CEO Corner: Week of August 18

Last week, for the first time in a while, I volunteered alongside our local D.C. outreach partners to help prepare people living unsheltered for federal police and military activity and efforts to remove people from public view. We didn’t know what was going to happen (we still don’t), and there was a lot of tension in the air (there still is).

But the fact is that people were out there in the face of unknown circumstances doing their jobs, volunteering, stopping by to provide support, bearing witness. Houses of worship stepped up, TikTokers were filming and posting critical information, and people living unsheltered were asked about what they need (the answer is always housing). The unhoused folks I talked to knew they were being targeted, and where it was coming from.

It was devastating and inspiring all at the same time.

Thanks to everyone who was (and will continue to be) on the streets in the coming weeks here in the District, and in other cities that will undoubtedly have similar activities initiated. Thank you for your humanity and your spirit and your hard work, and for not backing down.

Here is our update for the week.

Update from Washington, D.C.

As noted above, last week the Trump Administration began using police and military personnel to forcibly remove people experiencing homelessness from areas of Washington, D.C.  This latest attack by the Administration has put D.C.’s most vulnerable residents’ lives at risk and is making it significantly harder for providers to do their jobs.

The Alliance has been working closely with other national partners and following the lead of local organizations to support their needs and the local response. This has included Alliance staff and interns volunteering alongside local outreach teams to help move people out of harm’s way. We have reached out to D.C.’s mayor to request that they take all actions within their discretion to protect the people in harm’s way. We have also sent letters to the White House and Congressional leaders to express our unequivocal opposition to the actions of the Trump Administration. We urge you to do the same.

Finally, we have heard from many of you outside of the nation’s capital who are looking for ways to support and contribute. As you can imagine, the organizations leading the response in the District are overwhelmed and their immediate priority is to the people they serve. We are working closely to compile a list of possible actions that others can take to support these efforts and will share those once available.

Preparing for What’s Ahead

In the President’s remarks on August 11 at the White House press conference, he alluded to introducing similar strong-armed tactics in other U.S. cities. We also know that the Administration is working to implement the Executive Order from last month, which fully lays out the President’s intention of taking away local control from communities and forcing approaches that we know do not work.

We urge all communities to act now: start planning and taking steps to keep people experiencing unsheltered homelessness in your community safe.

• Adopt the Alliance’s  housing-focused street outreach framework and strategies. These prioritize connecting people experiencing unsheltered homelessness to lifesaving, person-centered, and culturally responsive services while actively working to secure stable and permanent housing. 
• Implement one or more interim strategy for responding to unsheltered homelessness that prioritizes the safety, autonomy, and health as permanent housing is secured.
• Meet with your local homelessness partners, faith based organizations, and philanthropy partners as soon as possible to have a plan on what resources will be deployed if needed.

New Executive Order on Federal Grantmaking

On August 7, President Trump issued a sweeping new Executive Order (EO) titled Improving Oversight of Federal Grantmaking. The EO seeks to exert greater political control over federal grantmaking. As with other EOs, it requires federal agencies to take actions to implement its directives before it takes effect. It will certainly create confusion and will likely result in delays and disruptions in federal grant making processes.

While the Alliance is concerned that the implications will be far-reaching, it is still unclear if the HUD Reform Act would limit HUD’s ability to implement this directive on programs like the Continuum of Care.

Protecting Data Privacy

The Alliance has received reports over the past several months that Continuums of Care (CoCs) are increasingly being approached with requests to share Homeless Management Information System (HMIS) data. Even requests that seem harmless – like those from college or graduate students – may not be.

Given the recent actions taken by the Administration and bad actors to use data in a way that causes harm, we would encourage CoCs to be extremely cautious in responding to these types of requests.  Ask questions, research the entity and person making the request, and seek the guidance of trusted research partners before deciding to participate in any data specific activity.

The HMIS Data Standards are designed to restrict access, require informed consent, and protect client data. We urge you to exercise caution prior to providing any HMIS data in response to any requests.

Glimmer Report

It is more important than ever that we hold up examples of where our systems are doing their best work.

We encourage you all to read and share this weekend’s Washington Post feature about the phenomenal success of Dallas and Colin Counties, and the risks that new federal policies post to that success.