This was originally posted to the Adams Morgan Listserv on January 22, 2018, as message #47333, groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/AdamsMorgan/conversations/messages/47333
On this past Thursday, the 18th, we were told how critical the proposed Ward 1 Family Shelter was to closing the DC General Family Shelter. On Sunday the Mayor sends the letter below explaining how the DC General Family Shelter will close without the need for the Ward 1 Family Shelter. As the press reports <www.washingtonpost.com/local/dc-politics/dc-general-shelter-for-homeless-families-to-close-by-years-end-bowser-says/2018/01/21/40f4ed3a-feec-11e7-9d31-d72cf78dbeee_story.html?hpid=hp_local-news_dcg…>, the city will move forward with demolition at DC General beginning in April..
Also on Thursday, we learned that DC was short-listed by Amazon Inc. as a potential site for Amazon’s second North American Headquarters <www.nytimes.com/2018/01/18/technology/cities-amazon-headquarters.html>. With the DC General site (Reservation 13) being a key element of the city’s proposal to Amazon along with an incentive package <www.scribd.com/document/369376700/FOIA-Appeal-2018-57-REDACTED-AmazonHQ2-Proposal-2>. A significant portion of the incentives revolve around paying Amazon workers to relocated to housing built on sites such as DC General.
The Mayor say’s, “we are putting our DC values into action”.
Hmm.. I wonder what those values are?
William
January 21, 2018 Letter from the Mayor
Dear Washingtonians,
Coming into office, I promised we would close DC General and replace it with programs throughout the District that do a better job of supporting our most vulnerable families. Today, I am proud and excited to announce that we have a plan in place to close DC General once and for all in 2018.
The closing of DC General marks an important step forward in our plan to replace the shelter—which experts, community leaders, and current and former residents agree is too big, too old, and too geographically removed from the services that families experiencing homelessness need—with safe, dignified, service-enriched short-term family housing programs across all eight wards.
Over the next year, we will work to gradually and safely step-down the use of the hospital as a shelter by exiting families into permanent housing and placing families at other locations operated by the District. In April, we will begin the deconstruction of the vacant Building 9, and once DC General is completely vacant and closed as a family shelter this fall, deconstruction on the remaining hospital buildings will commence.
Ending homelessness is a citywide challenge that requires a citywide solution. We are making progress that you can be proud of, but we have more work to do. In 2018, we are putting our DC values into action, and bringing Washington, DC one step closer to ending homelessness.
Sincerely,