jumped-14-Percent-Survey-Says-379011131.html

In DC, homelessness has gone up 14%, while decreasing everywhere else

As long as the Gutter Punks don't invade I am good.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Per the report, DC ends up having to count, accommodate and place the homeless without particularly considering their residency or eligibility.

Nothing in this report said that homeless people migrated from other jurisdictions. Nothing.

Right, they didn't come from anywhere, the alien mothership from Zeta Ridiculi beamed the homeless onto DC's streets.

Sorry but there is plenty of information out there that says many of DC's homeless weren't originally from DC.

Please, if there is plenty of information then it should be easy for you to find. The last time I recall having this debate on DCUM, the data said that over 75% listed a DC address as their last one.

But I'm sure you can pull together some of that information you are referring to.

Shelter or other temporary DC address? And what was their address a year or two prior?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Per the report, DC ends up having to count, accommodate and place the homeless without particularly considering their residency or eligibility.

Nothing in this report said that homeless people migrated from other jurisdictions. Nothing.

Right, they didn't come from anywhere, the alien mothership from Zeta Ridiculi beamed the homeless onto DC's streets.

Sorry but there is plenty of information out there that says many of DC's homeless weren't originally from DC.

George Clinton brought them in the Mothership? Is that how it wound up in the new Smithsonian museum?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Per the report, DC ends up having to count, accommodate and place the homeless without particularly considering their residency or eligibility.

Nothing in this report said that homeless people migrated from other jurisdictions. Nothing.

Right, they didn't come from anywhere, the alien mothership from Zeta Ridiculi beamed the homeless onto DC's streets.

Sorry but there is plenty of information out there that says many of DC's homeless weren't originally from DC.

Please, if there is plenty of information then it should be easy for you to find. The last time I recall having this debate on DCUM, the data said that over 75% listed a DC address as their last one.

But I'm sure you can pull together some of that information you are referring to.

Shelter or other temporary DC address? And what was their address a year or two prior?

So now you think they established residency, laid low for a while, all in a plan to make it into a homeless shelter?? That's nuts.

I thought you had lots of information to prove your point. But honestly I don't think you know who homeless people really are.

[Anonymous]

The homeless certainly aren't flocking to DC for the schools

[Anonymous]

I'm getting worried by the fact that DC is one of three cities that promise unconditional shelter, by the huge price tag, and by the amount of homeless in our neighborhood. Why can't we make DC general.nice? Either rehab it or raze and rebuild? All services consolidated. Separate wings for families and those with higher need? And then focus on mixed income housing, with conditions.and supports, in emerging neighborhoods for families that seek it. To me, you should be willing to work or enroll in school/job training to get an independent living , subsidized apartment. And also be good tenant.
Petula Dvorak sounding off in today's Post...does she live in DC? Pay DCtaxes?

[Anonymous]

And I do agree with her that DC general should be rehabbed -as permanent transitional housing. It is near metro and services can be consolidated. A school bus can pick up kids. This scattering of eight shelters through the city is seeming more and more like wasteful nonsense that helps developers. People should be in an efficient transitional shelter like DC General, and then apply for subsidized affordable housing with conditions if able to make the move to independence.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm getting worried by the fact that DC is one of three cities that promise unconditional shelter, by the huge price tag, and by the amount of homeless in our neighborhood. Why can't we make DC general.nice? Either rehab it or raze and rebuild? All services consolidated. Separate wings for families and those with higher need? And then focus on mixed income housing, with conditions.and supports, in emerging neighborhoods for families that seek it. To me, you should be willing to work or enroll in school/job training to get an independent living , subsidized apartment. And also be good tenant.
Petula Dvorak sounding off in today's Post...does she live in DC? Pay DCtaxes?

I am guessing you are not one of Bowser's crony developers, correct?

They are getting excited by all this!

[Anonymous]

This problem of homelessness is great in many big metro areas. SF is terrible and Seattle is even worse. LA too.

Some cities do "dump" their hmeless elsewhere by giving them a one-way bus ticket out of town. It's shameful.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm getting worried by the fact that DC is one of three cities that promise unconditional shelter, by the huge price tag, and by the amount of homeless in our neighborhood. Why can't we make DC general.nice? Either rehab it or raze and rebuild? All services consolidated. Separate wings for families and those with higher need? And then focus on mixed income housing, with conditions.and supports, in emerging neighborhoods for families that seek it. To me, you should be willing to work or enroll in school/job training to get an independent living , subsidized apartment. And also be good tenant.
Petula Dvorak sounding off in today's Post...does she live in DC? Pay DCtaxes?

There is a very dragged out discussion about that space: http://dmped.dc.gov/page/hill-east-district-redevelopment

I haven't seen anything recent about the status of the redevelopment. What I can say is that working out there, there's a ton of stuff that is just abandoned and not used. Obviously construction projects take time and none of that would happen instantly even if it was green-lit this afternoon.

