Washington, D.C. is failing those who are unhoused. Individuals and families alike are living radical expressions of persistent poverty. Despite more than two decades of unsuccessful commitments made by the District’s former mayors to prevent and end homelessness, our city continues to hold fast to a tragically flawed public/private partnership destined for failure.
The ultimate responsibility for homelessness in the District now rests with Mayor Muriel Bowser, its new chief executive.
With homeless people’s lives and futures in the balance, our citizenry must set clear expectations for those they’ve elected to govern. Furthermore, we should exhibit our genuine hunger for change and communicate the urgency we feel about preventing and ending homelessness.
Mayor Bowser has chosen a capable and experienced group of senior managers to plan, construct and oversee the prevention and ending of homelessness. Unfortunately, she is allowing The Community Partnership for the Prevention of Homelessness (TCP) to continue to (mis)manage homeless services for the District, as it has since 1993.
A recent audit of TCP found that it had failed to set clear, consistent and transparent objectives year after year for the many programs it runs and oversees. The audit found that in 2014 alone, more than five million dollars was overbilled to the city through a practice that seems to be in violation of city and federal laws.
Changing the management of homelessness in the District is a commitment to “play big,” a type of challenge that Mayor Bowser has dedicated much of her life to meeting. During the recent past mayoral race, both of the mayor’s opponents made a commitment to replace The Community Partnership. Then city counselor Muriel Bowser made a campaign promise that if elected she would “conduct a top down review” of TCP and make the difficult choice of whether to make the necessary changes in the management of homeless services for the District.
“There is no passion to be found playing small – in settling for a life that is less than the one you are capable of living.” was one of Nelson Mandela’s fundamentals for changing the world. Mayor Bowser is capable of playing big. She leads this city with passion, making difficult and important decisions in the interest of both those who are most in need and the city at large.
Replacing TCP after more than two decades will be difficult and have a host of challenges, but the conditions are right for change. As the city’s new CEO, Mayor Bowser has an extended tenure allowing for a long period of transition to new management for the District’s homeless services. As the mayor and members of her senior management team pursue the goal of preventing and ending homelessness, they deserve a capable, accomplished and trustworthy management partner. And people experiencing homelessness deserve public servants with passion, people who play big and settle for nothing less than a life that’s as great as the life they’re capable of living.
Neil J Donovan is CEO of the NJD Group, past president of the National Coalition for the Homeless and senior advisor to the U.S. Interagency for the Homeless.
