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SASHA WILLIAMS
Iam an individual with my children, and the systems in place fail, and the people behind the systems make it extremely difficult.
It was the pandemic, and I was trying to move, but I wasn’t able to have my iPad fixed because it’s expensive. Like, you need a device, but you also need a backup device for that device, because things happen. It messed up my emails. With the confusion and trying to use online portals (specifically the service centers for recertification), it’s triggering.
Even last year, when my card was compromised, I used the money to try to make my Pepco payments. When they cut off financial support, like grants for families, they don’t give much to help individuals and families.
In another case, I went and got a number for paperwork and then got another number. I’m dealing with visual challenges, but I don’t get Supplemental Security Income (SSI). My ID states I have visual impairment, so I try to do disability a month ahead if possible, but they can’t just get it right. They do my paperwork with harsh tones and unpleasant attitudes, but what gets me is the government workers look at me like I am making stuff up. My eyes are hurting, and I get off-and-on headaches. My doctor told me yesterday it’s chronic headaches, but if my left eye gets blurry like the last month or so, I become very limited. My doctor told me that over the course of six months, my left eye muscle got overworked cause the right eye is basically, to sum it up, not normal or average. My balance is off on one side of my body. That is a part of my non-visible disabilities, and government workers aren’t helpful or able to give me numbers for resources, or know what a program is. I live with a lot of physical things, but even though I push for myself, it is overwhelming. These programs do not understand, and I feel some
people cross boundaries. So it’s hard to trust and talk with people, but I appreciate the people who speak with me with respect.
One time, I asked the service center where to go for a service animal. The lady told me MBI Health Services, but didn’t give me a phone number or nothing. Then, when I went to ask someone at the window what information that was on the screen about the elderly and people with disabilities, they didn’t know. Like they should be embarrassed. But anyhow, they didn’t help. I even went back, hoping to get a number or email/web link, something other than 311. Anyhow, even my rent payments are not coming through. I had to get emails about rent payments (having a federal voucher). They were using an older way of accepting payments, but “everything transitioning to digital” is not as helpful as it should be, shockingly but not surprisingly… It’s just very unfortunate, especially the service centers. It’s difficult cause we have to always have documentation. It’s just messed up how many individuals and families it affects.
Sasha Williams is an artist/vendor with
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Proposed D.C. bill would extend rent stabilization to housing voucher programs, closing loophole
MOLLY ST. CLAIR Editorial Intern
The D.C. Council is considering a proposal that would close an oftencriticized loophole in the city’s housing policy enabling rent-controlled buildings to charge higher rates to people with housing vouchers, eroding the power of the city’s rent control policies.
Currently, renters who use housing vouchers, including some formerly homeless renters, are exempt from rent control, meaning landlords at rent-controlled buildings can charge voucher holders more than D.C. rent control law authorizes them to charge other tenants. The Rent Stabilization Protection Amendment Act of 2025 would make tenants utilizing housing vouchers covered by rentcontrolled rates, reducing how much landlords can charge renters who rely on a subsidy.
Councilmembers heard testimony from community advocates on the bill at a Committee on Housing hearing held on Oct. 28. Proponents argued removing the rent stabilization exemption would stop landlords from charging housing voucher tenants higher rates, saving money for the District of Columbia Housing Authority (DCHA), which could then offer more vouchers to people in unstable housing situations. Opponents said in practice, the bill could discourage landlords from renting to tenants with housing vouchers because they would not be able to charge enough rent to keep up with costs.
Advocates on both sides of the debate argue the bill would affect the availability of rent controlled units city wide, with proponents saying it would expand affordability for all residents and opponents claiming it may reduce the number of rent controlled units on the market.
At-large Councilmember Robert White, who chairs the committee, said he has heard anecdotes from residents living in Wards 3 and 4 of landlords advertising and renting their units “exclusively” to voucher holders, taking advantage of the rent control exemption to charge higher rates. White said he is concerned about these “bad actors” who exploit voucher holders by renting out a surplus of units, which are often in poor physical condition and not intended to be inhabited by multiple tenants.
“Steering the many people with vouchers into a few large buildings undermines both the point of voucher programs, letting people of various incomes live interspersed with others, and human services best practices,” White said.
David Gottfried, a Ward 4 resident, said he has seen firsthand how corporate developers can take advantage of housing voucher holders for profit. Most recently, Petra Management Group paid $700,000 in a settlement with the D.C. Office of the Attorney General following a lawsuit that accused the housing developer of discriminating against voucher holders by overcharging them to boost profits. In this process, he said, voucher holders are exposed to “unsafe” and “unsanitary” conditions, as companies like Petra cut many of the maintenance and security costs of buildings.
“To be clear, buildings housing predominantly low-income residents can work if they include robust wrap-around services: mental health support, case management, social services, etc.,” Gottfried said. “That’s not what Petra is doing.”
But Lauren Pair, rent administrator with the Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD), said the department opposes the bill because it would add operational burdens for housing providers and could lead to the loss of affordable housing units across the city.
Pair said DHCD is concerned smaller housing providers who currently rent to voucher holders may convert their units to owner-occupied or non-rental units to avoid the new obligations the bill would impose, limiting the affordable housing options available to residents, including those who rely on vouchers. When renting to voucher holders, landlords already have to verify their rents are reasonable compared to the surrounding neighborhood per standards set by DCHA, which some detractors said made the bill unnecessary.
Pair added the “increased regulatory complexity” placed on landlords if the bill passes might lead small housing providers to stop renting to housing voucher holders, which would violate the District of Columbia Human Rights Act. Still, Pair does not think this would deter some D.C. landlords.
“Although it’s illegal to discriminate based on income, it’s difficult to prove, and this may be one potential outcome of the legislation,” Pair said.
Others in favor of the bill pushed back on the claim housing discrimination will run rampant under expanded rent control mandates, instead arguing the bill’s passage will simply force local government authorities to go after these violations with greater urgency.
“We may see an uptick in source of income discrimination claims, or we might have to see the Office of Human Rights take a more aggressive approach to ensuring source of income discrimination doesn’t happen,” Amanda Korber, a supervising attorney with Legal Aid D.C., said.
Charrisse Lue from the Washington Legal Clinic for the Homeless said the organization supports the bill because it will move D.C. “a step forward” in addressing the city’s affordability crisis. She said the current rent control exemption incentivizes income discrimination by perpetuating a notion that renting to voucher holders is an option instead of a requirement.
“Landlords should not need an incentive to follow the law,” Lue said.
If passed, the bill could lead to DCHA paying less per voucher for each resident on a “substantial” amount of vouchers, Korber said, which could lead to more overall availability within the program.
Currently, D.C.’s FY2026 budget allots zero housing vouchers for homeless individuals. The budget included voucher funding for 156 Permanent Supportive Housing family Vouchers, but the lack of individual vouchers will force many homeless residents to go without access to prospective housing options for the next year.
“Given that the council has had a difficult time funding vouchers in recent years, this would be an incredible outcome,” Korber said.
The bill is under council review and would have to pass in both the housing committee and council before moving on to the mayor’s office.
Housing advocates decry
TOPA rollback, say changes lacked community input
JENNA LEE Volunteer Freelance Reporter
Last month, the D.C. Council pushed a late-stage amendment to landmark housing legislation, which many advocates say constitutes the biggest rollback in tenants’ rights in years.
The change, which exempts tenants in certain small properties from legislation that gives them more say in what happens when their buildings are sold, could harm low-income residents, tenants’ rights advocates say, and was approved without input from the public.
On Oct. 23, the council reconsidered the Rebalancing Expectations for Neighbors, Tenants, and Landlords (RENTAL) Act, which originally passed on Sept. 17, specifically looking at an amendment from At-Large Councilmember Anita Bonds to exempt 2-to-4 unit buildings from the Tenant Opportunity to Purchase Act (TOPA). The council passed the amendment when it approved the RENTAL Act, but agreed to revisit it after a lengthy discussion among lawmakers about what buildings the exemption applies to. The council passed the amendment on reconsideration 9-4, with Councilmembers Janeese Lewis George, Brianne Nadeau, Matthew Frumin, and Trayon White dissenting.
For over 40 years, TOPA has given tenants the opportunity to purchase their buildings and a seat at the negotiating table when their building goes up for sale. Mel Zahnd, a supervising attorney in the housing law unit at LegalAid DC, said TOPA is the District’s “most valuable tool” for preserving affordable housing and allowing D.C. residents to control the future of their homes.
“For years now, landlords have been trying to chip away at TOPA, and it seems like this is part of that process,” Zahnd said.
The RENTAL Act, initially proposed by Mayor Muriel Bowser, exempts newer buildings from TOPA and speeds eviction timelines, citing a heightened rent backlog in the city and the need to spur housing investment. Bonds’ amendment also exempts all buildings with 2-to-4 units, which she said is necessary to protect longtime homeowners who rent out units in their property.
