Everyday walking up and down the streets of Washington, D.C. one can see the slew of homeless people who make homes of park benches, building archways and bus shelters. With the Capitol building in the distance and only steps away from The White House, the homeless of D.C. cannot help but be noticed. For so many years, they have been ignored and D.C. Mayor Adrian Fenty has a plan to do something about it.
D.C. Mayor Adrian Fenty announced last year plans to move the city's homeless into more permanent dwellings. Now that plan has started to come to fruition. The Mayor's plan would relocate 350 of the city's homeless into existing apartments and units throughout the city. Many of those who are being relocated currently live on city streets downtown and around the city. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/11/13/AR2007111302597.html
Others will be moved into units constructed by Catholic Charities USA on land owned at fourth and H streets NW. All of this movement comes on the tails of the D.C. Council's passage of emergency legislation that saved the Franklin Shelter in NW Washington.
Not everyone is in favor the Mayor's plan. Council member Harry Thomas Jr. has raised several questions about how the Mayor's plan would decide on who gets housing and where the funding for the support services would come from. This plan does indeed sound like a good effort and approach to addressing this serious issue in our city. Many on the City Council are justified in questioning the plan. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/09/19/AR2008091903441.html
The foundational support that will come with such a program is extremely vital to its survivability. If substantial support services are lacking, what is to stop those in the program from relapsing and going back to the streets. City administrators must also be sure to limit wasteful spending, an almost certain byproduct of this program.
It would a significant setback if this program were put into work, but down the road affected by the city's ambition for more condo, and office space. There must be stringent safeguards in place to make sure that this program is executed properly and fairly. Homelessness in D.C. and in all of our cities must end.
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