Reply to Let's join forces to scrap the current homeless shelter plan and start over

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]So again, 28 pages in and none of the real concerns addressed.

Yes, we all agree something has to be done about DC General.  Yes, some of us agree that concentrating poverty and social issues all in one facility could be problematic.

But beyond that, none of the serious questions and concerns raised:

- the lousy and uncoordinated services that led to DC General's deterioration, which as such will also lead to the 8 new facilities' eventual deterioration

- whether homeless families can actually be turned around in 90 or 120 days as claimed (we don't currently have that track record so how will it magically change)

- the fact that the proposed facilities aren't optimal for families either, given dorm-style accommodations and shared bathrooms

- the exorbitant costs (for what Bowser's plan would cost over 30 years, the city could buy a $650,000 townhouse for ever homeless family)

- the crony developer element

- whether the proposed locations actually make sense (several of them weren't any more accessible to transportation or amenities than DC General)

- if anyone had bothered to look at which wards and neighborhoods already had skin in the game, i.e. ward 6 which is already a dumping grounds for the poor given that within a several-block radius of the proposed shelter there are already 800 units of DCHA public housing, there have already been facilities and services for the homeless (one of which was half a block away at Randall School), and they are also about to get a halfway house for released inmates on School Street 4 blocks from the proposed family shelter, along with many more low-income apartments coming online with new and ongoing construction which have 20-30% set aside.

There are many many other questions and concerns that have absolutely not been addressed.  Merely saying "yes we need to shut down DC General" is not enough.  We need a REAL PLAN for how to deal with this and what Bowser and Council have proposed falls very very short of being a legitimate plan that addresses any of the concerns.[/quote]

That's not true.  Some of the concerns are not addressed.  But the homeless advocates are pushing for better facilities, so that will probably be fixed too.

The rest is just FUD.  You can't build in my neighborhood until you find the magic answer, because there is no magic answer.[/quote]

Sure, homeless advocates are pushing for better facilities yet they are still ending up with dorm style accomodations with 2 shared baths to serve 30-50 families.  I'm sure lots of homeless advocates are involved, but they aren't getting what they want either.

Goes to show it's not FUD.  These questions should be answerable in some form or another.  The uncertainty and doubt comes from the city's inability to do so.  These plans are half-baked.  Many many things were not evaluated or considered.  There may not be "magic" but the least we can do is hold the city accountable until they get the plan more fully baked.[/quote]

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