Page 36 of DC Mayor Elect Muriel Bowser Transition Plan End Homelessness End Family Homelessness By 2018. The District has approximately 8,000 units of public housing and under 36,000 units of affordable housing. Of the more than 260,000 households living in the District, more than 50,000 households live below the national poverty line. In recent years, due to the short supply of affordable housing options and no new public housing options, more and more of these families have turned to homeless shelters to find housing options. This inability for the government to find alternative housing becomes more acute during the winter months. As Mayor, Muriel Bowser is committed to ending family homelessness by 2018. Muriel will enlist a multi-pronged approach to (1) invest greater resources in preventing homelessness, such that families don’t have to enter the homeless system to access needed services and housing, and (2) produce quality affordable and subsidized housing options for these families, including rapid rehousing and permanent supportive housing. Close DC General. The District’s family shelter accommodations at the old DC General are structurally challenged and not equipped to house the number of families that fill the rooms. Security is an added concern. In working to produce more affordable and subsidized housing as well as implementing additional prevention services, as Mayor, Muriel Bowser’s goal will be to lesson the number of families and individuals in need of shelter. Muriel is committed to finding long-term solutions for would-be homeless families and individuals before turning to a shelter, developing smaller shelter alternatives, and, ultimately, closing DC General. Implement Integrated Human Services Case Management System. The majority of individuals and families turning to homeless shelters to access services previously interacted with or are currently connected to a human services agency. The lines for families and individuals to sign up for the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program, the Child Care Subsidy program and other human services programs wrap around city blocks, starting early in the morning. Many families are in need of services but are unable to wait in these lines all day to be helped and sometimes even after making it to an appointment never receive the help requested. Some of these same individuals and families turn to DC General as a last resort. As Mayor, Muriel Bowser will implement an integrated case management system that ensures a pro-active approach to providing human services, so we can identify those among us most at risk of becoming homeless before homeless services are needed. Initiate Comprehensive Review of Human Services Agencies. Over the years, the organizational changes within the human services agencies have been frequent and while much has been wearewashingtondc.org 37 done to improve service offerings, these changes have occasionally led to further confusion of missions and reporting lines. As Mayor, Muriel Bowser will charge a task force with reviewing the organizational structure of our human services agencies to evaluate whether the District could be providing human services in more efficient and effective ways, based on best practices from other jurisdictions and even within the District government. The task force will evaluate whether the service models, including service centers, are best equipped to deliver the District’s full range of human services or if alternative options would enhance services for District residents. End Homelessness By 2025. As Mayor, Muriel Bowser will work to fully implement the Interagency Council on Homelessness’ strategic plan to end homelessness by 2025. That includes boosting staff capacity and resources at our human services agencies so that more people have access to prevention services to avoid losing their homes and others can get placement under the rapid re-housing program. Muriel will increase resources for programs that effectively prevent and end homelessness.
Posted on: Tue, 25 Nov 2014 01:53:05 +0000
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