ICH Approves 2016 Winter Plan

Wikimedia Commons

The new 2016 – 2017 Winter Plan was reviewed and passed during The District of Columbia Interagency Council on Homelessness (ICH) quarterly full council meeting on September 13. The Winter Plan, required by the Homeless Services Reform Act of 2005 (HSRA), is a yearly plan outlining how individuals experiencing homelessness will be protected from cold weather injury and death during the winter season. Reviews of past seasons have found an average death rate of nine individuals per cold season, according to the ICH website, a number which the council intends to eliminate. There was a 45 percent rate of hypothermia alert days during the last season, which is formally considered to be November 1 through March 31. In response to this, the council has implemented a number of changes in an effort to provide better care for the homeless population.

Last year’s plan broadened the qualifications for a hypothermia alert to be called, adding that temperatures 40 degrees and below accompanied by at least a 50 percent chance of precipitation will qualify as grounds for an alert. Likewise, the organization has pre-reserved motel room space to serve as overflow shelter in anticipation of potentially inadequate space in shelters. Nine new vans have been added to the transportation force as a means to decrease wait times when calling to receive shelter, and 40 transitional units have been added for teens and youth experiencing homelessness.

The ICH also noted that the official phone number for the shelter hotline has been changed to (202)-399-7093, though the prior 800 number will still be in service until next year. A new technology app, HopeOneSource, has also been improved upon to offer a free text tool for those with cell phones to receive important alerts. These were some solutions to common requests from the community to make documents, such as the Winter Plan, easier to access and understand for people it may concern. Reginald Black, also a vendor at Street Sense, attested that not everyone in shelters has a degree, and another community member insisted that all policy needs to be available in “plain English” that can easily be understood. The Council confirmed plans to work on this public concern, citing the importance of calling the hotline number on a frequent basis to access relevant information.

D.C. FY2017 WINTER PLAN adopted 09 13-20 from Street Sense

Issues |Living Unsheltered


Region |Washington DC

information about New Signature, a Washington DC tech solutions and consulting firm

Advertisement

email updates

We believe ending homelessness begins with listening to the stories of those who have experienced it.

Subscribe

RELATED CONTENT