Despite tough economic times, homeless numbers on Downtown streets continue to decline.
Last month, Downtown SAMs, Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) officers, a law intern with Lutheran Social Services and Master of Social Work interns from Catholic and Howard Universities counted 72 homeless people, compared with 127 recorded in September 2008—a 44% drop.
The improvements represent an intense and coordinated effort to move the chronically homeless into permanent supportive housing. The Downtown BID’s Homeless Services Team has been working for years to reduce the number of people living on Downtown streets by using a pragmatic, street-to-independence outreach program called Housing First. Partnerships with Pathways to Housing DC, MPD, the DC Department of Mental Health (DMH), the DC Department of Human Services (DHS) and Travelers Aid have helped move more than 400 people in Downtown into permanent, supportive housing since 2005. Another 118 homeless individuals have been moved into other safe and appropriate housing provided by Veterans programs, nursing homes, family members or support systems in their home state.