Local
Casa Ruby named ‘fiscal agent’ for Wanda Alston House
City’s only LGBT homeless youth shelter ‘stable’ after T.H.E. collapse
Wanda Alston House official Brian Watson, far left, and transgender activist Earline Budd, right, look on while the mother of the late Wanda Alston cuts a ceremonial ribbon marking the opening of the Alston House on July 8, 2008. (Washington Blade file photo by Henry Lisner)
In a little-noticed development, an organization that oversees the city’s housing programs for the homeless terminated its contract with the local group Transgender Health Empowerment to operate the Wanda Alston House, the city’s only residential facility for homeless LGBT youth.
The Community Partnership for the Prevention of Homelessness on July 1 awarded the Alston House contract to Casa Ruby, an LGBT community center on Georgia Avenue in Northwest D.C. with an outreach to the Latino and transgender communities.
The action by the Community Partnership, which is funded by the D.C. Department of Human Services (DHS), came after it determined that T.H.E. was no longer capable of overseeing the Alston House due to financial problems that forced it to lay off most of its employees in May, sources familiar with the organization said. T.H.E. filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on July 7.
“They reached out to me and asked me if Casa Ruby could do this and, of course, I said we would,” Ruby Corado said in referring to a call she received from the Community Partnership’s executive director, Sue Marshall.
“My immediate reaction was it would be a tragedy for the clients if the Wanda Alston House was forced to close,” Corado told the Blade.
Corado is the founder and executive director of Casa Ruby
Under the new contract the Alston House will continue to operate at its current location at 804 46th St., N.E.
Dora Taylor, a spokesperson for DHS, said the contract was awarded to Casa Ruby on an interim basis and is scheduled to last until the end of the fiscal year on Sept. 30.
Although the contract places Casa Ruby in charge of the Alston House’s finances in the role of fiscal agent and case manager, staff members formerly associated with T.H.E. will continue to operate the house.
Corado said she is considering taking steps to have the contract extended beyond that date, saying she believes Casa Ruby provides a good fit for the Alston House and its programs.
However, Earline Budd, one of the founders and most recently a program director for T.H.E., said former T.H.E. official Brian Watson informed her he was in the process of creating a new non-profit corporation to operate the Alston House called the Wanda Alston Foundation.
Records with the D.C. Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs’ Office of Corporations show that someone reserved a corporate name of Wanda Alston Foundation on July 2 but the required incorporation papers had yet to be filed.
Watson, who has been involved in the day-to-day operations of the Alston House since it opened in July 2008, was reluctant to comment two weeks ago when the Blade contacted him about the status of the Alston House in the midst of T.H.E.’s financial crisis.
“Right now the house is stable and open and occupied to capacity,” he said “I can’t comment on any changes that may have taken place.”
He didn’t respond to calls from the Blade this week seeking information about his plans for an Alston House Foundation.
A call placed to the Alston House was answered by a recorded message that identified Watson as the director of the house. A July 11 message posted on a Facebook page created by the Alston House states, “On behalf of the Wanda Alston House, we are pleased to announce its services are up and running under the Wanda Alston Foundation!”
The Facebook posting adds, “With the support of Casa Ruby, as its fiscal agent, the Wanda Alston House is moving forward with its mission, to increase the overall quality of life for LGBTQ youth in the District of Columbia.”
A message posted on the website of the D.C. Center for the LGBT Community on May 17 suggested the Alston House at that time was encountering problems meeting the basic needs of its clients.
“A collection box has been set up at the D.C. Center (1318 U St., N.W.) for donations to the Wanda Alston House” for items such as shampoo, soap, toothbrushes and toothpaste, canned food, toilet paper, and bed sheets and pillows, among other items, the D.C. Center message said.
David Mariner, the center’s executive director, and Michael Sessa, the center’s board president, each said the center has provided assistance to the Alston House at various times since it opened in 2008. Mariner acknowledged that Watson contacted the center but said further details on the matter should be obtained from Watson.
