Testimony by David Schwartzman, Legislative and Tax & Budget Coordinator and candidate for At-Large Council, DC Statehood Green Party, dschwartzman@gmail.com,
"REPORT ON SUPPORTIVE HOUSING PLACEMENTS AND EMERGENCY SHELTER CAPACITY IN THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA"
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 31, 2008 10:00 A.M. THE JOHN A. WILSON BUILDING 1350 PENNSYLVANIA AVENUE, N.W. ROOM 412
The Roundtable will be held on Friday, October 31, 2008, at 10:00 a.m. in Room 412 of the John A. Wilson Building. This notice has been revised to adjust the date of the Roundtable. The Roundtable will provide the Committee on Human Services with an opportunity to receive a briefing and to question the Executive branch on the report's
conclusions.
We support providing permanent housing for the homeless, with full access to support services such as substance abuse treatment and job training. However, the Mayor's closure of the only downtown emergency shelter was totally unwarranted, given that alternative shelter for all the displaced men was not available. Franklin was closed on a rainy day, five days prior to the previously announced closure date of October 1. Franklin shelter's downtown location allowed its residents ready access to transportation to jobs and social services. Given hypothermia season is now upon us, all residents of our community who uphold the human right to shelter should come out now in solidarity with the homeless and demand that Franklin Shelter be reopened immediately! The City Council should hold the Mayor fully accountable for full provision of both downtown emergency and permanent shelter, now ever more urgent as economic conditions worsen and the ranks of the homeless grow as we approach winter.
The denial of affordable housing and the toleration of homelessness are human rights violations aided and abetted by the corporate-dominated District government. On December 10, 2008, the 60th anniversary of the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, will be celebrated around the world including in the District of Columbia. Article 25 states:
“Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for health and well-being, including food, clothing, housing, medical care and necessary social services." Further, the shocking fact that a third of DC’s children live in poverty, while the top 1% of individuals have 2 times the income of the bottom 50%, constitutes an egregious human rights violation right here in the capital of the so-called free world. The U.S. is one of only two governments in the world that has not ratified the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.
Our Mayor has just announced $52 million in cuts from our already austerity FY2009 budget which include reductions in the Offices of employment services while unemployment is rising, as well as in health. The District's FY 2009 budget is woefully inadequate to meet the growing needs of our residents given the deteriorating conditions for so many of our residents. Full funding is imperative for the Housing Production Trust Fund, TANF (directly linked to child poverty), child care, job training, substance abuse treatment. Our D.C. taxes should be made fair and progressive, more capable of meeting this challenge, with tax cuts for our middle/working class now sinking closer to poverty. Maryland hiked their income tax rate of its millionaires, and Obama has pledged to increase the federal income tax rate of the very wealthy and lower it for most of remaining taxpayers. Why can't at least our Democrats on the Council and our Mayor support the same approach here? More revenue will result from cutting corporate welfare in our budget, now in earmarks and hidden in non-transparent special funds.
