District of Columbia
Number of D.C. shelters serving LGBTQ homeless is growing
Existing groups step in to fill gaps created by Casa Ruby shutdown
The Wanda Alston Foundation states on its website that it made history in 2008 when it opened D.C.’s first transitional housing program solely dedicated to LGBTQ+ youth ages 18 to 24 experiencing homelessness.
As part of that program, the foundation, named after the late and beloved LGBTQ rights advocate Wanda Alston, has since opened two more LGBTQ youth homeless facilities, including one that opened last year that also made history.
Referred to as Renita’s, it’s a two-bed, two-year transitional housing program believed to be the first known such facility focused specifically on serving homeless transgender men of color.
In January 2017, the D.C. LGBTQ youth advocacy organization SMYAL opened the first of five housing sites it currently operates that can serve up to 66 LGBTQ youth experiencing homelessness.
Like the Alston Foundation, SMYAL states on its website that it provides a wide range of services for its LGBTQ youth residents in addition to a safe and stable shelter, including food, case management services, mental health counseling, crisis intervention, and employment related skills development.
The two groups also have designated at least one of their housing facilities to offer their residents extended transitional housing for up to six years.
Beginning in 2012, Casa Ruby, under the direction of its founder Ruby Corado, evolved into the city’s largest LGBTQ specific emergency shelter facility, operating what it said was a greater than 50-bed shelter program at seven locations. The program provided services in both English and Spanish to youth and some adults. It had a special outreach to transgender women of color in need of housing.
But due to a financial crisis brought about by the loss of hundreds of thousands of dollars in D.C. government grants and which remains under investigation by the Office of the D.C. Attorney General, Casa Ruby curtailed and eventually shut down all of its operations during a year-long period that culminated this past July. In court documents filed as part of a civil complaint filed against Casa Ruby, the AG’s office said, among other things, the loss of city funding was brought about by Casa Ruby’s failure to provide required finance reports verifying how the money was spent. Corado disputes that allegation.
At the request of the AG’s office, a D.C. Superior Court judge has placed Casa Ruby in receivership and appointed the Wanda Alston Foundation as the receiver.
In a report released last month, the Alston Foundation recommended that Casa Ruby be dissolved, saying its debts far exceed any remaining assets. The judge has yet to hand down a ruling on whether to dissolve the once highly regarded LGBTQ organization or take steps to determine if it can be revived.
Since its shutdown, other local organizations, including SMYAL, have taken steps to provide support for the Casa Ruby clients impacted by the shutdown.
“Following the closure of Casa Ruby, SMYAL has been working with our partners at other housing providers, the D.C. Department of Human Services, and the Mayor’s Office of LGBTQ Affairs to identify and fill gaps in services,” SMYAL spokesperson Hancie Stokes told the Washington Blade.
“Most directly, SMYAL has launched a new Latinx Street Outreach program that is designed to support Spanish-speaking LGBTQ youth who may have been connected to services or in need of new services,” Stokes said in an email. “We started piloting this program just last month and have already begun working with 22 Spanish-speaking youth to connect or reconnect them with services, including housing, and assist them with obtaining vital documents, and navigating legal procedures,” she said.
In September 2021, the D.C. Department of Human Services informed Casa Ruby it would not renew its main grant that funded the Casa Ruby homeless shelter program. At that time, DHS announced it had awarded a grant for a new D.C. LGBTQ youth homeless shelter to Covenant House, a nonprofit group that provides homeless youth services nationwide. The Washington Post reported the grant was for $648,000,
Covenant House announced it opened the new 24-bed LGBTQ youth shelter, called Shine, on Sept. 30, 2021, in the city’s Deanwood neighborhood in Northeast D.C. Although other non-LGBTQ organizations currently provide homeless-related services, including shelter accommodations, for LGBTQ youth, the Covenant House Shine facility is believed to be the city’s first LGBTQ shelter operated by a non-LGBTQ specific organization.
“Most LGBTQ+ young people access services from non-LGBTQ-specific agencies,” Covenant House states on its D.C. website. “At Covenant House, we’re proud of the diversity of the youth in our houses and the staff who welcome and serve them,” the statement says. “All young people facing homelessness are welcome here and are embraced with unconditional love, absolute respect, and relentless support.”
