A Downtown Day Services Center that offers essential resources and social services to adults experiencing homelessness is set to open on New York Avenue by Nov. 1.
The construction of the center will be funded by a $1.7 million grant announced by Mayor Muriel Bowser (D) on Thursday as part of her ongoing campaign to end homelessness in Washington, D.C.
“The Downtown Day Services Center will enable us to reach more individuals and get more residents connected to the resources and supports they need to stay safe and secure permanent housing,” Bowser said in an Aug. 23 news release. “This center is one more way we can provide individuals experiencing homelessness with the respite and resources they need and deserve.”
The center will operate Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and is anticipated to serve an average of 100 clients per day, according to Department of Human Services Senior Advisor Carter Hewgley.
The initiative will offer visitors social services such as case management, health resources and employment support in addition to meals, computers, showers and laundry facilities through a partnership with Pathways to Housing D.C., District agencies and other non-profit partners, according to the news release.
Clients will be able to access trained case managers to understand and help navigate factors that may be contributing to their homelessness as well peer support specialists who have experienced homelessness in the past, according to Hewgley.
“No matter where you are in your journey, there’s something you can find at the center that will help you stay better connected,” Hewgley said in an interview with The Hoya.
Executive Director of Pathways Christy Respress noted the importance of the center’s ability to merge outreach with available resources.
“This Downtown Day Services Center is incredibly important in our fight to end homelessness,” Respress said in the Aug. 23 release. “It will help bridge the gap between the District’s street outreach teams and service providers while providing a safe and welcoming space for people experiencing homelessness.”
Clients will also have access to legal services as well as assistance with transportation, acquiring critical documents and locating permanent housing through housing assessments. These assessments will take into consideration the client’s needs and vulnerabilities and determine the extent of required support.
Housed in the New York Avenue Presbyterian Church, the center will be overseen by the DowntownDC Business Improvement District, a private non-profit organization which seeks to improve the economic and social environment in a 138-block area of the city.
DowntownDC BID President and CEO Neil Albert commends the program for being the first of its kind.
“A Downtown Day Services Center has for many years been the missing piece in our shared effort to comprehensively address the needs of individuals experiencing homelessness in the District,” Albert said in the Aug. 23 news release.
The center will be open only to adults experiencing homelessness; families and children will continue to be offered support at the Virginia Williams Family Resource Center located on Rhode Island Avenue and the District’s homeless youth drop-in center, Hewgley said.
The Bowser administration’s effort to end homelessness through a housing-first strategy — which provides permanent supportive housing to chronically homeless individuals without requiring psychiatric treatment or maintenance of sobriety before reception of the housing —
has connected 3,900 individuals to homes.
Bowser’s previous campaigns have included a $103 million investment in affordable housing, announced in June, that affected more than 1,700 residents across five wards and the creation of a Homelessness Prevention Program which was launched in October 2015 and helps families avoid sleeping in shelters.
