Home Front
Official Newsletter of The Washington Legal Clinic for the Homeless
 
July 2014
In This Issue
Hyperthermia, Budget & Dignity Act
Upcoming Events
Volunteer News
Affordable Housing
Police Trainings
Blog Highlights
Odds & Ends
Development Corner

 Shelter Hotline:

1-800-535-7252

The Washington Legal Clinic for the Homeless envisions a just and inclusive community for all residents of the District of Columbia, where housing is a human right and where every individual and family has equal access to the resources they need to thrive.
Our mission is to use the law to make justice a reality for our neighbors who struggle with homelessness and poverty.

 

 

 

 

 

 

               

 

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Dear Friends,

 

There's no denying it; both the calendar and the thermostat tell us that summertime has arrived in the nation's capital. Folks often think of summer in Washington as a time to slow down, an opportunity to reduce even a little bit the typical RPMs that propel us day-to-day. But homelessness knows no season, so summer slowdown remains elusive here at the Legal Clinic.

 

Our wonderful volunteers continue to staff our seven community intake sites, as our clients' legal problems continue to demand urgent attention. Every week, pro bono lawyers fan out across the District to assure that applicants who are denied disability benefits or other public assistance can file timely appeals and residents who face illegal expulsion from shelter can contest such wrongful action.

 

As I write, one of my colleagues is testifying before the DC Council on legislation aimed at supporting the dignity of homeless families by clarifying that the Homeless Services Reform Act does not permit the sheltering of families in congregate settings like recreation centers. Legislation is also before the Council regarding the siting of a playground at the DC General family shelter, as is a resolution regarding the possible closure of that shelter. There's also a hearing next week on the future of the Federal City Shelter at which we'll be testifying, as well. 

 

There's lots to do, to be sure. But perhaps the most important task before us in the summer is to ensure that those who stay on the street are protected from hyperthermia. Take a moment to read below about the dangers of summer heat and how you can help avert a tragedy for our neighbors who are homeless.


As always, please know how grateful we are to have you by our side in this important work.

 

Warmly,

 

Patty Mullahy Fugere
 

The Dangers of Summer Heat

Hyperthermia alerts trigger additional supports for clients

 

People who stay outside can be particularly vulnerable to heat injuries such as heat exhaustionheat stroke or hyperthermia. When the temperature, including heat index, hits 95 degrees, the DC Government activates its Heat Emergency Plan, making cooling centers available to the public and keeping shelters open during daytime hours. You can find out the location of the cooling centers and the shelters that stay open by calling the Shelter Hotline at 1-800-535-7252 or 311. The information is also online at www.dc.gov. If you're out and about during the day, consider taking along a bottle or two of cool water to offer to folks on the street, and let them know about the availability of the cooling centers. If you see someone showing symptoms of serious heat-related illness, call 911. 

   

DC Votes on Final FY 2015 Budget

June revenue forecast keeps original budget much the same

 

The DC Council conducted its final vote on the budget on Tuesday, June 24, at the Wilson Building. Despite strong advocacy efforts by social service providers in the District, the final budget looked nearly identical to the initial budget passed in May. In the end, the budget provides some Permanent Supportive Housing funding for families (the June newsletter incorrectly stated that PSH funding was also provided for homeless singles; with the final budget vote, the budget for FY 2015 provides funding for new PSH vouchers for families, but not for non-veteran singles, experiencing homelessness). The budget also provides some limited funding for Local Rent Supplement Program tenant vouchers that will serve a fraction of the District's families that are homeless.

 

Although DC's June revenue forecast has yet to be officially released, it is expected to show no net increase in funds, meaning that the Council will not have additional money to put into programs above what has already been allotted in the Budget. This is bad news as many programs serving no and low income District residents remain significantly underfunded. If additional revenue is predicted, DC Council has promised to fund Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) at its current level through the next fiscal year, meaning families who have received TANF for more than 60 months will be able to avoid another round of benefit cuts currently expected to occur in October. Many of these families have already experienced two rounds of benefit cuts in recent years and receive just $257 per month for a family of three. In October, these benefits will fall to $154 per month, clearly too little to meet a family's needs, if the Council's provision does not go into effect. 

 

Thank you to everyone who assisted with advocacy efforts this budget season, whether that be through sending emails, Tweeting, attending a rally or oversight hearing, or testifying on the budget in front of the DC Council. Your efforts ensured that funding levels did not decrease in a way that caused significant harm to our clients.