I actually like the idea of creating a larger facility with services that help families with higher needs. I think you might be confused about what happens at DC General - it's not a general shelter. It's a family shelter. So everyone staying there is a family. There is a women's shelter on the DC General campus as well, but it's in a separate building around the corner. There are services at DC General, but I think that they could be made more effective.

Realistically, though, what you're talking about requires a lot of money and a lot of support that really isn't there. You're also focusing on 2 separate projects: one that "fixes" DC General and one that creates more sustainable housing across the city with supportive environments. It's the difference between preventative care and emergency medicine. There is a major housing crisis in DC at the moment. The Housing Authority is closed to new applicants. Its waitlist is 40,000 people long - that's down from 75,000 in 2013 when they closed to new applicants, and most of the movement was going through the list to see who is still in need of a voucher.

As for Petula Dvorak, she's an opinion columnist. She has strong opinions, which is why she has the job she has. She's not WRONG about most of the things she says, even you find her tone offputting. As far as I know, yes, she lives in DC and pays taxes. Not really sure what that has to do with it. I live in DC and pay taxes and agree with yesterday's column.

[Anonymous]

Many of the problems with DC's homeless aren't being addressed by any of the current proposals - how to deal with substance abuse, mental illness, and the run-down conditions of DC general with roaches, rodents, bedbugs and lice don't magically go away just because you moved people to a shiny new facility. They are currently only talking about facilities, because Mayor Bowser has made real estate deals with crony developers, both for the new sites and parts of the current DC General site. I think council needs to step in, stomp on the brakes hard, and understand that the new homeless proposal doesn't actually do anything but line the pockets of Bowser's friends. Not to mention that it really doesn't meet the needs of homeless families - housing next to strip joints, bus yards, and liquor stores? Come on.

The city needs to put together an integrated task force to deal with all of the issues and assess what wraparound services they need.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DC's policies have made it the dumping grounds for the Mid-Atlantic's homeless:

http://www.nbcwashington.com/news/local/DC-Homeless-Population-Has-Jumped-14-Percent-Survey-Says-379011131.html

In DC, homelessness has gone up 14%, while decreasing everywhere else

As long as the Gutter Punks don't invade I am good.

Have a dollar?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm getting worried by the fact that DC is one of three cities that promise unconditional shelter, by the huge price tag, and by the amount of homeless in our neighborhood. Why can't we make DC general.nice? Either rehab it or raze and rebuild? All services consolidated. Separate wings for families and those with higher need? And then focus on mixed income housing, with conditions.and supports, in emerging neighborhoods for families that seek it. To me, you should be willing to work or enroll in school/job training to get an independent living , subsidized apartment. And also be good tenant.
Petula Dvorak sounding off in today's Post...does she live in DC? Pay DCtaxes?

There is a very dragged out discussion about that space: http://dmped.dc.gov/page/hill-east-district-redevelopment

I haven't seen anything recent about the status of the redevelopment. What I can say is that working out there, there's a ton of stuff that is just abandoned and not used. Obviously construction projects take time and none of that would happen instantly even if it was green-lit this afternoon.

I actually like the idea of creating a larger facility with services that help families with higher needs. I think you might be confused about what happens at DC General - it's not a general shelter. It's a family shelter. So everyone staying there is a family. There is a women's shelter on the DC General campus as well, but it's in a separate building around the corner. There are services at DC General, but I think that they could be made more effective.

Realistically, though, what you're talking about requires a lot of money and a lot of support that really isn't there. You're also focusing on 2 separate projects: one that "fixes" DC General and one that creates more sustainable housing across the city with supportive environments. It's the difference between preventative care and emergency medicine. There is a major housing crisis in DC at the moment. The Housing Authority is closed to new applicants. Its waitlist is 40,000 people long - that's down from 75,000 in 2013 when they closed to new applicants, and most of the movement was going through the list to see who is still in need of a voucher.

As for Petula Dvorak, she's an opinion columnist. She has strong opinions, which is why she has the job she has. She's not WRONG about most of the things she says, even you find her tone offputting. As far as I know, yes, she lives in DC and pays taxes. Not really sure what that has to do with it. I live in DC and pay taxes and agree with yesterday's column.

They have been building like crazy in Southwest DC and Navy Yard, and 30% of the hundreds and hundreds of units being built are set aside as "affordable housing". Yet that never seems to be counted in anyone's accounting and many other parts of DC are all about NIMBY where it comes to development with very little going on. I think some of the other wards are due to step up to the plate. Ward 6 has done more than its fair share.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Per the report, DC ends up having to count, accommodate and place the homeless without particularly considering their residency or eligibility.

How exactly do you determine the residency of a homeless person?

[Anonymous]

Urban Zombies

When they start branching out to the suburbs, you've got problems.

Yesterday I was hit up by 6 in a 2 block area. 4 seemed to be professional panhandlers. They wanted cigarettes and change.