Several recent policy decisions may affect affordable housing and tenants rights in the city. Photo by Gabriel Zakaib
At the hearing, Bonds said she proposed the amendment “with the intention of providing clarity and relief to individual homeowners while not interfering with the housing industry’s ability to close real estate transactions.”
The Urban Institute found that 2-to-4 unit apartments make up 11% of all apartments in multiunit properties, with most of these apartments located in Wards 5, 6, and 7. The institute also found 77% of these smaller properties were owned by individuals, rather than corporations — data Bonds pointed to in support of her amendment.
Much of the debate among councilmembers centered on whether the amendment would exempt only individually-owned 2-to-4 unit buildings; or if buildings owned by corporations also would be exempt. Bonds asserted the amendment would still require corporately-owned small buildings to abide by TOPA.
But Ward 1 Councilmember Brianne Nadeau argued the wording of the amendment was unclear, and corporate owners could try to exempt their buildings from TOPA due to the variety of definitions of what constitutes a corporation.
Housing advocates and some council members say the process for approving the amendment — which many say constitutes the biggest change to TOPA the council has made in years — was rushed, with no public hearing or opportunity to present data on how the change will impact tenants.
Ward 4 Councilmember Janeese Lewis George, who benefitted from TOPA when purchasing her home in 2016, voted against the amendment, saying the council did not have enough data to know how many of the owners of these smaller properties benefited from TOPA.
“If we’re serious, truly serious, about closing the racial wealth gap and creating opportunities for Black and brown residents to stay and thrive in D.C., then we must stop dismantling the very tools that make that possible,” Lewis George said.
She criticized the lack of a public hearing, saying when the council passed legislation exempting single-family properties from TOPA, lawmakers and members of the public engaged in hours of debate.
But in this case, “there was no hearing, no serious study, and no meaningful input from the public,” Lewis-George said.
Advocates also criticized the broader rationale Councilmember Robert White and Bowser have used to promote the RENTAL Act: the city needs to loosen regulations to make housing investment more attractive.
“Not only is there no evidence to support the claim that TOPA is preventing investment in D.C.’s housing market, quite the contrary, we have seen TOPA remain static, and we have seen other factors impact the D.C. housing market,” Zahnd said.
Mychal Cohen, the senior policy associate for housing at the D.C. Fiscal Policy Institute, said the changes in the RENTAL Act, like rolling back tenants’ rights and speeding eviction timelines, misunderstand the root cause of rent nonpayment and other issues facing landlords.
“We are coming back to these really punitive responses to a housing crisis that can really only be solved by investing in renters, investing in tenants, investing in folks who are struggling to pay their rent,” Cohen said. “You’re seeing this broad step back in terms of our support for lower-income folks.”
D.C. rent control database launches after decade of delays, cost overruns
SACHINI ADIKARI Editorial Intern
The city launched Rent Registry — a database tracking information on D.C.’s rent-controlled buildings and rental housing market — on June 2, a decade after its proposed establishment. Now, as a late November deadline for landlords to register their properties approaches, a report explains the delay.
A September report from the Office of the District of Columbia Auditor investigating the creation of Rent Registry found significant agency turnover contributed to its delayed release, which ultimately cost over $2 million. The database’s creation was plagued by bureaucratic failings, staff turnover, and intraagency miscommunications, according to the report.
Rent control in the District applies to rental properties built before 1975 and limits how much landlords can increase rent annually. It can be an important tool to keep apartments affordable for tenants in a city with high housing costs. But when lawmakers debated the city’s rent control policy in recent years, they encountered a problem: There was no official count on the number of rentcontrolled properties in the District, though a 2024 D.C. Policy Center report estimated there were around 76,556 rent-controlled units across 2,417 buildings in the District.
D.C.’s rent control program was launched in 1985, when the Rental Housing Act established the Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD). Since then, DHCD has tracked residential rent-controlled housing, but the system was paper-based and not aggregated until the registry’s launch this year, and presented many issues for tenants.
Tenant groups and community organizations alleged housing providers had essentially ignored rent control in some cases by not reporting rent increases to tenants and not alerting new tenants about the
unit’s protections. Housing advocates reported tenants were unaware of their protections in rent-controlled units, since the system to file against an unlawful rent increase was paperbased and allegedly often not expressed properly.
In an attempt to make building and rent control information more accessible for D.C. residents, Rent Registry provides tenants with an online database of rent-controlled units and up-to-date information on each property. The system’s tenant portal gives tenants a place to hold landlords accountable, allowing tenants to file petitions for improvements and flag potentially illegal rent increases. The system also requires housing providers to input information on bedrooms, appliances, internet, and HVAC services.
The D.C. Council originally called for the creation of a system like Rent Registry in the Rent Control Housing Clearinghouse Amendment Act, passed in October 2015. Under the legislation, the database was supposed to provide a place for housing providers to upload documentation and for tenants to search for units within one year of the law’s enactment. It would take 10. D.C. Code required DHCD to award a contract to build the database within six months of the legislation’s enactment. But DHCD did not receive funding for the database, according to the auditor’s report. The report found DHCD did not award a contract within the sixmonth timeframe and made no progress for two years, which led the council to pass the project to the Office of the Tenant Advocate (OTA) in 2017. OTA had an updated deadline of December 2019 to create the system, but it took the agency two and a half years just to establish a contract with an IT vendor, according to the report.
In March 2023, after OTA had made little progress, the council again gave responsibility to DHCD. When the project was transferred back to DHCD in 2023, OTA submitted an unfinished database to the agency. It would take an additional two years for DHCD to launch the registry. According to the report, both agencies struggled to find an IT contractor due to a lack of internal IT project management experience. OTA and the Office of Contracting and Procurement (OCP) initiated a search for an IT vendor in June 2018, according to the report. It took the agencies 15 months to set up a proposal request and to receive proposals, according to the report. Leadership from DHCD and OTA formed a technical evaluation panel to review vendors’ proposals, which first met in October 2019.
In August 2020, OCP issued a contract to Innovation Horizons, a D.C.-based health consulting service, but the report found the contractor, which is not named in the report, was not recommended by the leadership panel and did not have housing experience. In fact, OCP and the panel did not communicate before OCP selected the contractor, according to the report. Following the contract’s issuance, there were several changes in contracting officers, according to the report, with the city providing little “formal” communication to the vendor each time. The auditor’s report states that the project’s high staff turnover and personnel inefficiencies contributed to the system’s significant delay and created a “reputational” risk for the D.C. government in terms of inefficiency.
“False starts in the contracting process and unsuccessful negotiations, as well as long delays in the competitive proposal process, may make it less likely that qualified vendors with relevant subject matter expertise will engage with District projects,” the report reads.
But the contracts weren’t the only roadblock. The data on rent-controlled units was controlled by the Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs (DCRA), which is now known as the Department of Buildings and the Department of Licensing and Consumer Protection. In the August 2020 contract with Innovation Horizons, DCRA was listed as the agency responsible for sharing information on the housing code, building code, and business licensing requirements. But DCRA would not share the data with OTA or DHCD without a data-sharing agreement, which the report states took more than four years to materialize.
OTA had multiple discussions with DCRA, beginning in December 2020, about the transfer of data, according to the report. But DCRA did not agree to share the data until July 2021. Then, in September, DCRA informed OTA that the previously agreed-upon data transfers would not occur and an MOU would be necessary.
Nearly four years later, DCRA shared data with OTA in June 2024 through an MOU, according to the report.
The Rent Registry website finally launched in June 2025 with two portals, one for housing providers and another for tenants. The website also has a section for users to “explore” housing data with pages for tenants, researchers, housing providers, and the general public, but the section isn’t yet accessible and says it will be available in a “future release.”
When the database launched, landlords originally had 90 days to register housing units online. The one-time filling requirement was extended in August to 180 days with a new deadline of Nov. 29. Housing providers will have to input property and tenant information for the database to be fully functional, according to the auditor’s report.
If housing providers don’t register, they may be fined or penalized, have their rental license renewal suspended, or be deemed ineligible to raise rent on rent-controlled properties.
Over 7,000 total tenants and housing providers opened accounts through the database by August, following the June launch, and 5,367 rental accommodation registrations were either in progress, under review, or accepted, according to data shared by DHCD to the auditor’s report. There are around 76,556 rent-controlled units in the District, according to the D.C. Policy Center report, which would mean only about seven percent of rent control properties were added to the database between June and August.
DC Flex, a pilot long-term rent subsidy program, could become permanent
SHANI LASKIN Editorial Intern
The District is debating whether to make DC Flex, a rent subsidy program the city has piloted for several years, a permanent option for residents.
First implemented in 2017, DC Flex serves 220 families and 21 individuals. It provides eligible low-income participants with a fixed annual subsidy in a dedicated account they can access to help pay for their rent. The funds provided through DC Flex are exclusively for rent payments, and participants can only withdraw up to the cost of their rent.
