Downtown Day Services Center Washington, DC

1. Downtown Day Services Center Washington, DC By: Tokyo Direkston and Christian Howard

2. DC History of Homelessness From 2013 to 2014 alone, D.C. saw an increase of 883 homeless persons, according to the department’s count, representing a year-over-year increase of 12.9 percent – also among the largest in the country. The “Hunger and Homelessness” survey from the U.S. Conference of Mayors found that D.C. has 124.2 homeless people for every 10,000 residents in the general population. The city also had one of the fastest increases in homelessness between 2009 and 2016, with a 34.1 percent gain. Since 2016, the District has seen a nearly 22% decrease in homelessness, driven by a 45% reduction in homelessness among family households.

3. Why the Downtown Day Service Center? According to the results of the annual Point-in-Time Count in 2018 — a regional census of the homeless population there were 6,904 homeless people in D.C. last year, down 7.6 percent from 2017. May 8, 2018 Unfortunately, the number of unaccompanied homeless adults increased by 5.2 percent, from 3,583 in 2017 to 3,770 in 2018. That increase was probably spurred by the failures by other jurisdictions in the region to invest in homeless services and the fact that D.C.’s low-barrier shelters are easy to get into, according to Laura Zeilinger, Director of the Department of Human Services.

4. The Long Fight and Political Wheel • Real Estate • The biggest issue for the Downtown DC Business Improvement District was real estate. They wanted to provide services for the Homeless population, but could not find enough space to service them. • New York Avenue Presbyterian Church • The New York Avenue Presbyterian Church was hesitant to do a partnership because they did not want church members to be discouraged from returning to the church. • The Government of the District of Columbia • Mayor Browser’s Administration • Mayor Browser’s Administration brought Homeless Issues to the forefront and Committed to changing the lives of the residents of the District of Columbia. • Department of Human Services • SNAP benefits, food assistance, and Medical Insurance • Department of Motor Vehicles • Providing Consumers with Identification • Department of Employment Services • Providing consumers with job readiness programs, apprenticeships, and resume workshops • The Downtown DC Business Improvement District and the New York Avenue Presbyterian Church agreed to service the Homeless population together because the New York Avenue Presbyterian Church’s mission is to provide services to the any and everyone who needs assistance and a community.

5. Public/Private Model Private Model (Downtown DC Business Improvement District) • Provides DDSC with staff for checking guests in, showers, laundry, food service, computers, telephone access, clothing closet and other daily support • Provides DDSC with SAMs to assist with morning queuing, de-escalation and security walkabouts (New York Avenue Presbyterian Church) • Leases the space to DBID that the DDSC occupies Public Model (The Mayor’s Office) • Made $2M available to staff and build the space for the Downtown Day Center • Provides different partners (Department of Human Services and Department of Employment Services) to be involved in the Downtown Day Center Services

6. Unique Partnerships and Services Pathways to Housing DC (M-F 9-5p): Works with individuals who experience chronic homelessness, and mental health. Provides housing/ outreach support, healthcare, treatment services and lastly case management. Additionally, SOARS assists consumers with getting social security benefits. HIPS (Helping Individual People Survive)(M-F 9-5p): Syringe Exchange; Individual/Group Counseling; Provides Safer Sex Supplies; Provides HCV/HIV testing for individuals every three months. Additionally, provides referrals to methadone clinic, suboxone clinic, and sober houses. Unity Health Clinic (M,W-F 9-11:30a): Provides health screenings and comprehensive exams Economic Security Admin -ESA (W 9:30 a - 3:30 p): Provides assistance with food stamps applications and TANF Veteran Affairs (Th 9:30a-12:30p): assists consumers with veteran benefits (housing, employment, substance abuse) DC Public Library (M 2:00p-4:00p): Distributing library cards and providing other enrichment activities Department of Employment Services (T 9-5p): Providing connections to employment services, workshops and job readiness trainings Department of Motor Vehicles (Th 9-5p): Providing non-driver's identification cards Vital Records (F 9-5p): Providing birth certificates to persons born in D.C. Washington Legal Clinic (M 1p-2p): Assisting with legal issues

7. Daily DDSC Schedule 9:00 a.m. Center Opens 9:15 a.m. Continental Breakfast, Computers 9:30 a.m. Laundry & Showers Open 10:00 a.m. Morning Groups Commence 11:30 a.m. Lunch Service 1:00 p.m. Afternoon Groups Commence 2:00 p.m. Enrichment Activity 3:00 p.m. Movie/Discussion 3:30 p.m. Showers & Laundry Close; PM Snack 4:15 p.m. Computers Close 4:30 p.m. Care packages made available 5:00 p.m. Center Closes

8. Architecture

9. References: https://www.americaninno.com/dc/dc-homelessness-statistics-increase-2014/ https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/dc-has-the-highest-homeless-rate-of-38-us-cities-a-new-survey-finds/2016/12/14/95487b3c-c18e-11e6-9a51-cd56ea1c2bb7_story.html?utm_term=.e766ba3456db https://dhs.dc.gov/page/2018-point-time-count-people-experiencing-homelessness-district-columbia https://www.usich.gov/homelessness-statistics/dc/ https://www.streetsensemedia.org/homelessness-washington-dc-statistics-numbers/#.XSyabOhKjIU