LANDOVER, Md. — The only shelter available for Prince George’s County families who need to escape domestic violence is closed for repairs. And a grant meant to last two years is being depleted to house displaced shelter residents in hotels.
A $1.2 million state grant was meant to be used for transitional housing but is instead helping cover hotel costs, county State’s Attorney Anglea Alsobrooks said. The county is in a housing crisis for such families, she said, and County Executive Rushern Baker agrees that more shelter options are needed for families.
“That’s the dollars we used to relocate the ladies from the Family Crisis Center into hotels when we discovered there were repairs [that] needed to be made at that shelter,” Alsobrooks told WTOP.
The Family Crisis Center will remain closed for at least another three weeks as “significant safety issues” — such as fixing the facility’s heating system — are addressed, said interim director Michele Williams.
Meanwhile, hotel costs for displaced families are chipping away at the state grant.
If funding runs out, the county will ensure “residents remain at the hotel” and continue to receive daily funds to feed and transport their families, said Jermoni Dowd of the county’s Department of Family Services.
The county will ensure the families have a safe space, even if it’s a hotel, “until the affected residents relocate to permanent housing or return to the Family Crisis Center shelter following necessary repairs,” Dowd wrote.