A bill before the D.C. Council Committee on Human Services would make the program, which is set to expire in 2026, permanent, allowing it to continue to serve people enrolled. The committee held a public hearing on Oct. 30 to discuss the DC Flex bill, as well as the “Public Benefits Security Amendment Act of 2025,” which aims to prevent public benefits theft by switching away from swipe-only Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) cards to ones with microchips, a more secure technology.
During the hearing, recently nominated head of the D.C. Department of Human Services (DHS) Rachel Pierre raised concerns about the financial feasibility of both bills, though she said she supported their intent. DHS is the agency that would facilitate the proposed legislation, making its opposition a potential obstacle.
The program fills a niche in the city’s housing services array as D.C.’s only shallow longer-term rental assistance program, as opposed to deep subsidies like housing vouchers, which cover the full cost of rent. For people exiting shelters, it has the potential to offer more stability than an alternative like the Emergency Rental Assistance Program (ERAP), which can provide short-term rental assistance but often only on a one-time basis. Funding for ERAP has decreased since federal pandemic-era support was depleted, and applications have been closed since November 2024.
DC Flex is targeted toward families and individuals who can generally afford their rent but are severely rent-burdened, Pierre said in her testimony. It’s intended to be a stopgap when participants experience an unexpected cost, such as a car repair expense or medical bill. Participants must have a lease under their name, and can choose how much of the subsidy they use each month.
Ward 3 Councilmember Matthew Frumin, who chairs the council’s human services committee, said the current authorization for the Flex program will expire at the end of September 2026. Participants are enrolled in the program for five years, meaning if the bill to make the program permanent does not pass, some people may see an abrupt end to the subsidy in 2026.
While comprehensive data about DC Flex’s success is not yet available, DHS reported that in fiscal year 2024, city shelters did not see anyone who had been enrolled in DC Flex reappear at their doors, a potential sign that it is an effective intervention for some to remain stably housed. The Lab @ DC, a research group embedded within the city government, is working on a full evaluation of DC Flex, which will be made public in next spring.
The committee heard testimony from five speakers, mostly legal advocacy workers. While all expressed support for the intent of the bill, some raised concerns about the size of the subsidies, who the program serves, and the timeline for making it permanent, which a couple of speakers worried was rushed.
Makenna Osborn, testifying for the Children’s Law Center, urged the committee to wait to mark up the legislation until the
Lab’s report is published, ensuring the bill is based on the most recent data. As it stands, each participating family receives $8,400 annually, and individuals $7,200. The bill proposes an increase, moving toward a minimum of $11,300 for families and $9,000 for singles by October 2027. With high rent prices and low incomes, Osborn said even these increased subsidies may be too low.
Policy and advocacy attorney with the Washington Legal Clinic for the Homeless, Joshua Drumming shared similar concerns. According to Pierre, DC Flex has recently targeted people and families exiting shelters and rapid rehousing, a short-term subsidy program to help them find stable housing. But Drumming argued for the income levels of people in these programs, DC Flex does not provide enough support.
“The reality is that the majority of families or individuals in shelters or rapid rehousing do not have enough income to maintain housing in D.C.,” Drumming said. “Despite these realities, DHS continues to act as though DC Flex is comparable to the subsidies of permanent vouchers or rapid rehousing.”
Responding to this concern, Frumin said he sees DC Flex as a “tool in the toolbox;” it may be able to help some people, but it should not be expected to be a catch-all program for people in needing of stable housing.
“We have to walk and chew gum. We have to help the people who need it the most, but we also need to calibrate our assistance for those where less can push them over the line. That’s how we can most responsibly marshal our resources and help the most people,” Frumin said.
Throughout the meeting, Frumin noted his concern that if the council were to wait for the report from the Lab, a markup may not be able to occur until the council is well into the budget process. This timeline could make it difficult, if not
impossible, to pass the bills, particularly given their required funding, which would have to be factored into the budget.
While Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner for District 8C Salim Adofo testified in support of the bill, highlighting the need to avoid delays so people in the program do not experience a lapse in access to funds, both Drumming and Osborn urged Frumin to wait for the report.
“I can’t stress enough that everyone here is, at least in part, speculating,” Drumming said. “We really do need to see the data and see how effective and successful this pilot has been.”
The committee also heard testimony on a second bill to require EBT cards to have microchips, which Frumin said could reduce benefits theft by 90%. According to U.S. Department of Agriculture data, in 2024, the District reported over $2 million in stolen Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits. The bill also contains provisions for DHS to reimburse people for stolen benefits — something the agency has been doing since 2024, when a federal law requiring this expired.
Nicole Dooley, a supervising attorney with Legal Aid DC, testified in support of the bill.
“For some, stolen benefits will look like falling behind on bills, potentially leading to evictions and utility terminations. For others, it will look like caretakers skipping meals to ensure that their children can eat,” Dooley said. “This bill would bring D.C.’s program in line with modern methods of theft prevention.”
To become law, both bills would have to be passed by the committee and the full council, and then funded in the budget.
Pierre said DHS is willing to collaborate with the council to work out logistical and financial aspects of the bills, but that, in their current forms, they would not be feasible for the agency.
The John Wilson building, where the D.C. Council meets. Photo by Kaela Roeder
D.C. drafts winter plan, proposing hypothermia beds for the city’s homeless at new locations
RANEE BRADY Editorial Intern
The D.C. Interagency Council on Homelessness (ICH) has drafted, but not yet voted on, the city’s winter plan as the District heads into hypothermia season with shelters nearly full. Despite the delay in officially approving the plan, D.C. has already expanded shelters to meet rising demand from cold weather, encampment closures, and tighter budgets under federal oversight, with more to come throughout the winter.
Hypothermia season — the period when dangerously low temperatures can pose life-threatening risks to people experiencing homelessness — began Nov. 1 and will run through March 31, with the peak of the season usually in January. As of early November, the city is still finalizing the plan for this winter, an unusual delay compared with past years.
At an Oct. 29 ICH meeting, officials assured service providers and advocates hypothermia operations will proceed as normal, even as the formal vote on the plan remains pending.
The delay follows months of federal intervention in the District’s budget and homelessness policy, which resulted in low ICH staffing and interruptions across human services. The ICH’s short staffing contributed to the delay, according to Kate Coventry, deputy director of legislative strategy at the D.C. Fiscal Policy Institute and a voting member of the ICH.
During the winter, the city opens additional shelter beds so people who typically sleep outside can take shelter from cold weather. This year, the beds will be largely at existing shelters or other D.C. facilities, as opposed to past years, when the city has used community sites like churches and rec centers. The draft of the plan calls for beds at several new or expanded shelters across D.C., with 1,684 beds set to be available by the height of the winter season in January.
The winter plan is especially important as D.C. faces continued demands for higher shelter capacity, emphasized by increased encampment closures during the federal takeover. For instance, on Nov. 2 — a day where temperatures started in the 40s and rose to 61 degrees — D.C.’s daily shelter census reported only 21 vacant singles beds in shelters across the city, even with some hypothermia beds already available.
Where to seek shelter
Although the planned total number of shelter beds for single adults will decrease slightly this winter, the FY2026 Winter Plan marks a continued shift towards adding winter beds at, year-round sites, regularly used as shelter, instead of temporary community sites.
The city plans for 1,177 beds for men and 507 for women at the height of the season, as opposed to the 1,289 and 490 last year. Coventry explained that the reduced number of beds for adult male single beds was due to utilization numbers, according to ICH’s feedback and debriefs on last year’s plan.
“The plan exceeds what we used last year,” Coventry said. “The target recommended shelter capacity was 1,289, but the actual utilization was 1,098.”
For single adult men, D.C. plans to provide 988 beds at the start of the season in November and 1,177 at its height in January. Facilities include both year-round and overflow spaces at New York Avenue, Adams Place, Emery, and 801 East, along with hypothermia sites at Blair (100 beds), Federal City Shelter (164
beds), Bladensburg Road (75 beds), Naylor Road (68 beds), and Salvation Army (40 beds), according to the proposed winter plan.
For women, capacity will rise to about 520 beds, including 361 at year-round shelters Patricia Handy, Harriet Tubman, and St. Josephine Bakhita, as well as additional beds for hypothermia season at Eve’s Place (60 beds) and Harbor Light (100 beds). The city’s LGBTQ+ shelter, Living Life Alternatives, will continue to operate its 40 beds.
For families, the plan anticipates a 15% rise in demand due to rollbacks of other family programs, projecting roughly 389 families will be in shelter by the end of March. D.C. will continue to rely on its Short-Term Family Housing network across the city’s wards — such as The Aya, The Brooks, and The Kennedy — while adding 75 hypothermia units at Kia’s Place, Partner Arms 3, Girard, Valley Place, and Rolark.