 

Family Shelter Bill Goes to DC Council

"Dignity Bill" legislation introduced

 

The DC Council heard testimony on Wednesday, July 2, on the proposed "Dignity for Homeless Families Amendment Act of 2014." This bill would amend the Homeless Services Reform Act (HSRA), the law that governs homeless services in DC, to specifically define a private room as "four non-portable walls, a ceiling, and a floor that meet at the edges so as to be continuous and uninterrupted" with access to such basics as a door that locks, a light switch controlled by the occupants, and access to showers. Support for the bill comes from over two dozen community providers, advocates, and legal and social service agencies that work with families in DC.

 

The DC Department of Human Services began placing families in recreation centers in February 2014, claiming that a "private room" as stated in the HSRA was undefined and therefore placing families on cots in recreation centers with portable barriers between family units met the requirements of the law. The proposed legislation would further define what is appropriate shelter for families, so that next winter, the DC government will uphold the letter and the spirit of the HSRA and children will not be placed in unsafe and unsanitary recreation centers in lieu of family shelter. The Legal Clinic will continue to work towards a transformed shelter system where all families have immediate access to apartment-style shelter or housing units, and ultimately to affordable permanent housing.

 

Upcoming Events

 
RSVP to [email protected] or 202.328.1263 for any of the great upcoming events below!

2014 Brown Bag Series
Each month, the Legal Clinic sponsors webinars and meet-ups in which experts present topics of particular interest to volunteers working with Legal Clinic clients.

Learning the New Coordinated Entry System for Singles (webinar)
July 23, 2014
12:00 - 1:00 PM
Intake volunteers know that accessing vital services can be slow going for our clients, so how is DC trying to move homeless individuals into the right programs more quickly? Join us for a presentation by Kurt Runge, Advocacy Director for Miriam's Kitchen, about the ins and outs of the District's new homeless services coordinated entry system for individuals and learn how you can advise your clients in accessing these services.

August Volunteer "Food, Fellowship & Justice" Hour
August TBA
After a long day at work, what's better than kicking back for some food, drinks, and fellowship with fellow Legal Clinic volunteers? While we have over 250 volunteer attorneys and legal assistants working hard to ensure justice for their clients, rarely do we have the opportunity to come together informally to network and get to know each other. As the summer comes to a close, be on the lookout for more details of our next volunteer happy hour!
 
Volunteer News 
  
Welcome, new volunteers!
Akin Gump hosted the Legal Clinic's Summer New Volunteer Training on June 10, 2014. The Legal Clinic welcomed 18 new volunteer attorneys, 4 new volunteer paralegals, and 9 summer associates to the Legal Clinic community. We are so excited that you have committed to sharing your expertise and passion for justice with our clients!

  
Client Victories 

Volunteer Will Barrett recently helped a client he met at our newest intake site, UPO Petey Greene Center, get back into the subsidized apartment in which he had lived with his mother before she died. Will's persistent and skilled advocacy resulted in a Settlement Agreement which gave the client access to the apartment, which he had previously been barred from entering after his mother's death. Fantastic work from one of our newest volunteers at our newest site!  

 

Volunteer Holly Eaton, with the help of Hugham Chan of Kirkland and Ellis, succeeded in obtaining a settlement of almost $600 for an elderly woman experiencing homelessness, after her bank improperly released her Social Security funds to an unscrupulous check cashing business. The volunteers filed suit against the bank after preliminary attempts at settlement failed, but eventually they got the bank to agree to repay the client all the funds that she was owed. Thank you Holly and Hugham!

  
UPO Hosts "Facing Poverty" Series
Staff attorney Will Merrifield speaks on affordable housing

  

"At this time, DC lacks the political will to truly address the affordable

housing crisis,"explained staff attorney Will Merrifield at a panel discussion held downtown at MLK Library on June 4. He went on to assert that the displacement of so many long-time District residents is exacerbated by public-private partnerships between developers and government officials that fail to deliver on promised affordability. Because the District does not exercise proper oversight of these partnerships, it fails to leverage its public land resources to create affordable housing. Will also argued that current public housing units not up to code should be fixed immediately rather than left to deteriorate while the District waits to demolish them at some uncertain time in the future.

 

This discussion was sponsored by the United Planning Organization, a non-profit that provides education, employment training, emergency assistance, and other community services to the District residents often most negatively impacted by the city's rapid gentrification. The panel was one of a series of community talks in UPO's "Facing Poverty Forum", this time dealing with "Poverty, Development & Displacement" in the District. Will spoke alongside the DC Housing Authority's director, Adrianne Todman; Derek Hyra, a professor of Urban Affairs and Planning at Virginia Tech; and the associate director of PolicyLink, Anita Hairston, to a crowd of roughly 70 community members.

