The combination of the coronavirus quarantine and the protests, including the curfews that were implemented early-on, have silenced the most vulnerable residents in the District of Columbia.
Before these events, the D.C. Council and the mayor’s office were prioritizing a lot of help for these communities. Affordable housing for low-income people, educational programs and opportunities for children in low-income neighborhoods, and improving the living conditions for people in homeless shelters, are just a few.
Now it seems those ambitions have been put on the back burner.
The mayor’s priorities have significantly changed during the last few weeks. The government already had to scramble to respond to the health crisis, which is understandable. But now, with protests rocking the city, the mayor seems preoccupied with national attention. It’s a struggle to connect with some of the essential services previously available, which pushes people into survival mode.
Several people I know who are homeless and depend on local health clinics said they had no choice but to cross state lines to get their medications elsewhere.
And in my own experience, there are not enough hospital beds. The hospitals are prioritizing patients who are critically ill or those with COVID-19. When I sought care at Howard Hospital two weeks ago, everyone else was put in a chair.
It was surreal, to say the least, when the police brought in a suspect with a gunshot wound and gave him a nice, hard, wooden chair. The nurse in charge explained she had run out of rooms and beds. I vouched for her to the police who were insisting on a room, because I had been in my chair for over two days while getting treatment, next to other patients. I knew they had no rooms or beds. Except for COVID-19 patients.
I wanted to protest because I needed a bed. But those of us who depend on these services to survive are not in a position to raise our voice.
Colly Dennis is an artist and vendor with Street Sense Media.