The city will open these beds in a phased approach, Coventry said. Additional beds at existing shelters and day centers will open first, followed by other sites. Once beds are open, they will stay open through the winter, rather than only opening on alert nights.
Coventry said this approach will ensure that resources are not being wasted.
“We’re not having beds that we’re paying for that are unused, but that we’re adding capacity when we need it,” she said.
What we learned from last winter
Last year, D.C. saw a record-breaking winter season, especially with the January 2025 snowstorm that recorded 6-11 inches of snow, shut down schools, and closed runways at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport. Angel, who goes by only his first name to protect his privacy while living outside, recounted his experience living outside during last year’s winter.
“I mean, it was so cold, like I was literally. I had a fur coat and six of those blankets, and it was still not enough. There were nights where it was literally just frigid. Quite literally, so cold it would hurt,” he said.
Angel said last winter passed in a haze. He followed a routine, spending his days at the Martin Luther King Jr. Library when it was open and warming up there because of its old basement heater. After closing time, he would head to a nearby Taco Bell, staying as long as the dining room was open until about 1 a.m., then enduring the remaining hours of the night outside, if he did not go into a hypothermia shelter.
Despite the record snowfall and frigid temps, D.C. recorded zero deaths associated with hypothermia or cold exposure in the winter of fiscal year 2025 for the first time since 2020 , a milestone officials credit to better coordination between outreach teams, transportation providers, and warming sites, according to the proposed winter plan.
And even with the hardships he endured this past winter, Angel said he is optimistic going into this year, which is expected to be far milder — as long as D.C. keeps up the resources that got him through last year.
“I’m in better spirits than I was last year. Last year was very cold, but the city had a well-adequate, if not semi-robust, network of warming shelters that existed and did a decent job at outreach in regards to making sure that people had the information and then also the resources available to actually get themselves to where they needed to go to get to those warming shelters,” he said.
Advocates said at the Oct. 29 meeting they hope their new approach, locating beds near existing shelters or other city services, provides more stable shelter options, especially
through expansions at Emery, 801 East, and new overflow sites on Bladensburg Road and Naylor Road. The plan is also consistent with a broader goal laid out by the District in 2024 to add 500 new shelter beds by the end of 2028, a target city officials say will reduce reliance on overflow sites.
As part of that goal, the city has also been renovating existing shelters to encourage people to come inside, Coventry said. Angel said the quality of shelter matters more than quantity for many of D.C.’s homeless residents, many of whom lack trust in many of the places they are told to go.
“If people can’t trust the places where people are telling them to go, they’re not going to go. And that’s been the case with the winter too,” Angel said. “If people don’t feel safe, if they don’t feel as if the infrastructure is adequate, then they’re not going to go. They’ll risk themselves out on the streets.”
Resources for this winter
Despite cuts to D.C.’s budget from Congress, the federal takeover, and government shutdown, all critical services will remain operational during the winter. The D.C. Shelter Hotline (202-399-7093) will continue 24/7, providing transportation to shelters through the United Planning Organization.
The draft also introduces a new clause that will bar encampment closures during cold weather alerts, ensuring residents are not displaced in dangerous temperatures. An extreme cold alert is issued when the temperature falls, or is forecasted to fall, to 15˚F or below, including wind chill, or 20˚F, including wind chill, while it’s raining or snowing. Low-barrier shelters operate 24 hours a day, and when an extreme cold alert is issued, hypothermia shelters will remain open around the clock.
The draft of the winter plan also includes a recommendation the city provide for four to five warming buses during these extremely cold days, like last year. But Coventry said she does not anticipate D.C. will have the funding to provide the warming buses this hypothermia season.
ICH officials said the city will soon update the list of other warming sites, which are activated during cold weather emergencies and consist of public buildings like libraries, recreation centers, and senior wellness centers. The updated list will be available at https://snow.dc.gov/. D.C. residents can call 311 or the Shelter Hotline (202-399-7093) to request transportation or report someone in need. For minors, Sasha Bruce Youthwork operates a 24-hour youth hotline at 202-547-7777.
Despite the available resources, Angel worries recent D.C. budget cuts and federal furloughs will lead to more people living on the streets at the start of hypothermia season.
“I think you’re going to see a lot more individuals out on the streets, given cutbacks in certain public service positions,” Angel said. “You’re going to see a lot more people that are getting evicted, that adds to the homeless population.”
For those who are outside, Coventry said the District is legally obligated to provide shelter for anyone who wants it this winter.
“We want to be encouraging everyone to come inside, particularly with the federal surge that happened and possible federal clearings of encampments,” Coventry said. “We want people who are willing to come inside, and hypothermia shelter during hypothermia is an entitlement, right? It’s in the law. So if, for some reason, these beds fall short, the District will be compelled to open up new sites.”
A “super” kitchen: How one chef in D.C. is combating homelessness, one meal at a time
ALAENA HUNT Editorial Intern
Marcus May starts work at 5 a.m. While and strawberries that will become veggie and fruit salads. Finally, the team scrambles 420 eggs, adding the finishing touch to the
most D.C. residents are still curled up in bed, May stands in the corner of a kitchen with a spatula in hand, flipping banana pancakes.
When May turns around, in a quick swivel of his head, he sees the overflowing spice rack, the long counters bordering the room, the serving station where his team will distribute meals, and the kitchen’s two deep sinks. At the other end of the small corridor he is standing in, between a steel table and the stove, sous chef Estela Flores flips a twenty-fivepound mound of potatoes tossed in an aromatic blend of paprika, granulated garlic and onion powder, dill, and five other spices.
By 6:30 a.m. on the morning of Oct. 6, May and Flores’ four hands flipping pancakes and potatoes turns into 26 hands chopping, scooping, washing, mixing, and dicing. People move around their stations, occasionally bumping into each other in the small kitchen. Someone starts the hot oatmeal — a diner favorite, even when it’s 100 degrees outside — seasoning it with cinnamon sticks and condensed milk. Three people at the sinks wash lettuce
finishing
breakfast spread one of May’s diners called “the best in town.”
Most mornings, the door to the dining room conceals a line that sprawls around the block. As it opens and the first diners trickle in, grabbing a cup of coffee, some juice, and a bowl of cinnamon oatmeal, May draws closed the shade of the giant window between the kitchen and dining room. He doesn’t show his diners backstage until the food is ready, though the fragrant scent fills the dining room long before.
By 7 a.m., the dining room is packed. Flores announces the morning menu and withdraws into the kitchen. A volunteer lifts the shade, and breakfast is served. May knows that for his guests, this breakfast spread could be their only substantial meal of the day.
May is the executive chef at Miriam’s Kitchen, a D.C.
that caters to people experiencing homelessness.
Every weekday, for breakfast and dinner,
guests can settle into May’s dining room and enjoy his food. They don’t have to pay to enjoy it, but May said that doesn’t change the care he puts into preparing it.
“We may be categorized as a soup kitchen,” May said. “But there’s nothing soup kitchen about what we do.”
During the pandemic, with a greatly reduced staff, he worked fourteen-hour days to keep up with demand. Now, due to the government shutdown, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) is in limbo. On Nov. 3, the Trump Administration announced that it would only be funding half of November’s SNAP budget. Prior to the announcement, Mayor Muriel Bowser committed to covering November’s SNAP benefits through local funds for the 85,000 D.C. households who rely on them.
it a “super kitchen.”
There is rarely a day when May’s job isn’t “super” important.
But the long-term impacts of the shutdown and other federal cuts to SNAP could increase food insecurity in the city, drawing more people to food banks and Miriam’s Kitchen.
In the aftermath of the federal government’s increased crackdown on homelessness in the District, the small one-room dining room with circular tables and friendly volunteers has become an important bridge to accessing services and finding community. The city’s rapid encampment clearings late this summer, which were concentrated near Miriam’s, dispersed
“They scattered like the wind,” May said. “Losing that sense of home and community has really affected them; they are
“They scattered like the wind,” May said. “Losing that sense of home and community has really affected them; they are much more on edge.”
In a world that is increasingly putting a target on the back experiencing solace he can – a warm meal. In addition to the restaurantSietsema even enjoyed a meal here – May and his team always
In a world that is increasingly putting a target on the back of people experiencing homelessness, May offers what little solace he can – a warm meal. In addition to the restaurantquality food – former Washington Post food critic Tom Sietsema even enjoyed a meal here – May and his team always give people choices in what they eat.
“These people are ignored all day long; they’re pushed aside. They come in here, and we give them their dignity back,” he said. May’s love for cooking stems from his mom, whose meals would have family members flocking to the kitchen. She couldn’t master biscuits, for some reason, but everything else was a hit.
They come in here, and we give them their dignity back,” he said. to
“She could do anything. I mean, her spaghetti was made a yellow cake with chocolate frosting when he was 10. “I was
“She could do anything. I mean, her spaghetti was legendary,” he said.
