The DowntownDC Business Improvement District (BID) has a 16-year history of funding homeless outreach services and is committed to ending chronic homelessness for individuals. The BID is encouraged by the recent activities by the Bowser Administration and the Council of the District of Columbia to draw attention to the serious health and wellness issues for the city’s homeless community which include families and chronic homeless individuals.
The majority of the concerns and issues surrounding homelessness in Downtown D.C. are related to those of the chronically homeless individual. The BID promotes the Housing First approach in tandem with social and mental health services for chronic homeless individuals and contracts with Pathways to Housing DC to provide services and outreach to the downtown homeless community.
In an effort to respond to an increase in chronic homeless individuals living on the streets in Downtown D.C., and recognizing the ineffectiveness of current programs, which were intended to meet chronic homeless individual health and social challenges but are failing, the BID has developed a proposed action agenda, Meeting the Growing Challenge of Chronic Homelessness in DowntownDC. The agenda sets specific goals and makes recommendations to, (i) end chronic homelessness by 2020 or earlier, (ii) restructure current practices and programs, (iii) set ambitious goals to deliver new permanent, supportive housing units (iv) devote adequate city financial resources to restore Housing First policies and more. The DowntownDC BID is committed to working with the city, the homeless advocacy community and other business groups to help bring an end to chronic homelessness in the downtown and the city.
For recent stories on homelessness challenges and successes in DowntownDC see below:
- Homeless Success Story: A Place to Call Home
- Seeking Shelter: City Provides Cold Weather Help for Homeless