District of Columbia
In D.C., LGBTQ homelessness on the rise despite overall decline
37 percent of homeless youth identify as LGBTQ, up from 2024
(Editor’s note: This article is part of our 2025 contribution to the D.C. Homeless Crisis Reporting Project in collaboration with other local newsrooms. The collective works will be published throughout the week at bit.ly/DCHCRP.)
The annual 2025 Point-In-Time (PIT) count of homeless people in the District of Columbia conducted in January shows there was an overall 9 percent decrease in homelessness in the city compared to 2024.
But the annual count, conducted on Jan. 29 and released in May, shows the total number of homeless youth between the ages of 18 and 24 who self-identify as LGBTQ rose from 28 percent in 2024 to 37 percent this year.
When the data is broken down to show the number of “single” homeless youth alone and homeless youth accompanied by one or more of their children, the 2025 count shows that LGBTQ youth, 18-24, comprised 38.4 percent of all single youth and 9.1 percent of youth, 18-24, with children in “family households.”
This year’s count also shows the total number of adults who identify as LGBTQ remained mostly the same, decreasing slightly from 12 percent in 2024 to 11.7 percent in 2025.
It shows that LGBTQ adults comprised 6.2 percent of all homeless adults in “family households” and 12.4 percent of “single” homeless adults by themselves.
Like recent past years, LGBTQ operated, and LGBTQ supportive homeless shelters and transitional housing facilities were operating at full capacity as of this week, according to those familiar with D.C.’s LGBTQ-related homeless programs.
At the time the 2025 PIT count information was released in May as part of a detailed report prepared by the Community Partnership for the Prevention of Homelessness, which conducts the PIT count for the city, D.C. officials released a statement saying the overall reduction in homelessness this year followed the implementation of a series of new programs aimed at preventing homelessness.
“I am incredibly grateful for the teams that are working every day to ensure we are able to not only provide shelter to neighbors who need it but also help them move into – and thrive – in permanent housing,” Mayor Muriel Bowser said in the statement.
“We know that when we have the right investments, the right policies, and the right people in place, we can drive down homelessness and get our neighbors into safe and stable housing,” the mayor said.
“These results show a positive change in course following increases in homelessness over the past two years,” D.C. Department of Human Services (DHS) Director A.D. Rachel Pierre said in the statement. “While there is more work to be done, this year’s PIT count is a clear indicator that the District’s investments – especially over the past year – are moving the needle In the right direction,” she said.
Cesar Toledo, executive director and CEO of D.C.’s Wanda Alston Foundation, which provides housing services for homeless LGBTQ youth, said its 20-bed facility remains filled, with a waiting list for LGBTQ youth to be admitted.
“Based on the Point-In-Time data, year after year, LGBTQ+ youth are devastatingly overrepresented among all youth experiencing homelessness,” Toledo told the Washington Blade. “While the overall decrease in the number of homeless people in D.C. is promising, there has been about a five-point increase among our homeless LGBTQ+ young people – meaning more than one in three homeless youth today identify as LGBTQ+,” he said.
The D.C. LGBTQ youth services and support organization SMYAL says on its website that its housing facilities for LGBTQ homeless youth are also filled to capacity, with all 55 beds occupied. Like the Alston Foundation, SMYAL provides additional services for its homeless clients, including case management, mental health counseling, and job-related skills.
Department of Human Services officials have pointed out that the city has arranged for the opening of additional housing and support facilities for homeless LGBTQ youth and adults.
In 2021, through a DHS grant, Covenant House, a nonprofit group that provides homeless youth services nationwide, opened a 24-bed LGBTQ youth homeless shelter that has since been expanded to 30 beds.
At least two other non-LGBTQ locally based organizations – the Latin American Youth Center and Sasha Bruce Youthwork – also provide services for homeless LGBTQ youth, including housing services, according to statements by the groups on their websites.
With most of the LGBTQ-specific homeless facilities in D.C. focusing on youth, the DHS opened the city’s first official shelter for homeless LGBTQ adults in August of 2022 following a ribbon-cutting ceremony led by Mayor Bowser. The 40-bed shelter is located at 400 50th St., S.E.