May remembers the first thing he made with his mom was a yellow cake with chocolate frosting when he was 10. “I was just that person who – food always intrigued me,” he said.
The first time May stepped into Miriam’s Kitchen was Martin Luther King Jr. Day in 2018. He’d developed the backbone of his cooking skills when he worked as a caterer in his 30s, but he was actually working as the vice president of operations for a construction firm when
backbone of his cooking skills when he worked as a
This is the caption for the photo.
then- executive chef Cheryl Bell invited him into her kitchen. She was organizing a “Black men takeover” for the day, and knew he could cook.
He remembers Bell chiding him for not extracting wilted
pieces of lettuce from a salad. “Would you eat that?” Bell asked. “No,” he said.
At the end of the meal, the guests gave the men a standing ovation. “That one time changed my life forever,” May said.
When a part-time sous chef job opened up in Bell’s kitchen, he jumped at the opportunity.
and staff had to serve the 12 to 18 pounds of coffee beans that a machine usually makes in minutes by painstakingly slow pour-overs.
Still, seeing how much his food helps people drives May’s dedication, no matter the chaos.
management, health care services, and advocacy. But most of the time, people first interact with the organization when they come for a meal, making May’s job particularly important.
Seven years later, he runs the kitchen, supervising six paid employees and what May calls the heart of the operation: their pool of 1,600 volunteers. Together, the team feeds upwards of 400 people a day.
The intrigue for food May developed in childhood serves him well each week when he opens a truck full of food donations every week and has to figure out how to craft random ingredients into the next week’s healthy menu. He aims to create meals that contain between 1,500 to 2,000 calories and include whole grains, vegetables, fruits, and protein, but since the meals are made from donated ingredients, he often has little say in the meal’s building blocks. May compared his job to the TV show “Chopped,” where contestants must make a meal with a basket full of random ingredients. Instead of a basket, he’s opening a van.
“Time is always my enemy. There’s never enough time,” he said.
By 7:40 a.m., volunteers have already served 120 meals, including 240 pancakes. As they scoop eggs and potatoes onto plates, May keeps track of how many meals his team has served, checking to make sure they will have enough food. Simultaneously, May is thinking about that night’s dinner. Tonight, one of his sous chefs will make chicken enchiladas to celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month. Chicken-anything is usually a hit at Miriam’s Kitchen.
“You say chicken, oh, I’m coming for that,” said Angelo, one of May’s guests, who Street Sense is referring to by his first name to protect his privacy while living outside. Douglas Steward, who frequents May’s dining room with some of his friends, said it was “the best eating facility in D.C.” He particularly enjoys May’s salmon.
May’s kitchen cooks 120 to 150 pounds of protein for each dinner. One night, he might serve turkey chili, then the next night, guests could enjoy May’s favorite, a Polynesian dish called caramel chicken. For breakfast, May specializes in biscuits and gravy; despite his mom’s perennial struggle to make biscuits, they’re one of the dishes May is best at.
Cooking with a random motley of ingredients is not the only challenge May faces. This month, May has been down an oven. Last month, an electrical problem closed the kitchen for two breakfast shifts and one dinner shift. Before that, the coffee machine broke,
“The meal is the gateway to housing,” he said.
As the morning rush starts to slow, May begins chopping potatoes from a 22-quart bucket for tomorrow’s breakfast. The knife goes dull. “There’s no rest for the weary,” he says as he grabs his own knives from the back.
By 8 a.m., 197 people have enjoyed a warm meal. The lingering aroma of spices wafting through the kitchen becomes overpowered by the smell of vinegar as volunteers and staff clean the stoves and countertops. Volunteers pack and freeze uneaten food for case managers to deliver to people who can’t come for breakfast.
May continues chopping potatoes as volunteers start to head out for the morning, passing cookbooks titled “The Joy of Cooking,” “Splendid Soups,” and “1,000 Mexican Recipes.”
get to do what I truly love. I love food, I love cooking, but
“It’s not even a job to me. This is like a fantasy,” he said.“I get to do what I truly love. I love food, I love cooking, but then to see the impact that it has on people’s lives. I mean, directly in that moment. I mean, you can’t ask anything better than that.”
Jelina Liu contributed reporting.
Miriam’s Kitchen, breakfast is served from 6:30 to 8 a.m. and dinner is from 4 to 5 p.m. All meals are served in the basement of 2401 Virginia
Miriam’s Kitchen offers housing, case
This is the caption for the photo.
Encampment updates: D.C. continues regular closures throughout October
MOLLY ST. CLAIR AND SHANI LASKIN Editorial Interns
etween Oct. 7 and Oct. 29, D.C.’s Office of the Deputy Mayor for Health and Human Services (DMHHS) cleared seven encampments across the city, including one that was the scene of a recent fire that engulfed the site and forced residents to leave.
The rate of encampment closures has declined in the months following President Donald Trump’s takeover of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) and the subsequent heightened attention to closing homeless encampments in August and early September. During the takeover, local and federal officials closed at least 24 encampments, including some of the city’s largest.
In October, DMHHS continued with regular encampment clearings, scheduling roughly two per week, with three cancelled throughout the month, mostly because residents moved before the closures. Most of the month’s clearings were of single-person encampments.
The morning of Oct. 22, city officials from DMHHS and the Department of Behavioral Health (DBH) arrived at an encampment nestled in an intersection of the Whitehurst Freeway and K Street bridge. No residents were at the encampment when DMHHS began the clearing, but DMHHS confirmed in an email to Street Sense one or two residents lived at the site
About 12 days prior, D.C. Fire and Emergency Medical Services reported a fire at the same site involving multiple propane tanks, according to ABC7. In an email to Street Sense, DMHHS noted that officials identified the site as a health and safety concern due to an “abundance” of propane and gas tanks that could lead to another fire incident if not discarded. City officials threw away the remaining items the residents had left behind, including a few tarps, a chair, parts of a broken couch, and three propane tanks.
Earlier in the month, the city cleared a single resident from his encampment outside the Re’ese Adbarat Debre Selam Kidist Mariam Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church in Northwest D.C. Since 2022, Getachew Gurumu had lived around the church, which he regularly attended, but on Sept. 22, DMHHS posted a sign alerting Gurumu it would be clearing the space on Oct. 15. Before the clearing, Gurumu told the Washington Informer he had no intention of leaving his spot. As city officials and outreach workers gathered to conduct the clearing, neighbors and friends of Gurumu walked past and checked in with him.
After speaking with outreach workers for a few minutes, Gurumu was convinced to move to a nearby location. An outreach worker helped him move his tent, bed, and a couple of suitcases, leaving the rest of his belongings for the city to throw away.
Many of the month’s closures impacted single residents who had been in a spot long-term. On the morning of Oct. 21, Victor Vsay Hucks was working to clean the curb in front of what DMHHS had described as an abandoned storefront in Northeast D.C. On the sidewalk, Hucks runs “Victor’s Treasures,” selling a collection of miscellaneous goods, including vintage records, art, and furniture. That morning, he was attempting to move his massive collection into a trailer attached to his truck and remove debris with a leafblower.
Hucks does not sleep outside, although most nights he leaves the goods he sells on the curb; he argues he is not homeless and that the space he occupies on the sidewalk is not an encampment. According to DMHHS, an encampment is “a set-up of an abode or place of residence of one or more persons on public property or an accumulation of personal belongings that is present even when the individual may not be.” The agency does not define anything on private or federal property as an encampment, nor does it count spaces where people sleep but do not set up longer-term camps. In an email to Street Sense, DMHHS wrote that Hucks’ goods on the street constituted “mass hoarding,” which falls under the District’s encampment protocol.
DMHHS initially informed Hucks it would be clearing the area on Sept. 16. The agency rescheduled the clearing twice in the next month due to logistical and weather concerns, eventually settling on Oct. 21. That day, no DMHHS, DBH, or Department of Public Works workers — the officials typically present at the city’s clearings — arrived at the site.
Around 9:40 a.m., three MPD officers came on the scene, saying it was not an MPD operation but that they were there to “maintain the peace.” It is not uncommon for an MPD officer to be present at a scheduled encampment clearing; these officers left once they learned the encampment would not be cleared.
DMHHS said so legal proceedings regarding the building Hucks lives in could be finalized. The agency wrote that its outreach team attempted to communicate the cancellation to Hucks but that he “refused to engage.” On Oct. 21, however, Hucks said he did not know the clearing was no longer happening.
“Messing with the little man, that’s not right,” a man passing by Victor’s Treasures said, shaking his head.
On Oct. 28, DMHHS cleared an encampment on Thomas Jefferson St. NW near the Georgetown waterfront, next to the same building where another clearing occurred on Oct. 3. The single resident left the site by 9:15 a.m., taking a suitcase and some bags, leaving behind a pile of mostly broken-down boxes.
