The last of the short-term family housing sites that were part of a plan to end homelessness and to close a massive shelter in D.C. has been completed.
Mayor Muriel Bowser, along with the Department of Human Services and the Department of General Services, celebrated the completion of The Terrell, located on 14th Street NW in Ward 1. It will be the final of eight sites to open.
Families are expected to move in this March.
“We started this journey to replace DC General with short-term family housing sites in all eight wards because we knew it would take a citywide solution to end homelessness. Now with The Terrell, we are one step closer to ensuring all families have access to safe and dignified housing,” Bowser said in a statement.
Short-term family housing sites are emergency shelters for families that include services for those experiencing homelessness. Each site can accommodate up to 50 families.
Named for D.C. civil rights activist Mary Church Terrell, the facility includes 35 apartment-style units and 15 permanent supportive housing for seniors.
Families will have access to programs that will help them become stable and find a way out of homelessness.
“We are fortunate that this site will also include permanent supportive housing for our senior women. The District has committed to providing dignified, safe, and secure housing with wraparound services for families in each ward, and I’m grateful to all those who worked to bring us to this day,” Council member Brianne Nadeau, who represents Ward 1, said in a statement.
The short-term family housing sites are part of Homeward DC, a plan to end long-term homelessness, with the goal of making homelessness in D.C. a “rare, brief and nonrecurring experience.”
