Amanda Chesney: Shelters are a safer short-term alternative than homeless encampments
Like many others in our city, I have been closely following news about the recent sweeps of homeless encampments. I, too, have been upset that these men and women experiencing homelessness have few other options for housing in our region.
As the executive director of housing and homeless services for Catholic Charities DC and an advocate for homeless residents for more than a decade, I am acutely aware that this is a complicated situation with no easy answer.
I absolutely agree that more must be done to provide affordable permanent housing to better serve this population. At Catholic Charities, we work closely with city and community partners to develop new solutions to address issues of homelessness. But make no mistake — these encampments are dangerous for their residents, particularly in the winter.
As an emergency response, shelters are a safer short-term alternative to the dangers that residents experiencing homelessness face on the street. Beyond providing a bed and meal, Catholic Charities’ shelters connect residents to critical services, including case management and medical care that can help them transition into more stable environments.
Additionally, shelters have evolved greatly as a result of client, provider and community feedback, which we and city officials regularly solicit. One example: the co-ed hypothermia shelters that Catholic Charities established after we and other stakeholders learned that many residents experiencing homelessness prefer to stay with their companion on the street rather than being sheltered in different locations across the District.
The city also has created more on-site case manager positions to help clients connect more quickly with housing and other resources. Case managers have been a part of our operations for about 18 months, and we are seeing more people leave shelters for permanent supportive housing and rapid rehousing supports.
We have implemented other long-term improvements at our year-round low-barrier shelters to ensure residents have the safest experience possible. For example, the city has increased the number of security staff on each shift, and we’ve updated the list of items prohibited in shelters after Catholic Charities and city officials received input from police, people staying in shelters and other community officials and stakeholders. At men’s shelters, there are walk-through or conveyor-belt metal detectors, and at women’s shelters, security guards at entrances have metal detector wands. Lastly, increasing the ratio of staff to clients in the past 18 months has meant improved safety and monitoring.
Moving forward, it is vital that the residents of the city’s homeless encampments are part of the discussion so we can understand how to help bring them in from the cold. At Catholic Charities, we provide 1,200 beds for shelter each night, with an additional 400 beds during hypothermia alerts. Our primary goal is to give residents experiencing homelessness a safe place to land as we partner with them to identify more permanent solutions.
Amanda Chesney is executive director of housing and homeless services at Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Washington.
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