With the tragic disappearance of Relisha Rudd in the spring of 2014, the DC General Emergency Family Shelter was catapulted into the news cycle. Since then, city leaders have been pressed to pay greater attention to the shelter, and to the growing problem of family homelessness in our city.
With the recent vote by the city council to move forward with a version of the mayor’s plan to close D.C. General and replace it with a new system of smaller, neighborhood-based sites, we have reason to hope that a new day is dawning for D.C. families experiencing homelessness.
Even with plans to close DC General moving forward, families will continue to reside at DC General for several more years. Three years is a very long time in the life of a child, and Playtime is committed to providing safe, loving places to play until DC General finally closes. Until then, the facility needs to be maintained and repaired to be livable and safe for all its residents.
Yet we know that addressing the deplorable conditions at DC General is only one small step in the work that we as a community have to do in addressing housing insecurity. The sad reality is, more than 1,300 children are currently being sheltered in motels in the District and Maryland. Living in highly constrained conditions, with nowhere to learn, grow, and play, hundreds of families will continue to suffer under restrictive and undignified conditions, even after DC General is closed.
We owe it to D.C. families to ensure that homelessness becomes a rare situation, not a commonplace occurrence. In the short term, this means paying attention to all the families who are facing housing insecurity not just at DC General, but also in the motels. It’s time to work to create dignified, short-term shelter for these families, and to ensure that there is a pathway to permanent housing for everyone.
In the long run, we can only end family homelessness by making sure that housing is accessible to everyone, not just those with six-figure incomes. Short-term shelter for families facing homelessness is essential, but only implementing a long-term plan for affordable housing has the potential to create a city where widespread homelessness is a thing of the past. We’re excited that city leaders are moving forward with a new vision for our short-term shelter system.
We’re committed to working with the Mayor, Council, and community leaders to identify and implement long-term solutions to our housing crisis. Will you join us?