With nearly all LGBTQ specific homeless facilities in D.C. focusing on youth, the city’s first official shelter for LGBTQ adults opened its doors on July 14 of this year following a ribbon-cutting ceremony led by D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser.
The 40-bed shelter, located in the city’s Marshall Heights neighborhood at 400 50th St., S.E, will accommodate unaccompanied adults 25 years of age and older, according to a statement released by the mayor’s office.
“The shelter will provide trauma-informed case management services including mental health, substance abuse treatment, medical, and victims’ services,” the statement says.
“We are proud to cut the ribbon on a shelter that embodies our D.C. values as well as our commitment to making homelessness rare, brief, and nonrecurring,” Bowser said at the ceremony. “With this new facility, we’re breaking down barriers to shelter, building community, connecting residents with the trauma-informed services they need to live healthy, happy lives,” the mayor said.
Under city funding, the new LGBTQ adult shelter is being operated by the Community Partnership for the Prevention of Homelessness (TCP), the statement from the mayor’s office says. It says two other local nonprofit groups, Coalition for the Homeless and the KBEC Group, Inc., will assist TCP in operating the shelter.
At least two other non-LGBTQ locally based organizations – the Latin American Youth Center (LAYC) and Sasha Bruce Youthwork – also provide services for homeless LGBTQ youth, including housing-related services, the two groups state on their websites.
Stokes, the SMYAL spokesperson, said the non-LGBTQ organizations operating homeless programs for LGBTQ people are meeting a need for increased services. But she said additional training may be needed to ensure that all organizations can fully meet the specific needs of their LGBTQ clients.
“There is still a lot of work that needs to be done in order to ensure LGBTQ youth who are matched with non-LGBTQ-specific providers are affirmed, welcomed, and supported fully,” Stokes said.
“SMYAL and our partners have been working to increase cultural competency among all housing providers, but there is a continued need to invest in training providers to build capacity to directly serve LGBTQ youth, as well as creating solid foundations for additional providers who are accessible to LGBTQ youth,” she said.
The 2022 Point-in-Count findings show a continued trend in decreasing numbers of homeless people in D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser pointed out at the time the results were released in April that the total homeless count of 4,410 was down from 8,350 homeless people counted in 2016.
The mayor noted that the 2022 findings show single adult homelessness decreased 12 percent from the 2021 count and family homelessness was down by 14 percent from 2021.
District of Columbia
Two D.C. LGBTQ rights advocates stepping down from jobs
Crenshaw leaving Alston Foundation; Czapary departs mayor’s office
Longtime D.C. LGBTQ rights advocate June Crenshaw announced she is stepping down from her position for the past nine years as executive director of the Wanda Alston Foundation, the local organization that provides housing and support services for homeless LGBTQ youth.
Around the same time, fellow LGBTQ rights advocate Salah Czapary announced he is stepping down from his position for the past two years as director of the D.C. Mayor’s Office of Nightlife and Culture.
Meanwhile, a third longtime local LGBTQ rights advocate, David Meadows, was unanimously confirmed on Nov. 1 by the D.C. Council for an appointment by Mayor Muriel Bowser as a member of the city’s Alcoholic Beverage and Cannabis Board, which is responsible for administering, enforcing, and adjudicating the city’s alcoholic beverage and medical marijuana laws.
Neither Crenshaw nor Czapary disclosed in announcing their departure from their jobs what their future career plans are, and the two didn’t immediately respond to a question from the Washington Blade asking about career plans going forward.
Crenshaw currently serves as co-chair of the committee organizing D.C. World Pride 2025, the international LGBTQ Pride celebration expected to draw a million or more visitors to the city for a wide range of World Pride events in late May and early June 2025.
“After over nine years of unwavering dedication and visionary leadership, our beloved Executive Director, June Crenshaw, has decided to step into her next chapter,” a statement released by the Wanda Alston Foundation board of directors says. “While we will miss June’s daily presence, we are grateful that she will stay on through the transition to ensure a warm, seamless handover as we actively search for our next executive director,” the statement says.
