Public Oversight Roundtable on Shelter Capacity

SAVE THE DATE!! Friday, July 17, 2009, at 10AM    

Councilmember Tommy Wells to hold a Public Oversight Roundtable on Shelter Capacity in the District on Friday, July 17, 2009.

Please come out to testify about the current shelter crisis!   It is CRITICAL that we mobilize and make sure that as many of us are signed up to testify as possible.  The Council needs to see that there is a broad community that cares deeply about this issue.  Decision-makers need to know that a successful Housing First Initiative must include an adequate safety net of emergency shelter.

When:  Friday, July 17, 2009 at 10AM
Where: The John A. Wilson Building, 1350 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W., ROOM 500.
We need:
·        Consumers to testify about their experiences and inability to access services
·        Service Providers to testify about the strain this crisis is having on their staff, program participants, and resources
·        Advocates to testify about the impact of this crisis on their clients
·        Concerned Community Members to testify about the ways in which this crisis affects the entire community

Let’s each do everything that we can to be sure that the voices of people who are homeless are heard loud and clear at the roundtable.  The Mayor and Council will be making some difficult budget decisions in the next few weeks.   This is our chance not only to safeguard the resources we do have, but to fight for additional support for the shelter system by highlighting the urgent need for increased emergency shelter in our city.

Contact Ms. Vivian McCarter of the Committee on Human Services by e-mail at vmccarter@dccouncil.us or by telephone at (202) 724-8191 by Thursday, July 16, 2009 to sign up to testify.


Nassim Moshiree
Staff Attorney
Washington Legal Clinic for the Homeless
Phone: (202) 328-1261
Fax (202) 328-5515