The Alston House is named after the late lesbian activist who, among other things, served as director of the city’s Office of GLBT Affairs under Mayor Anthony Williams. Alston was stabbed to death in her home in Northeast D.C. on March 16, 2005, in what police said was a robbery attempt by a male neighbor that was not linked to her sexual orientation.
Her murder shocked the LGBT community, which recognized Alston for years of advocacy on behalf of LGBT and feminist causes, including efforts to assist LGBT youth.
Christopher Dyer, who served as director of the GLBT Affairs office under Mayor Adrian Fenty, said Watson played a key role in pushing for city funding for an LGBT youth homeless facility more than a year before the Alston House opened.
“Brian has been the one who has pushed for this from the beginning,” Dyer said. “I’m really pleased that it was able to survive.”
In a 2008 press release announcing its opening, the mayor’s office described the Alston House as a “groundbreaking housing program for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender youth in Washington, D.C. It is the first transitional living program dedicated to preparing GLBT youth for independent living and adulthood in the District of Columbia.”
The house accommodates eight residents and has facilities for one or more adult supervisors who are present at the house on a 24-hour basis.
Local
Local LGBTQ groups, activists to commemorate Black History Month
Rayceen Pendarvis to moderate Dupont Underground panel on Sunday
LGBTQ groups in D.C. and elsewhere plan to use Black History Month as an opportunity to commemorate and celebrate Black lives and experiences.
Team Rayceen Productions has no specific events planned, but co-founder Rayceen Pendarvis will attend many functions around D.C. this month.
Pendarvis, a longtime voice in the LGBTQ community in D.C. will be moderating a panel at Dupont Underground on Sunday. The event, “Every (Body) Wants to Be a Showgirl,” will feature art from Black burlesque artists from around the country. Pendarvis on Feb. 23 will attend the showing of multimedia play at the Lincoln Theatre that commemorates the life of James Baldwin.
Equality Virginia plans to prioritize Black voices through a weekly online series, and community-based story telling. The online digital series will center Black LGBTQ voices, specifically trailblazers and activists, and contemporary Black queer and transgender people.
Narissa Rahaman, Equality Virginia’s executive director, stressed the importance of the Black queer community to the overall Pride movement, and said “Equality Virginia is proud to center those voices in our work this month and beyond.”
The Capital Pride Alliance, which hosts Pride events in D.C., has an alliance with the Center for Black Equity, which brings Black Pride to D.C. over Memorial Day weekend. The National LGBTQ Task Force has no specific Black History Month events planned, but plans to participate in online collaborations.
Cathy Renna, the Task Force’s director of communications, told the Washington Blade the organization remains committed to uplifting Black voices. “Our priority is keeping this at the forefront everyday,” she said.
The D.C. LGBTQ+ Community Center is also hosting a series of Black History Month events.
The D.C. Public Library earlier this year launched “Freedom and Resistance,” an exhibition that celebrates Black History Month and Martin Luther King Jr. It will remain on display until the middle of March at the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library at 901 G St., N.W.
District of Columbia
U.S. Attorney’s Office drops hate crime charge in anti-gay assault
Case remains under investigation and ‘further charges’ could come
D.C. police announced on Feb. 9 that they had arrested two days earlier on Feb. 7 a Germantown, Md., man on a charge of simple assault with a hate crime designation after the man allegedly assaulted a gay man at 14th and Q Streets, N.W., while using “homophobic slurs.”
But D.C. Superior Court records show that prosecutors with the Office of the U.S. Attorney for D.C., which prosecutes D.C. violent crime cases, charged the arrested man only with simple assault without a hate crime designation.
In response to a request by the Washington Blade for the reason why the hate crime designation was dropped, a spokesperson for the U.S. Attorney’s office provided this response: “We continue to investigate this matter and make no mistake: should the evidence call for further charges, we will not hesitate to charge them.”
In a statement announcing the arrest in this case, D.C. police stated, “On Saturday, February 7, 2026, at approximately 7:45 p.m. the victim and suspect were in the 1500 block of 14th Street, Northwest. The suspect requested a ‘high five’ from the victim. The victim declined and continued walking,” the statement says.
