As the District works to finalize the plan to close DC General, DC's largest shelter for homeless families, it is critical that the law guarantees minimal health and safety standards that protect families living in the replacement shelters. Mayor Bowser is working to build dormitory style shelters for our homeless families, meaning that families must share bathrooms and dining spaces. 

DC residents experiencing homelessness languish for months, and sometimes multiple years in our family and individual shelters while they search, almost impossibly, for a sustainable affordable housing solution. For years, families at DC General have raised hundreds of concerns related to safety and health risks associated with sharing bathrooms, showers, and dining areas with other families. They have spoken about issues related to privacy, disability rights, conflict, and increased trauma in shared spaces, beyond the trauma they’re experiencing due to being without a home.

One mother spoke of taking several medications that make her get up every two to three hours a night to use the bathroom. She had to wake her young son and bring him with her each time, walk in pajamas down a long hallway, and trying not to let their pajamas touch the sometimes puddle-filled floor of the communal bathroom. Another mom described the logistical challenges of showering a 4 year-old and a 6 year-old in a communal bathroom, having to sit them on the windowsill while she took her shower, and having to dress them in the air so their feet would never touch the filthy floor. Yet another mother talked about her daughter, who is a survivor of sexual assault, suffering tremendous anxiety around strangers. They all talked about getting sick from the food, about moldy bread and under-cooked chicken, and about food that they couldn’t eat because of health problems and special diets. Most talked about spending their limited resources on food, only to have, as one mother put it, “the mice eat my food before we can” because they have no secure place to store it.

Tell the city council that homeless children need privacy too! Make sure that the new shelters have private bathrooms for each family!