It adds, “Her unwavering commitment to our mission, clients, and team has helped build a foundation of compassion, resilience, and excellence. This transition reflects her readiness to explore new paths and her belief in the bright future of the Wanda Alston Foundation.”
In his own statement, Czapary said he appreciated the opportunity his job gave him to serve the city and its residents and visitors.
“October marked my last month in the Mayor’s Office and I’m grateful to Mayor Bowser for giving me the opportunity to serve as the District’s Nightlife and Cultural Director, supporting our hospitality sector – the sector that makes the city a great place to live and visit,” he said.
“I’m proud of positioning the office as a responsive entry point for industry and residents to interact with government,” he said in his statement. “The role deepened my understanding and love for D.C. in ways I couldn’t have imagined two years ago.”
Czapary added, “As for me, I’m excited about what’s next.” But he gave no indication of his future career plans.
In the past 20 years or longer D.C. mayors have appointed an LGBTQ member of what used to be called the Alcoholic Beverage Control Board or ABC Board before its role was expanded to include marijuana regulations. It currently still uses the name ABC Board to denote Alcoholic Beverage and Cannabis Board.
LGBTQ rights advocates have called for at least one LGBTQ member of the board to provide representation for the important role that gay bars and other LGBTQ establishments licensed to sell or serve liquor have historically played in the community.
The board’s previous gay member, Edward Grandis, left the board earlier this year. In a statement released at the time of his confirmation by the Council, the Alcoholic Beverage and Cannabis Administration, which works with the ABC Board on liquor and cannabis related regulations, issued a statement introducing Meadows as its new board member.
“Mr. Meadows is a long-time Ward 8 LGBTQIA+ community advocate with 30 years of extensive experience serving in leadership roles in District government and civic organizations,” the statement says. “Most recently, Mr. Meadows ran day-to-day operations in the Office of At-Large Councilmember Anita Bonds as her Chief of Staff and Senior Adviser,” the statement continues.
It says Meadows previously has served as executive director of the D.C. Democratic Party and notes he began his career in the hospitality industry, including serving as events manager for the D.C.-based National Democratic Club. His appointment on the ABC Board is for a four-year term.
District of Columbia
D.C. to conduct first-of-its-kind LGBTQ veterans’ survey
Forum on trans, gender diverse service members set for Nov. 15
As Veterans Day is celebrated in D.C. and across the nation, Mayor Muriel Bowser’s Office of Veterans Affairs announced it has recently drawn up an LGBTQIA+ veterans’ survey that it will begin distributing in the next few months.
“This attempt to survey the LGBTQIA+ veterans population in D.C. will be the first of its kind,” according to Pip Baitinger, who serves as LGBTQIA+ Veterans Outreach and Relation Specialist in the Mayor’s Office of Veterans Affairs.
“Barriers have existed in surveying this population due to issues of trust and neglect of the community by institutions in the past,” Baitinger told the Washington Blade. “However, this survey will attempt to accurately represent the number of LGBTQIA+ veterans in D.C. and better understand their needs,” she said.
Baitinger pointed out that in addition to working on the survey, the Mayor’s Office of Veterans Affairs is hosting a special forum on Nov. 15 called Empowering Voices: Health and Wellness for Transgender and Gender Diverse Veterans.
The forum, which will be held from 1-3:30 p.m. at the D.C. Veterans Administration Medical Center at 50 Irving St., N.W., will include discussion, workshops, and provide resources on topics such as gender affirming care and support from experts, a flyer announcing the event says.
The D.C. LGBTQ veterans survey and the Nov. 15 forum follow a Sept. 20 LGBTQ veterans event hosted jointly by the Mayor’s Office of Veterans Affairs and the Mayor’s Office of LGBTQ Affairs called “Voices of Courage: Reclaiming the Legacy of LGBTQIA+ Inclusion in the Military.”
The event, which was held at the D.C. LGBTQ Crush Dance Bar, was not open to the press because organizers wanted to ensure that LGBTQ veterans could discuss issues that may be sensitive or private that could impact their ability to obtain certain veterans’ benefits.