“The suspect assaulted the victim and used homophobic slurs,” the police statement continues. “The suspect was apprehended by responding officers.”
It adds that 26-year-old Dean Edmundson of Germantown, Md. “was arrested and charged with Simple Assault (Hate/Bias).” The statement also adds, “A designation as a hate crime by MPD does not mean that prosecutors will prosecute it as a hate crime.”
Under D.C.’s Bias Related Crime Act of 1989, penalties for crimes motivated by prejudice against individuals based on race, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability, and homelessness can be enhanced by a court upon conviction by one and a half times greater than the penalty of the underlying crime.
Prosecutors in the past both in D.C. and other states have said they sometimes decide not to include a hate crime designation in assault cases if they don’t think the evidence is sufficient to obtain a conviction by a jury. In some instances, prosecutors have said they were concerned that a skeptical jury might decide to find a defendant not guilty of the underlying assault charge if they did not believe a motive of hate was involved.
A more detailed arrest affidavit filed by D.C. police in Superior Court appears to support the charge of a hate crime designation.
“The victim stated that they refused to High-Five Defendant Edmondson, which, upon that happening, Defendant Edmondson started walking behind both the victim and witness, calling the victim, “bald, ugly, and gay,” the arrest affidavit states.
“The victim stated that upon being called that, Defendant Edmundson pushed the victim with both hands, shoving them, causing the victim to feel the force of the push,” the affidavit continues. “The victim stated that they felt offended and that they were also gay,” it says.
District of Columbia
Capital Pride wins anti-stalking order against local activist
Darren Pasha claims action is linked to his criticism of Pride organizers
A D.C. Superior Court judge on Feb. 6 partially approved an anti-stalking order against a local LGBTQ activist requested last October by the Capital Pride Alliance, the D.C.-based LGBTQ group that organizes the city’s annual Pride events.
The ruling by Judge Robert D. Okun requires former Capital Pride volunteer Darren Pasha to stay at least 100 feet away from Capital Pride’s staff, board members, and volunteers until the time of a follow up court hearing he scheduled for April 17.
In his ruling at the Feb. 6 hearing, which was virtual rather than held in-person at the courthouse, Okun said he had changed the distance that Capital Pride had requested for the stay-away, anti-stalking order from 200 yards to 100 feet. The court records show that the judge also denied a motion filed earlier by Pasha, who did not attend the hearing, to “quash” the Capital Pride civil case against him.
Pasha told the Washington Blade he suffered an injury and damaged his mobile phone by falling off his scooter on the city’s snow-covered streets that prevented him from calling in to join the Feb. 6 court hearing.
In his own court filings without retaining an attorney, Pasha has strongly denied the stalking related allegations against him by Capital Pride, saying “no credible or admissible evidence has been provided” to show he engaged in any wrongdoing.
The Capital Pride complaint initially filed in court on Oct. 27, 2025, includes an 18-page legal brief outlining its allegations against Pasha and an additional 167-page addendum of “supporting exhibits” that includes multiple statements by witnesses whose names are blacked out.
“Over the past year, Defendant Darren Pasha (“DSP”) has engaged in a sustained, and escalating course of conduct directed at CPA, including repeated and unwanted contact, harassment, intimidation, threats, manipulation, and coercive behavior targeting CPA staff, board members, volunteers, and affiliates,” the Capital Pride complaint states.
In his initial 16-page response to the complaint, Pasha says the Capital Pride complaint appears to be a form of retaliation against him for a dispute he has had with the organization and its then president, Ashley Smith, last year.
“It is evident that the document is replete with false, misleading, and unsubstantiated assertions,” he said of the complaint.
Smith, who has since resigned from his role as board president, did not respond to a request by the Blade for comment at the time the Capital Pride court complaint was filed against Pasha.
Capital Pride Executive Director Ryan Bos and the attorney representing the group in its legal action against Pasha, Nick Harrison, did not immediately respond to a Blade request for comment on the judge’s Feb. 6 ruling.
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Local LGBTQ groups, activists to commemorate Black History Month
