We know D.C. Get our free newsletter to stay in the know.
So, as I blogged a few hours ago, NBC recently aired a story about the homeless services budget crisis that was extremely short on details.
The piece claimed that city officials had vowed “an emergency 11 million dollars would be found to keep the strained programs working.” But it failed to mention where the money was coming from, which programs would absorb it, and how the additional funds would directly affect the number of open beds around the city.
Thankfully, Charles Allen—-chief of staff to Ward 6 Councilmember Tommy Wells—-just called in to explain the whole situation:
The Department of Human Services hasn’t answered any of the above questions yet—-not to his office at least.
[Catholic Charities] worked directly with the Department of Human Services (DHS) and our office. And DHS tells us that they’re working to find the funds, and as you saw in the NBC story, they’re trying to kind of say, that they are going to find them, and that there are not going to be any cuts. But we’ve yet to hear any details about exactly where those funds are going to be coming from. Councilmember Wells is chairing a hearing on next Wednesday, and it’s both on the hypothermia plan, and we’re obviously going to have a long conversation on where we are with the funding and what we’ve identified to close that gap.
So, in short, whatever DHS has determined, if anything—-the news isn’t travelling now. (For proof: See DHS director Clarence Carter’s extraordinarily vague statement on homeless services, issued today.) Hold your breath until Wednesday.
This isn't a paywall.
We don't have one. Readers like you keep our work free for everyone to read. If you think that it's important to have high quality local reporting we hope you'll support our work with a monthly contribution.