At the time of its opening, DHS said the adult shelter was being operated for the city by the Community Partnership for the Prevention of Homelessness under a DHS grant. Like most of the LGBTQ homeless youth facilities, the LGBTQ adult facility provides additional services, including behavioral health support, substance use disorder resources, job training programs, and access to health care within the shelter at least once a month.
An “LGBTQ+” chart included in the PIT count report released by the Community Partnership for the Prevention of Homelessness shows a total count of 650 for “all” LGBTQ homeless people in 2025, with 501 being “all adults” and 149 being “all youth.”
The 650 total figure marks an increase of 123 compared to the total LGBTQ homeless count of 527 in the 2024 PIT count. Previous PIT counts show a total of 349 homeless LGBTQ people in 2023 and 347 in 2022.
“Now more than ever, we need to meet the urgent needs of our homeless queer youth,” Toledo of the Alston Foundation said. “The demand far exceeds our existing resources,” he said.
“To truly make progress, we must expand the number of LGBTQ+ transitional housing beds, strengthen wraparound services like counseling and job readiness, and commit to long-term pathways to stability and independence,” Toledo said.
In response to a request by the Blade for an update on its programs that specifically address LGBTQ homelessness in D.C., DHS sent the Blade a statement pointing out that as part of DHS’s current shelter, transitional housing, and rapid rehousing programs there are “over 90 beds dedicated specifically to transitional age youth [18 to 24 years old] who identify as LGBTQ.”
The statement notes that while there was an overall decrease in the number of transitional age youth experiencing homelessness the proportion of youth who identify as LGBTQ “did increase from 28 percent to 37 percent – an increase that represents about 16 people.”
The statement adds, “And as noted, the adult system of numbers of individuals experiencing homelessness who identify as LGBTQ held steady from 2024 to 2025 despite an overall drop.”
It continues, saying, “These disparities shine light on what DHS recognizes is a challenge – that individuals experiencing homelessness who identify as LGBTQ are an extremely vulnerable subpopulation of an already vulnerable population. DHS remains committed to finding additional ways to support LGBTQ adults and youth experiencing homelessness in the District.”
The statement says DHS’s shelter diversion and rapid-exit program called Project Reconnect, which uses a variety of actions to enable a homeless person to obtain stable housing rather than enter or remain in a shelter, also reaches out to LGBTQ youth and adults experiencing or at risk for homelessness.
District of Columbia
Gay-owned pizzeria in Dupont Circle burglarized
Protest Pizza owners say community has expressed support
Gay activist Randy Downs said he and his business and life partner Ricky Bennett are grateful for the support they have received from the Dupont Circle community after they released a video showing a suspect breaking into their recently opened pizza shop and taking money from a cash register shortly before 3 a.m. on Friday, Aug. 21.
The surveillance video shows a man wearing black clothing with his face covered, smashing the glass front door of Protest Pizza, located at 1633 ½ P St., N.W. The video, which Downs and Bennett provided to D.C. police, also shows the suspect climbing over the bar to get to a cash register, which he opened to take out cash.
A D.C. police report obtained by the Washington Blade lists the incident as a Burglary in the Second Degree and says the owners reported “approximately $78 in cash” was taken from the cash register. The report says the incident is not listed as a suspected hate crime.
Downs told the Washington Blade that after he and Bennett reported the break-in and theft on social media, they received an overwhelming showing of support from neighbors and others, including business owners, from across the nation.
“The break-in was upsetting, but it is not what will define Protest Pizza,” Downs said. “What defines us is how quickly people showed up,” he told the Blade. “One person came looking for a cash register; our community saw a gathering place worth protecting. The response reminded us that Protest’s real value was never in the register.”
Downs said he and Bennett, who live around the corner on the section of 17th Street, N.W., near several other bars and restaurants, including the gay bar JRs are located, opened Protest Pizza in November 2025.
“Ricky and I built Protest Pizza as a positive, welcoming, queer owned neighborhood restaurant and bar — a space for protest and joy,” he said.
A D.C. police spokesperson said police offer a reward of up to $1,000 for information leading to an arrest and conviction of a suspect responsible for the type of burglary and theft that occurred at Protest Pizza. Police say anyone with information to help solve this type of crime should call the police tipline at 202-727-9099.