The next day, city officials cleared a larger encampment outside the New York Avenue Presbyterian Church downtown. The site was targeted during the August federally driven encampment closures, with federal and local law enforcement agents visiting the area at least three times.
When city officials arrived at around 9 a.m., about five residents were congregated on the stairs on the outer right side of the church. On the opposite side of the building, people lined up to enter the church to receive food, use the bathroom, and access other housing resources offered as a part of the city’s Downtown Day Services program, which operates Monday through Friday out of New York Avenue Presbyterian.
58-year-old Jesus Ribas, a resident of the encampment, said he had been living in the area outside the church for about three weeks and did not know where he was going to go after the clearing. Ribas said he has been homeless since vacating his apartment with Community Connections about four weeks ago.
The site contained bedding, a few suitcases packed with belongings, and a wheelchair. Residents collected all of their belongings throughout the hour with the help of outreach workers and departed the scene separately at 10 a.m. Ribas watched from across the street as workers sprayed the area with disinfectant and discarded miscellaneous items of trash before also walking away.
“I wouldn’t wish this on anybody, it’s not healthy,” Ribas said of his current situation living outside.
The city also closed encampments along 695, near Logan Circle, and in Foggy Bottom. The closures near Logan Circle and Foggy Bottom both affected one resident, and the site along 695 was abandoned, according to DMHHS.
Alaena Hunt contributed reporting
Getachew Gurumu outside the church whose property he had been living on. Photo by Alaena Hunt
Why was Charlie Kirk killed?
JEFFERY MCNEIL
“Truly, whoever is able to make you absurd is able to make you unjust.”
– Voltaire
It’s been nearly two months since I saw the news flash that Charlie Kirk was killed. To my horror, I noticed some people couldn’t even condemn the act. That made me pause and question whether I want to live in a country where people believe violence against those who simply disagree with them politically is justified.
It made me wonder: Who injected this poison into America?
Basic humanity says if people go astray, you pray they find salvation. You leave judgment to God. When you wish death or destruction on those who think differently, you become no better than the people you despise.
That’s why I’ve hesitated to talk politics lately. Many of my leftist friends have become the very thing they claim to resist. They shout “Nazi” and “racist” — but how are they any different when they respond to disagreement with rage and dehumanization?
I may disagree with President Donald Trump. I think some of what he does is reckless. But I don’t lose sleep over him. If I truly hated his policies, I’d vote differently or move elsewhere. Life’s too short to live in perpetual outrage.
I live and work among people I disagree with every day. If someone excludes me because of my beliefs, so what? If a white man won’t hire me or let me use his restroom, I don’t whine — I compete. I build. I do better. That’s the America I believe in.
Unfortunately, we’ve reached a point where both extremes — the far left and the far right — reject coexistence. They don’t want debate. They want domination. They don’t want dialogue. They want submission.
We live in terrifying times. In this age of artificial intelligence and emotional fragility, anything you say can be twisted — reimagined to make you either a savior or a villain. That’s what truly frightens me.
Some say Kirk “said controversial things.” Well, that’s called America. Free speech is supposed to make you uncomfortable. It’s not meant to be polite — it’s meant to be honest.
What horrifies me most isn’t Kirk’s death — it’s the people who justify it. They say, “He was transphobic,” or “He supported the Second Amendment,” as if that somehow excuses murder. That coldness — that lack of grace — is the real sickness.
And I’ve seen this spirit before — the same one that spat on soldiers returning from Vietnam, that mocked those who leapt from the Twin Towers on 9/11. Back then, that cruelty was fringe. Now it’s mainstream.
Kirk wasn’t violent. He provoked debate. He challenged ideas. That’s what a healthy democracy should welcome. But today, disagreement itself is treated like violence — and that’s how bullets become the response to words.
This is how fascism grows: first, they silence the speech they hate, then they destroy the people who speak it — and eventually, they come for everyone else.
I grew up during the era of Martin Luther King Jr.. He faced fire hoses, bombs, and dogs — and still never responded with hate. That was real courage. But now, people celebrate killing someone simply because they believe in faith, family, or borders.
When fewer than 30% of Americans even go to church weekly, chaos fills the void. A society without moral grounding doesn’t forgive; it cancels. It doesn’t pray; it punishes.
Kirk wasn’t Putin or Kim Jong Un. He didn’t jail, starve, or silence anyone. He was a man with a microphone, saying things people didn’t want to hear.
Some say he “trafficked in hate.” What does that mean? We all hate something. I hate liars and thieves. Some of the left seem to hate America’s founding, its flag, its Bible, and its white men. Why is their hate acceptable, but mine condemned?
You don’t express hate with violence. You set boundaries and standards.
But in today’s America, one wrong sentence — taken out of context — makes you a monster. That’s not discourse. That’s fear. Writing is meant to provoke thought, not to be policed by the powerful. Because once the powerful decide what can’t be said, free speech is dead — and when free speech dies, fascism takes its place.
The real atrocity is this: Kirk was 31. He had a family. He could have grown and changed like any of us — I had views at 31 I don’t hold now. But we’ll never know, because his life was ended by hate masquerading as virtue.
Too many people cheered. That is the sickness. That is the atrocity Voltaire warned about. America doesn’t need more martyrs. It needs courage — the courage to let people speak, even when we hate what they say.
Jeffery McNeil is an artist/vendor with Street Sense Media.
Don’t cut harm reduction
DOMINIQUE ANTHONY
We should not cut the budget for health care and services. We need health services and harm reduction services like needle exchanges because people who use injectable drugs or medication need clean needles and other harm reduction supplies. I feel the government is being very selfish because money is being spent on things people don’t need.
It would help to pay for health services because without them, the HIV, Hepatitis C, and Hepatitis B numbers would get crazy and out of control. The community and the people would be very stressed about getting a disease that could be prevented. We should keep the needle exchange programs. It benefits the community, and harm reduction saves lives.
Harm reduction has kept me alive. I learned about harm reduction in 2007 when I became HIV positive. I learned how to do things differently with drugs and safe sex, and I learned about safe ways to avoid infection, how to do basic first aid, and how to take care of people in the community. The government should not put these programs out; they are ways to help people in the community, and we need them. Harm reduction saves lives in the District of Columbia. Please prevent these from being cut from the budget.
I am also a peer educator who has worked in the community for two years and lives in the community. I’m working for HIPS and started as a volunteer who wanted to see changes in the community and the DMV.
Goldie
GRETA CHRISTIAN
Artist/Vendor
Goldie is a big cat. He loves to play, look out the window, and mess with his favorite toy. He spends a lot of time looking at birds. He sleeps with me on the couch. One day, I’m going to take him outside to play with the birds. I talk with him about things. I used to keep him in the bathroom and close the door when I went out. He’s very good about using his litter box. He is a very clean cat. He looks at me when I brush my teeth. He always plays with the water. He loves being in the bathtub! When I sing to him, I tell him to close his eyes, and he does. He is smart!
Monument
ANDRE BALTIMORE
Artist/Vendor
Umbilical cords are weapons
In my opinion about the monument Because its long sky goes to the ground. Dirt. People drifting in dust everywhere. We’re too close to the sky. Clouds, clouds moving people Along with the laptop vision Of a chiropractor instead of a wizard. Commanding doctor with a lasso In his/her hand. A bio. Care for A night out in the capital of America With Washington, D.C.?
They serve
L.Q. PETERSON
Artist/Vendor
They serve not themselves. They serve a nation.
They risk their lives, for their children, husbands, and wives.
The serve abroad, so those at home can thrive.
They courageously serve, getting less than what they deserve.
So today we observe and respect, our honorable United States Vets.
Dominique Anthony is an artist/vendor with Street Sense Media and a peer educator at HIPS.
Thanksgiving
DANIEL BALL
Artist/Vendor
I love to eat some good old turkey on Thanksgiving Day. I am very grateful to have Thanksgiving Day once a year. My Ball family loves to eat on Thanksgiving Day, so we can get fat! We all need to praise God on Sunday each year.
Thanksgiving
ANTHONY CARNEY
Artist/Vendor
Thanksgiving is the season to give. God loves cheerful givers. I am a giver, so God blesses me to give to my homeless brothers and sisters. Please help Street Sense end homelessness. Don’t give a handout; give a hand up! Spread love.
Thanksgiving
MARS
Artist/Vendor
Heartfelt wishes and family dishes; unbridled cheer. Glasses clinking; new years waiting, time’s wasting, one last embrace. Tis’ the season; be the reason, more praise your name. Happy Thanksgiving.
