Residents of the D.C. Village Emergency Shelter for Homeless Families are trapped in a facility with lax security, rampant vermin, failing infrastructure and not nearly enough space, a recent inspection found.
Located near Bolling Air Force Base in Ward 8, D.C. Village houses more than 70 families, including upward of 140 children. The shelter, managed by two nonprofits — The Community Partnership and Coalition for the Homeless — through a contract with the Department of Human Services, serves a population approaching 250 at any given time.
D.C. Village “affords residents none of the apartment-style accommodations that are required under D.C. law,” according to the report from the D.C. Inspector General. It is not uncommon for six or more people to share a room or for shelter residents to sleep in areas used for recreation during the day.
The inspection team “found no evidence” that required background checks and drug screenings were conducted on employees who have direct contact with children. And the buildings that comprise the village do not afford adequate security to residents, “some of whom, being victims of domestic abuse, are extremely vulnerable.”
The report also found that the buildings have “ill-fitting doors and windows, cracks in façades, crumbling stone and brick work, and spaces around plumbing and sewer pipes,” all of which present potential points of entry for mice.
The inspection was requested in October 2005 by new D.C. Mayor Adrian Fenty when he was chair of the D.C. Council’s human services committee.
“I think it’s perfectly clear now that the management in the government has not focused on D.C. Village as it should have and we’ve got to immediately turn that around,” Fenty said Friday.
The inspection report “is complete and it is fair,” Sue Marshall, executive director of The Community Partnership, told the human services committee last month. During the same hearing, Michael Ferrell, executive director of Coalition for the Homeless, called for D.C. Village to be downsized, blaming many of its problems on overcrowding.
“Everything from the bedbugs, scabies and mice to the issues regarding the ability to store food in the refrigerator, all put together they represent a very tangible example of what we should not do in terms of managing shelters,” Ferrell said.
Also from the report
» New food service contractor greatly improved quality of food
» Common areas appeared clean and well-maintained
» Physical and mental health services comply with or exceed legal standards
– Source: Inspector General
