It may be easy to paint D.C. as being a pretty harsh place for homeless families. After all, there is D.C. General—its controversial and problematic emergency shelter. And there is the on-going capacity problem. The city just doesn't have enough space for every homeless family. Placing families at the Comfort Inn on New York Avenue [...]

When the District government has to put up homeless families in hotels, it's a sign—perhaps even an important sign—that the city's shelter space has been and continues to be inadequate for families. WaPo is reporting today that the District has started housing a small number of families in hotels. Homeless advocates and attorneys have been [...]

That's the question attorney Matthew Fraidin was tasked with finding out. Fraidin, an associate professor at UDC's David A. Clarke School of Law and visiting professor at Georgetown University, had been tapped by Councilmember Tommy Wells to investigate the conditions at D.C. General's emergency family shelter and figure out if the abandoned hospital was a [...]

Remember that homeless bill that the New York Times editorial board slammed as inhumane? The one that every nonprofit in the District condemned? The residency-requirement bill that the city's CFO stated would produce zero cost savings? Tomorrow, Ward 6 Councilmember Tommy Wells is going to put it up for a vote. Just in time for [...]

In yesterday's edition, the New York Times editorial board took on Ward 6 Councilmember Tommy Wells' residency requirement for homeless services bill.  The board called his proposal "inhumane" and suggested it was simply "very bad public policy." The board also cited the CFO which stated that Wells' bill wouldn't save the city any money. Late [...]

Today, the New York Times' editorial board took the unusual step of issuing an opinion on a local D.C. issue. The board thoroughly shreds Ward 6 Councilmember Tommy Wells' incredibly lazy proposal to limit homeless services to District residents. If only the Washington Post would be so bold.
Times editorial after the jump.

After a short hiatus during the recent campaign season, Save Our Safety Net is back up and fighting. The group's latest issue: taking on Ward 6 Councilmember Tommy Wells' bill that would restrict homeless services to only District residents. The Safety Netters show that there's more to this bill than the residency requirement.

On Oct. 30, WaPo's editorial board took precious space away from either praising Michelle Rhee's school reforms or using it as a litmus test in deciding who to support in tomorrow's election (see the board's non-endorsement of Councilmember Mary Cheh) to address the growing numbers of D.C.'s homeless residents. Despite local government's stagnant efforts to [...]

Councilmember Tommy Wells may have held off on trying to pass an emergency bill on homeless services. But he's still seeking passage of a non-emergency version of the same bill which would impose residency requirements for families seeking shelter. Here's the Washington Legal Clinic for the Homeless response to the bill on their blog:
"Rather than [...]

Earlier this week, we learned that Mayor Adrian Fenty's administration dipped into funds for needy families to help make up for his Summer Youth Employment Program's budget shortfall. The D.C. Fiscal Policy Institute reported:
"The Fenty administration chose to cover the overspending in summer jobs by transferring funds meant to help vulnerable families with basic food [...]

The emergency family shelter at D.C. General is back at full capacity. In March, the District had faced massive overcrowding at the shelter in which mothers and children slept on hallway floors and in a cafeteria. At one point, the shelter reached 200 families. According to internal e-mails, the Department of Human Services (DHS) began [...]

As of April 8, D.C. General's family shelter still housed 124 families which included 246 children. Last week, the shelter whistleblower was still residing there. Aaron McCormick, another resident who has spoken up about the shelter's poor conditions and mismanagement, is also still residing at the shelter.
There may be a good reason why residents like [...]

The whistleblower, known as P.H., who brought down Families Forward Inc, the nonprofit that had managed the family shelter at D.C. General, is still living at the facility.
Last Friday, Mayor Adrian Fenty announced that the city would be terminating its contract with Families Forward after P.H. had come forward raising allegations of poor case management [...]

Mayor Adrian Fenty announced today that the city is terminating Families Forward's contract to run the troubled D.C. General family shelter and its Park Road shelter. At his press conference, the mayor made sure to praise the swift actions of Attorney General Peter Nickles and Department of Human Services Director Clarence Carter.
Families Forward came under [...]

At 10 a.m. tomorrow, Councilmember Tommy Wells will hold an oversight hearing focusing mainly on the allegations surrounding D.C. General's family shelter. The hearing may do nothing to save the nonprofit, Families Forward Inc., from losing its contract to manage the shelter. Wells has already stated that its contract will be terminated.
At the very least, [...]