Word of the day #2
APOLLOS ROBINSON
Artist/Vendor
Your perception, preconceived notion
Often misinterpreted seminal excuser
A misunderstanding, simple as it may be Has offended and exploited the lack
Of horizon in my broadening Facial language, body language
Why not just ask in this wonderful Diverse world of different rationales
We make sense of what doesn’t at all
Thank you for reading Street Sense
Thanksgiving
BRIANNA BUTLER Artist/Vendor
Waking to the smell of hot biscuits and sweet potato pies, I go to the kitchen and put the turkey in for a long roast. I lay out my decorative tablecloth as I get ready to serve in a delightful spirit. Now everyone is ready to watch the parade go by on our television. Lots of people are outside celebrating in cold New York City while dancing with the parade’s guest singers. It is magnificent to see how they put their flowers and plants on each float.
Do you know how strong you must be to hold those big, big balloon figures high up into the sky with all those cords dangling and THEN start twirling those balloons around like paper airplanes?
After reveling in the parade, we walk around the neighborhood to tell our friends “Happy Thanksgiving” and ask whether they would like to stop by our place to get some sweets and share some football and basketball excitement. Some come and bring dishes to share while we holler at the players on our teams. When someone scores a touchdown or sinks a trey, their supporters start jumping like lunatics, laughing and screaming, “YEAH! YEAH! LET’S GO.” They’re going out of their minds with the team outfits they’ve put on. And in our little contest, fans of the team(s) that win get to eat a turkey leg.
I am grateful for friends and family coming together and leaning on each other in the times we live in. We are just enjoying the fun and eating well with this gorgeous weather all around, with brightly colored leaves beginning to fall and dazzle through the streets of D.C.
Toodoos!! Don’t forget to give to someone else. Have a lovely Thanksgiving!!
Thanksgiving’s
bitter exchanged for its sweet
ANGEL MORRIS Artist/Vendor
I’m thankful for the time we had
Never knew when you kicked me out,
That our previous Thanksgiving meal together would be our last I will never understand how your coldness could replace your love
A missed seat at the table is nothing in contrast to the pain of the void you caused
But the bitterness of the heart is fading away with time,
As the cold of winter sets in, I have fought the hard fight to let you go
And remember with fondness the bystander, prayers, and good memories God ushered in
To this I say: “Thank you, God, for the love once known
Thank you God for the family I had through which your love was once shown.”
Thanksgiving memories
TONYA WILLIAMS
Artist/Vendor
Thanksgiving is being thankful. Thanksgiving is giving God all the glory.
I love Thanksgiving when everyone gets together to give love, to eat, to share memories, to laugh! I love it when people show all their love.
This will be the second Thanksgiving I will be spending without my mother. I miss her smile, her laugh...everything about her. But the good thing is she is with Jesus.
I loved having our Thanksgiving party over at my sister’s house. Mom got lots of laughs out of all her children dancing and trashtalking. My brother would always keep my mother happy — tickle, tickle, tickle — with his dancing. My mother had a very kind heart. What keeps me strong is Jesus and my family. We have to stay strong for her and for our family.
I wish my mother’s fabulous, finger-licking potato salad were at our table. It is the best!
Admiring the young
JACQUELINE TURNER
Artist/Vendor
Many people — yes, I’m among them — talk about how wild and dangerous young men and women are these days. But I want to talk about another aspect of youth: how thankful I am to know them.
They have to grow up, a stage made more challenging by hearing so much different, contradictory advice and counsel from adults who think they know best. However, when you look at our adult population, you see a lot of confused people.
Most of the young have to work hard to go the right way. Bad influences and situations are all around. Fortunately, some young people conquer those circumstances and become inventors, writers, scientists, and entertainers. A good number do well enough to become very rich!
Regrettably, very few talk about the volunteers who help the weak, the sick, and the needy. So please don’t see only the negative atmosphere that sometimes gets us down. Think about the positive writers and creators of the new world.
I am thankful and proud to know young men and women with great minds. There are so many, I can’t name them all. So, just look around you!
The budget cuts hurt me to my heart
MELVEON HARP
Artist/Vendor
I’m unhoused. I have no family in Washington. I’m living on Social Security, and I can’t work because of my severe injuries. And here comes Trump, saying he wants to clean the homeless off the streets. Where does he think they’re going to go? Some are in jail. Many already are in the shelters he’s telling them to go to. Now, with these budget cuts, some may think about suicide.
All we can do is pray to God and thank him for everything.
Smithsonian American Art Museum
ELIZABETH BOWES
Artist/Vendor
I am writing about the Smithsonian American Art Museum this issue so people who love art as much as I do can have a place for peace and joy as Christmas draws near. The Smithsonian American Art Museum is home to one of the largest and most inclusive collections of American art in the world. It has a large open area in the middle, where these photos were taken. It’s a nice, quiet place to sit and enjoy the area. It’s named the Robert and Arlene Kogod Courtyard, and has tours, live performances, and a cafe area. It is located on G St NW and 8th Street.
The Smithsonian American Art Museum and National Portrait Gallery are housed in the third-oldest federal building in the capital. People have said this art museum offers a comprehensive collection of paintings and portraits, including well-known artists, sculptors, and lesser-known ones. They highlight free admission, the beautiful architecture and courtyard area, and the well-curated exhibits; they also like the friendly and helpful staff. These museums are temporarily closed due to the government shutdown.
On your time movies
VINCENT WATTS
Artist/Vendor
These are the movies you want to see, and the previews contain the content of the movies you want to see. But nowadays, who has the money for that...so let’s talk YouTube, free movies, and the replaying of “Mean Girls.” When you think you’ve seen your slew of teeny boppers, semi-high school, semi-college films from the ‘80s and ‘90s, this slides in your queue just before the 2000s. It’s about what it’s titled, and you’d imagined it would be some horrible situation throughout its entirety, but it’s not.
Lindsey Lohan is our leading lady: an unpopular high school student, Cady, who is seemingly pretty and then seemingly very popular. The cute red-headed girl is pitted amongst an array of high school students, and her new crew, the plastics, are completely dubious, deviant, but also definingly pretty; all to play to the tune of a high school motif. The three plastics are made up of Lacey Chabert, Amanda Seyfried, and Rachel McAdams. Lacey, the sweet, but naive Gretchen, who can also be a pushover, Amanda, the Karen without the temper, and apparently no brain, and Rachel, the scheming, rule-making leader, who turns out to be the dirty, non-competitive Regina George. They traverse through high school with social norms that are tragically rare nowadays, but hone in on every normal teenage girl’s moral dilemma.
If you have seen those ‘80s teenyboppers, you’ll love this movie. It takes those campy jokes that are socially awkward, usually one-liners like calling our cute, fiery red-headed Lohan, “Africa”, or placing the characters in situations where, of course, there are heavy, hormonal innuendos in a colorful array. Very fitting for teens, big-kid adults, and adults who have to sit through it.
Tina Fey, our Second City Chicagoan comedian, has written this very well, and also stars in it. The simply cool, or “fetch” mellow drama comedy has few follow-ups, so you shouldn’t miss this one and the rest....oh, and they are all free.
Teachers
KYM PARKER Artist/Vendor
Blue, red, pink, and green
The color green
Empathy of the planet earth
Strongest base in the world
Life, rain, the wind, the stars
Everything that’s supposed to be scary isn’t
It’s God’s will, and only God’s will, that gets us through
Blue is open, being pure
The color red means to me when Jesus died
All of our sins were washed clean
The color pink
Powerful, passionate, beautiful, and still soft
Our teachers are all these colors
They need perfection, love, and honesty
To educate us, give us love
My teacher’s power: to know, to understand, and redirect our children
We know that he or she has done the best they can
We know God gives the children teachers
That one child in this world
I know and I understand the burning
I get it’s hard for them
I understand the growth of the child
I am proud my parents taught me love, compassion, and respect
A teacher’s love
We need to acknowledge where they are now
They are all strong, God-fearing kids
We love them because they don’t give up from morning to night
They always do their job
We need to always be at their side
To know a teacher is to know a saint
Love yourself and understand the love of others
First ladies
ELYNORA HOUSTON Artist/Vendor
Quotes to live by from the First Ladies:
“Empower yourselves with a good education to build a country worthy of your boundless promise.” - Michelle Obama.
“Each one of us can make a difference. It doesn’t take a former first lady or former president of the United States to make a difference in our communities.” - Rosalynn Carter.
“I deplore any action which denies artistic talent an opportunity to express itself because of prejudice against race origin.” - Bess Truman.
“That we have the vote means nothing. That we use it in the right way means everything.” - Lou Henry Hoover.
Florida vs D.C.
DARLESHA JOYNER Artist/Vendor
Florida has better benefits, and the doctors care more for the kids. I have been trying to get my son help for the longest time. In Florida, he got a doctor’s appointment right away for what he needed, and the doctors referred the kids to dental appointments. We don’t have as much free food in our area as we do in D.C. There is a soup kitchen in Homestead, Florida, on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. Outside of this, there is really not much for the homeless to look forward to. I do recall a church that has dinner in the evenings once a week. I did find another program in Miami Springs, that has a laundry bus. And, if you ask nicely, it distributes bras and underwear, body wash, sponges to shower with, and perfume to put on.