District of Columbia
Advocates honored at Engendered Spirit Awards
Annual ceremony held at conclusion of Trans Pride DC
The 2026 SaVanna Wanzer Engendered Spirit Awards ceremony took place at the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Library in D.C. on Saturday. The ceremony was held at the conclusion of the day-long Trans Pride DC: Encore.
Honorees included D.C. Mayor’s Office of Community Affairs Deputy Director Vida Rangel; the LGBT+ Counseling Collaborative, Inc.; and Connor Keuntje, CLP, CLPC.
Trans Pride DC: Encore was held throughout Saturday with several workshop sessions and a virtual conversation with actress and advocate Dominique Jackson.
The annual Engendered Spirit Awards were renamed the “SaVanna Wanzer Engendered Spirit Awards” in honor of SaVanna Wanzer, founder of D.C. Trans Pride. Wanzer died on April 24 of this year.
Speakers at the ceremony included Japer Bowles, director of the D.C. Mayor’s Office of LGBTQ Affairs and Bianca Sprague, executive director of D.C. Trans Pride.
“The intent behind this award and honoring members of our communities, organizations, and allies, is to really elevate all of the work that they’re doing to provide resources, tools, learning opportunities and connections: centering trans folks, gender non-conforming, and gender diverse individuals,” Sprague said.
District of Columbia
Man charged with anti-gay assault in D.C. accepts plea offer
Community service offered in exchange for dismissing hate crime charge
A Germantown, Md., man arrested by D.C. police on a charge of simple assault with a hate crime designation for allegedly assaulting a gay man while using “homophobic slurs” has agreed to an offer by prosecutors to plead guilty to simple assault without the hate crime designation and with the promise of having the charge dismissed if he completes, among other requirements, 48 hours of community service work.
Dean Edmundson, 26, standing beside his attorney, officially accepted the offer of a Deferred Sentencing Agreement at an Aug. 18 status hearing in D.C. Superior Court after Senior Judge Hiram Puig-Lugo explained the details of the agreement and confirmed Edmundson’s decision to waive his right to a trial.
Among other things, the judge said the agreement offered by prosecutors with the Office of the United States Attorney for D.C. includes the requirement that he successfully completes 48 hours of community service work, stays away from the victim of the assault, writes a letter of apology to the victim, and does not violate any other laws or get into trouble for the next 12 months.
Puig-Lugo then announced he scheduled a sentencing hearing for Edmundson for Aug. 18, 2027, at which time a determination will made on whether he has fulfilled all the requirements under the agreement and whether the simple assault charge will be dismissed. The judge added that if it is determined that Edmundson did not fulfil the terms of the agreement the charge would remain in place and he could be sentenced to a possible maximum penalty of 180 days in jail and a $1,000 fine.
Edmundson, who appeared in court wearing a business suit with a dress shirt and tie, was released on his own recognizance following his arrest by D.C. police on Feb. 7, 2026.
Police and court records show he was initially charged by arresting officers with simple assault with a hate crime designation. In a statement announcing the arrest, D.C. police said, “On Saturday, Feb. 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 kept walking,” the statement says.
A follow-up arrest affidavit filed by police states that Edmundson followed the victim and called him “bald, ugly, and gay,” and then “pushed the victim with both hands, shoving them, causing the victim to feel the force of the push.” The affidavit adds, “The victim stated that they felt offended and that they were also gay.”
According to the court records, the Office of the U.S. Attorney filed its official charge of simple assault against Edmunson on Feb. 9 without the hate crime designation. The office has not responded to a request by the Washington Blade for its reason for dropping the hate crime designation. The office has also not immediately responded to a follow-up inquiry from the Blade this week asking if prosecutors consulted the victim to obtain the victim’s thoughts about the plea offer.
The Blade, which has a policy of not disclosing the identify of crime victims in cases like this without their consent, could not immediately obtain contact information to reach the victim for comment.
Court records show that Edmundson rejected an earlier plea agreement offer by prosecutors and he was scheduled for a non-jury trial on Aug. 18. The records show his attorney filed a motion earlier this month asking the judge to convert the trial into status hearing on that same day after his client accepted the Deferred Sentencing Agreement offer by the U.S. Attorney’s office. The judge approved the motion without objection from prosecutors.
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Calendar: August 21-27