Baitinger provided the Blade with a summary of the issues discussed and raised at the event and identified some of those who spoke at the event. Among them was U.S. Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel And Readiness Shawn G. Skelly, who is the highest-ranking transgender official in the Department of Defense.
Others participating in the event, Baitinger said, were U.S. Air Force member MaKayla Starr, who performed in drag; Charlette Woodward, an official with the Mayor’s Office of Veterans Affairs; Japer Bowles, director of the Mayor’s Office of LGBTQ Affairs; and Baitinger herself.
The mayor’s office noted at the time that the event was scheduled to take place on the 13th anniversary of the repeal of the ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ law that banned LGBTQ people from serving openly in the U.S. military. Mayor Bowser issued an official mayoral proclamation declaring the day LGBTQIA+ Veterans Day in the District of Columbia.
“Discussions during the event included the need for greater LGBTQIA+ representation in the military and the progress that has thus far been achieved,” Baitinger said.
“One of the primary areas of concern is that of transgender and nonbinary veterans and service members, who are in vital need of gender affirming care and resources, such as hormones, surgeries, and just general affirming care from doctors who will use correct pronouns during routine doctor visits,” Baitinger said in describing the issues discussed at the Sept. 20 event.
She said an additional issue deemed important at the event was ongoing efforts to upgrade the discharges of LGBTQ veterans, many of whom received so-called “undesirable” discharges under the ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ law before it was repealed. President Joe Biden earlier this year issued a presidential pardon that enabled veterans discharged under the ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ law to apply for an upgrade of their discharge to the status of honorable discharge.
A list of resources for LGBTQ veterans offered by the Mayor’s Office of Veterans Affairs can be accessed at the department’s website.
District of Columbia
Gay man found unconscious near D.C. gay bar dies
Police release video of suspects in incident listed as robbery
D.C. police have confirmed that a gay man who worked as a hairstylist and a DJ and who was found unconscious about 5 a.m. Sunday, Oct. 27, at the intersection of 5th and T Streets, N.W. near the gay bar Uproar has died.
Friends who knew the victim, Bryan Smith, stated in a GoFundMe message seeking support for his medical expenses that he was hospitalized for a severe head injury. His family members told Fox 5 News that he was in a coma.
A D.C. police spokesperson confirmed that Smith died on Nov. 7 and the cause and circumstances surrounding his death were pending with the Northern Virginia Medical Examiner’s Office. “Once we have more information, we’ll be putting that out,” D.C. police spokesperson Thomas Lynch told the Washington Blade.
The information released by D.C police indicates Smith at some point was transferred from a D.C. hospital where he was taken by ambulance at the time he was found unconscious to a Virginia hospital, most likely at the request of family members.
Police also released a video showing two suspects and a vehicle they believe the suspects used in committing the robbery of Smith.
“The ongoing investigation has determined that the man was robbed by two suspects while walking on the block,” according to an Oct. 30 police statement released before Smith died. “Detectives are still working to determine how the victim sustained his injuries,” the statement says.
The statement adds that the suspects have been linked to three other offenses that took place that same morning, two of which were attempted robberies and one of which was a robbery of victims on nearby streets.
Smith was found unconscious on Oct. 27 about five hours after another gay man, Sebastian Thomas Robles Lascarra, 22, was reportedly attacked and beaten by as many as 15 men and women at the McDonald’s restaurant at 14th and U Street, N.W., according to a D.C. police report and information provided by Lascarra’s husband.
D.C. police announced they made an arrest Nov. 5 of a 16-year-old juvenile male in connection with the McDonald’s case. The arrest came on the same day police released photos of seven suspects in the McDonald’s assault case taken from video cameras at or near the McDonald’s.
In their release of the video showing the two suspects in the Smith case, police are asking that anyone who may recognize the two individuals should contact police at 202-727-9099 or text their tip to the department’s TEXT TIP Line at 50411.
“Anyone who may have seen or heard something suspicious in the 500 block of T Street, NW, or the surrounding area around 5:00 a.m. Sunday [Oct. 27] is asked to call the police or text police,” the statement accompanying the release of the police video says.
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