There are different services in Miami. I was easily placed in a shelter the same day I came. They feed you, and you can stay there for three weeks and be out at 7 a.m. in the morning. We gotta put all our phones in the bucket in the office. They have dinner and breakfast. There, you have to line up at 4 p.m. to see if there are any beds.
Do this
JAY B. WILLIAMS Artist/Vendor
I do this often… step into the next step, softly
Wondering whether I’ll get the chance to tell you
I be walking down the street wondering whether you’ll cross my path
Hoping I’ll cross your path
To you, but I don’t know the wind whispers in my ear. This withholding of life all in front of me. She is all for all to see this emotion from the sky as the rain falls.
I can see nature’s colors in the sky over the land but not able to pass without a look at all she holds or BRINGS….
CARLTON JOHNSON Artist/Vendor
Photo by Elizabeth Bowes
FUN & GAMES
Across
1. Shoot the breeze
4. Word that may come before “metal” or “book”
9. Flightless birds (anagram of rabbit relatives or a stock investment unit)
14. Start for a Spanish count?
15. Thrill to death
16. Town of southeastern Kentucky with 4 vowels
17. “Much ___ About Nothing”
18. English coastline strait with famed “White Cliffs”
19. Video game pioneer
20. 1940s-50s songstress known for “The Tennessee Waltz” and “(How Much is) That Doggie in the Window” (5,4)
22. Term for the numbers that come after the equal signs in __ x __ = __ problems (PULL ITEMS anagram)
24. Old-time “The Price Is Right” announcer Johnny
25. The Beatles, Boston or the BTS
26. Channels 14 and up, on old TVs (abbr./init.)
27. Starting words of the Golden Rule (2,4)
29. “___ the season to be jolly”
32. American mil. org. with a training acad. in Colorado Springs (abbr./init.)
33. Word meaning to temper metal or glass that sounds like a squirmy aquatic creature
34. Hosp. sect. that sounds like a sentence (abbr./ init.)
35. Asterisked notation on some restaurant checks... or a description of what goes in the 4 circled squares of this puzzle (3 wds.) (4,3,8)
38. “No can do, laddie”
39. Disactivate the firing mechanism, in a way
40. A bit of back-talk
41. Word that may follow “burnt” or “bitter”
42. Scottish clan chiefs (HASTEN anagram)
43. Final (abbr.)
44. Soft crumbly soils, in British dialect (LOOMS anagram)
45. Morocco’s capital
47. Italian meal appetizer
50. Accept as true without testimony, in a courtroom
52. Asset lacking in a shallow person
53. Adjust, as a brooch
55. Duke : duchess :: ____ : dame
56. Because of (2 wds.) (3,2)
57. Farsi speaker
58. Apple’s mobile platform
59. Sipper’s siphon or scarecrow stuffing
60. Iowa GOP Senator Joni who flip-flopped on her opposition to Trump Dept. of Def. nominee Pete Hegseth
61. Yakima to Spokane dir. (abbr./init.)
Down
1. Good-looking in Guadalajara (Sp.)
2. Like one sharing a Spanish regional homeland with “The Alchemist” protagonist Santiago
3. How Italy’s southeastern peninsula is commonly described (4-6)
4. Alternative to a convertible
5. Flow stopper
6. **** review
7. Cleared the dishes?
8. Perpetual existence (PENCE NAMER anagram)
9. Possibly UnPC appraisal that may only be safe when applied to the Barbie Fashionistas or the
LAST EDITION’S PUZZLE SOLUTION
American Girl Bitty Baby (2 wds.) (4,4)
10. Info of particular interest to detectives, reporters or racetrack addicts (2 wds.) (3,4)
11. Carrier whose name means “skyward” (2 wds.) (2,2)
12. Frigid finish
13. “Je ne ___ quoi” (Fr. phrase for a certain indescribable attractiveness)
21. Tells, e.g., in poker (3-4)
23. Removes, as from a bulletin board
25. Toe woes that can call for wide shoes
27. 110° in the shade, in polite company (2 wds.) (4,3) (NOT HARD anagram)
28. What Tab cola claimed to contain, diet wise (2 wds.) (3,7)
29. Large body of water in Washington, D.C. (2 wds.) (5,5) (INLAID TABS anagram)
30. “____ Zebra” (old Hollywood thriller about a 1950s Cold War showdown between American and Soviet nuclear subs) (2 wds.) (3,7) (IONIC A-TEST anagram)
36. Place to see attractive models posing flirtatiously alongside the latest models (2 wds.) (4,4) (HOW-TO USA anagram)
37. Bar order, with “the”
44. “What’sa ___ you?”
45. Order to a film projectionist (2 wds.) (3,2) (I TURN anagram)
46. Clipped, and to the point, as spoken words
47. Puts two and two together
48. Neither masc. nor fem. (abbr.)
49. One-time second lady of the U.S. Gore
50. Spic and ____
51. Easy two-pointers made on rebounds (3-3) (SNIP IT anagram)
54. “Always ____ on the side of caution” (careful person’s motto, perhaps)
This crossword puzzle is the original work of Patrick “Mac”McIntyre. It is provided to us courtesy of Real Change News, a street paper based in Seattle, Washington. Learn more about Real Change News and the International Network of Street Papers at realchangenews.org and insp.ngo.
ILLUSTRATION OF THE WEEK
COMMUNITY SERVICES
Housing/Shelter Vivienda/alojamiento Case Management Coordinación de Servicios
Academy of Hope Public Charter School
202-269-6623 // 2315 18th Pl. NE
202-373-0246 // 421 Alabama Ave. SE aohdc.org
Bread for the City 1525 7th St., NW // 202-265-2400 1700 Marion Barry Ave., SE // 202-561-8587 breadforthecity.org
Calvary Women’s Services // 202-678-2341 1217 Marion Barry Ave., SE calvaryservices.org
Samaritan Ministry 202-722-2280 // 1516 Hamilton St., NW 202-889-7702 // 1345 U St., SE samaritanministry.org
Sasha Bruce Youthwork // 202-675-9340 741 8th St., SE sashabruce.org
So Others Might Eat (SOME) // 202-797-8806 71 O St., NW some.org
St. Luke’s Mission Center // 202-363-4900 3655 Calvert St., NW stlukesmissioncenter.org
Thrive DC // 202-737-9311 1525 Newton St., NW thrivedc.org
Unity Health Care unityhealthcare.org - Healthcare for the Homeless Health Center: 202-508-0500 - Community Health Centers: 202-469-4699
1500 Galen Street SE, 1251-B Saratoga Ave NE, 1660 Columbia Road NW, 4414 Benning Road NE, 3924 Minnesota Avenue NE, 765 Kenilworth Terrace NE, 850 Delaware Ave., SW, 3240 Stanton Road SE, 3020 14th Street NW, 425 2nd Street NW, 4713 Wisconsin Avenue NW, 2100 New York Avenue NE, 1333 N Street NW, 1355 New York Avenue NE, 1151 Bladensburg Rd., NE, 4515 Edson Pl., NE
Washington Legal Clinic for the Homeless 1200 U St., NW // 202-328-5500 legalclinic.org
The Welcome Table // 202-347-2635 1317 G St., NW. epiphanydc.org/thewelcometable
Whitman-Walker Health 1525 14th St., NW // 202-745-7000 1201 Sycamore Dr., SE whitman-walker.org
Woodley House // 202-830-3508 2711 Connecticut Ave., NW
For further information and listings, visit our online service guide at StreetSenseMedia.org/service-guide
In-store shopper
Whole Foods // Washington D.C.
Part-time
You’ll work on the store support team supporting Prime Now customer orders, preparing them for delivery and/or pickup. You’ll shop throughout our store for everyday goods including food, household items, and so much more. We especially need team members who like to work on Saturday and Sunday – our busiest times of the week!
Required: Ability to lift up to 40 pounds, stand and walk for at least six hours, and be able to frequently push, pull, squat, bend, and reach with or without reasonable accommodation. A high school diploma.
Apply: tinyurl.com/DCWholeFoodsShopper
Server assistant
Ruth’s Chris // D.C.
Part-time
Bussers set the stage for a memorable dining experience. You’ll deliver perfectly polished service one table at a time to help create the sizzle Ruth’s Chris is known for.
Required: Must be able to lift and/or move up to 50 pounds
Apply: tinyurl.com/RuthsChrisServerAssist
Barback
Aramark // D.C.
Full-time/ Part-time
The barback is responsible for keeping inventory of transporting, stocking, cleaning and clearing products. Assist with opening and closing duties, transporting product and stock items, and aid in the reordering process.
Required: Must be over 21 and previous food service experience preferred
Apply: tinyurl.com/AramarkBarback
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