 
Police Trainings
Staff attorney educates MPD about homelessness
  

Several times a year for the past 15 years, staff attorney Ann Marie Staudenmaier has traveled down to the Metropolitan Police Department's Training Institute in Southeast DC to educate new police recruits about homelessness in in the DIstrict, through a training called "Homelessness 101." She is usually accompanied by a formerly homeless community member, either Steve Thomas or Alan Banks, who tell their stories about what life is like without a home and help put a human face on the issue of homelessness.

 

When the Legal Clinic first began its work in the 1980s and early 1990s, client complaints about police harassment were very common. A key component of the advocacy strategy for clients in these situations was to develop a  community education program to address the underlying systemic issues, and the law enforcement training initiative was born. Since then, the police training programs have educated more than 1,000 future DC police officers, along with other law enforcement officers in the U.S. Park Police and DC Protective Services. The training has also been conducted for all of the DC Superior Court Criminal Judges and the staff of CSOSA, DC's Probation and Parole agency, as well as the DC Bar's Young Lawyers Division. Not coincidentally, the number of complaints that the Legal Clinic receives about police harassment has dropped drastically in the past 15 years.

 

Ann Marie's most recent training, held on June 30, educated 90 new MPD recruits. The training covers topics such as facts about homelessness in Washington, DC; "Faces of Homelessness" which examines stereotypes about homeless persons; resources for homeless persons in DC, including the "Homeless Survival Guide," a resource guide aimed at law enforcement; and a presentation about MPD's General Order on Interactions with Persons Who are Homeless. The trainings are interactive and include productive discussions about questions and concerns the trainees have related to homelessness. 

 

If anyone is interested in having the training conducted for their organization, please contact Ann Marie at a[email protected].

 

What's Happening on the Web
Recent Blog Highlights
 

5, 4, 3... Open the Door, DC!

(June 12) Read more about the Legal Clinic's budget recommendations for ending the homelessness crisis in DC.

 

Click here to get new blog posts delivered straight to your inbox!

 
Odds and Ends
 
Barry Farm Residents Fight Displacement

The District government voted against a Proposed Unit Development (PUD) put before them by Preservation of Affordable Housing and A&R Development, the developers selected by the DC Housing Authority to implement a New Communities redevelopment where the Barry Farm public housing community presently stands. After dozens of Barry Farm residents expressed concern over the lack of specifics in the developers' plan, the District's Zoning Commission rejected the PUD and tasked the developers with restructuring the request to explain better how current residents of Barry Farm will be included in the redevelopment. The next hearing will take place on September 18.

 

Don't Forget! Clients Must Update with DCHA to Remain on Waitlist

The DC Housing Authority has officially begun its outreach efforts to every one of the 72,000 households currently on its wait list for the Housing Choice Voucher Program, Public Housing, and Mod Rehab vouchers. If clients have not been in contact with the Housing Authority to update any information in the past year, they must go online to the Housing Authority website to reserve their place on the wait list at https://dchousing.org/ssl/now/ or by calling 202-525-1000. Clients should also be getting letters at the address they have on file with the DC Housing Authority about the update with instructions for remaining on the list. Questions about the process? Contact your case counseling attorney!

 
Thank you!

Do More 24 is a huge success

 

A huge THANK YOU to everyone who donated to the Legal Clinic during Do More 24 on June 19. Thanks to you, we raised just one dollar shy of $11,000, with an additional $11,000 in matched donations. The Legal Clinic came in 13th in the rankings of nonprofits who raised the most during the 24-hour campaign, which is incredible given our size compared to the other DC nonprofits also at the top of the list. We could not have done this without the generosity of both new and long-time donors, many of whom were inspired by several of our volunteers who shared their views about why it's important to donate both time and treasure to help Legal Clinic clients. 

 

If you are interested in contributing financially to the work of the Legal Clinic, visit http://www.legalclinic.org/donate/ to learn more.

 

Do You Play Softball?

Lawyers Pitch In softball tournament slated for September

 

Does your firm have a softball team? If so, we invite the team to compete in the Legal Clinic's Lawyers Pitch In softball tournament coming up on September 27th! For the past 14 years, this fun & family-friendly tournament has raised funds that allow us to better serve our clients. Participating teams have the opportunity to play in at least two games and compete all the way to the top. The tournament is a perfect opportunity for your competition-hungry colleagues to stretch out softball season just a little bit longer and enjoy one final at-bat before autumn settles in.

 

Be on the lookout for more details later this summer. If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to contact Kathy Clark at [email protected]. We hope to see you on the field!

 

DC Bar Foundation Grant

Thank you!

 

We are grateful to the DC Bar Foundation for its generous FY14 DC Legal Services Grant of $61,000. This general support grant helps us to be present to our clients when they need us most. It's an honor to have the Foundation by our side as we work to forge a more just and inclusive community.

 
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