DC Mayor Muriel Bowser: Increase the ICH's Speed and Effectiveness (an open letter)

Dearest Mayor Muriel Bowser:

What I initially thought (as I wrote my Dec 20th post) would be a five-post series of open letters to you and anyone who might do a Google search so as to judge your performance as mayor has turned into at least a seven-post series with the addition of the previous post about ICH communication and this one (which will have a portion that delves further into the communication issue). I also plan to write about:

1 -- the perception of hopelessness that Michelle Obama recently articulated, what it means for the poor and homeless and how people's perception of me and other advocates can play a role in forcing positive change,

2 -- a KRISTY GREENWALT timeline: what we/I hoped for both before and when her position was created by the council, how her relationship with myself and other advocates has (d)evolved, how you might "fix" her and how her replacement might improve upon her performance

3 -- how and why you might avoid or advance your political suicide between now and June 2018, given the fact that your agenda on homelessness will factor largely into that score (thanks largely to Yours Truly).

NOTE: One or more of those posts will say something about the developing potential for an SLM scenario. Simply put, I was asked  few months ago to modify a certain behavior of mine that I was told by a DC Government employee might lead to another high earner losing her job. Seeing that I might actually have that much power, I'm testing the limits of my friendship/relationship with the requester (and other employees) and of my ability to force a government that has failed to adequately address homelessness since 2004 to develop and implement an effective plan for ending long-term homelessness and to redefine poverty such that everyone is guaranteed their most basic necessities.

I'll see what it's worth to various well-paid employees of yours (and to YOU) for me not to point out their flaws.....anymore. I'll see if it's worth giving me a $100K job as one of your employees as a way to rein me in so that I don't do.....THIS. It's ironic that, even as DC being a sanctuary city can lead to a loss of social service funding, so also me continuing to find meaningful relationships only from outside of the ICH's paid membership can be the reason that the ICH is forced to do better. (Some of my friends and associates hate to see me get close to any PAID woman associated with the ICH; because, they prefer to see me "go hard" -- no pun intended. Just an FYI.) That said.....

.....Dearest Mayor Muriel Bowser:

Here are parts of an e-mail I sent earlier today concerning the relationship between the ICH and the advocates:

"I recognize that u r making SOME effort 2 recognize the concerns of us advocates. Thnx. Here's some quick insight.  On 2/6/07 Mike McFadden, Patty Fugere, David Pirtle, Rommel McBride and I met with Deputy-Mayor-turned-city-administrator Neil Albert. We explained that Franklin School Shelter was an emergency but not hypothermia shelter. It closed at 7 AM [every morning, despite the weather]. That morning men stood in single-digit temps while waiting for a shuttle to NY Ave shelter for the day. Neil made a 3-min call (to whom I don't know). When he got off of the phone, Franklin was a hypothermia shelter [where the men could remain all day if it was freezing and not have to transfer to another shelter during the daytime]. The men got put out in the 7th during a freeze. I told staff about the mtg. They said they'd call to inquire. The staff came out [and hollered across the street] to Franklin Park where I was waiting and invited myself and others back in. On the 8th they didn't put us out. Franklin remained a hypo shelter thru that winter and winter if 07/08 [closing for good on 9/26/08, due largely to the advocacy of the Downtown BID which the ever-awesome Neil Albert now directs]. There was complete follow-thru on what the advocates said. It wasn't a game by gov and ngo's 2 c what little they can get away with doing in terms of responding 2 advocates-- if they can avoid giving the FULL RESPONSES they give others in the gov/ngo world. On 9/13 A Todman was @ ICH mtg but didn't respond to 2 commenters who spoke on DCHA matters. When I called her out, she talked about some scam that had nothing to do with comnenters' concerns. Other gov and ngo ppl have similar game. All gov/ngo ppl should not only:  1 -- let the advocates comment (while hoping that will be ALL we do) but also..... 2 -- give IMMEDIATE RESPONSES (like Laura Z did on 12/13) 3 -- make necessary calls and take actions that address the matter at hand (like Neil Albert did) 4 -- take any necessary corrective and follow-up actions (like Franklin staff did). I'm not as hard 2 plz as it might seem -- unless the person's got game & they make an advocate have 2 make 3 requests 2 get what others would get in 1 exchange: 1 -- a chance 2 comment 2 -- a verbal response 3 -- action."

I obviously think much about the effectiveness of the advocates and then-City-Administrator Neil Albert in 2007. It takes forever to get anything done anymore -- whether it has to do with maintaining the homeless or with ending homelessness. Your administration puts more into hiding and euphemizing its flaws than it puts into fixing those flaws. (That's why I'll be mean in 17.) Kristy knows that people sometimes work hard at the wrong things; but, even she fails to see some of the most blatant ways in which that's true. I can help.

To increase the speed and effectiveness of the ICH, you can:

1 -- pay Neil Albert handsomely to return to DC Government (possibly as ICH director)

2 -- mandate that the ICH create another committee that focuses on communication (especially between the ICH on one hand and the homeless and their unpaid advocates on the other)

3 -- make Eric Sheptock into your homeless liaison who answers directly to the mayor.

(It may interest you to know that in late November 2016 I attended an ICH committee meeting where Kristy asked what other committees we might need to create. A week or so later I was in another committee meeting where her employee responded to my aforementioned committee suggestion by saying, "Oh no! We don't need another committee! We have too many already." You might recall that in 2008 I caught Mayor Fenty and DHS Director Carter saying mutually exclusive things about the Franklin School Shelter and got that discrepancy into a local paper. Just an FYI.)

In any instance, I might have found a pressure point or two that I can use to make your administration do more and work more quickly to end ALL homelessness. We'll soon see.....

.....I'll be mean in 17.