Casa Ruby’s services must survive
Taking over as receiver will not be an easy task. Crenshaw will have to unravel the mess that is there now. The receiver will have to face the fact money may have been stolen and deal with employees who weren’t paid. They will have to deal with the fact, which now seems clear, that Casa Ruby was out of compliance with the District Non-Profit Corporations Act.
A judge approved putting Casa Ruby into the hands of a receiver and approved the D.C. Attorney General’s recommendation of the Wanda Alston Foundation, of which June Crenshaw is the executive director. She is an amazing person. Founded in 2008, according to its website “the Wanda Alston Foundation provides housing and support services for D.C. homeless and at-risk LGBTQ youth ages 18 to 24 and advocates for expanded city services for LGBTQ youth.”
Taking over as receiver will not be an easy task. Crenshaw will have to unravel the mess that is there now. The receiver will have to face the fact money may have been stolen and deal with employees who weren’t paid. They will have to deal with the fact, which now seems clear, that Casa Ruby was out of compliance with the District Non-Profit Corporations Act.
Wanda Alston Foundation chosen as Casa Ruby receiver
A D.C. Superior Court judge on Friday, Aug. 12, appointed the Wanda Alston Foundation as the city’s receiver for the LGBTQ community services center Casa Ruby in a role in which the Alston Foundation will assume full control over Casa Ruby’s operations and finances.
A D.C. Superior Court judge on Friday, Aug. 12, appointed the Wanda Alston Foundation as the city’s receiver for the LGBTQ community services center Casa Ruby in a role in which the Alston Foundation will assume full control over Casa Ruby’s operations and finances.
Judge Danya A. Dayson stated in an order she issued at 2:27 p.m. on Friday that she appointed the Alston Foundation for the receivership role at the recommendation of the Office of the D.C. Attorney General, which asked the judge to place Casa Ruby in receivership in a court motion filed on Aug. 3.
Founded in 2008, the Wanda Alston Foundation provides housing and support services for D.C. homeless and at-risk LGBTQ youth ages 18 to 24 and advocates for expanded city services for LGBTQ youth, according to a statement on its website.
Among those who spoke at the Aug. 11 hearing was June Crenshaw, the Wanda Alston Foundation’s executive director. Crenshaw told the judge her organization has long supported the mission of Casa Ruby and it was prepared to do all it could to continue that mission in its role as receiver.
“The mission of the Wanda Alston Foundation is to eradicate homelessness and poverty for LGBTQ youth between ages 18 and 24, the group states on its website. The statement adds that the Alston Foundation seeks to accomplish that mission by advocating for LGBTQ youth by “providing programs including housing, life skills training, case management services, linkages to medical care and mental health care and other support services, support in staying and returning to school, and employment support.”
Wanda Alston Foundation Named Receiver for Casa Ruby
The D.C. Attorney General’s Office has named the Wanda Alston Foundation as the receiver for local LGBTQ nonprofit, shelter, and community center Casa Ruby, which has come under investigation for alleged financial mismanagement.
The D.C. Attorney General’s Office has named the Wanda Alston Foundation as the receiver for local LGBTQ nonprofit, shelter, and community center Casa Ruby, which has come under investigation for alleged financial mismanagement.
June Crenshaw, the executive director of the Wanda Alston Foundation, told Metro Weekly in an interview that she would be seeking to find a lawyer to represent Casa Ruby as the issues concerning the organization’s finances and nonprofit status are worked out.
She also noted that the Wanda Alston Foundation would be consulting experts on how to perform forensic examinations of Casa Ruby’s finances and determine best practices for receivers while being transparent about its actions or decisions in order to restore trust in the organization.
“We are tasked with determining whether there are any assets remaining at Casa Ruby,” Crenshaw said. “And after that determination, we will need to look at how to pay creditors, pay outstanding paychecks to employees, see if there’s some option to satisfy our debt with landlords, and just assess the landscape of the financials, including what resources are available, whether government grants may be stopped because of some compliance issue that we could easily satisfy. That’s the first part.
“The second part is to make a determination, based on that information, whether the programs can be stood up again, whether Casa Ruby can start serving clients, providing housing, and serving all of the folks that they’ve served over the many years, those very vulnerable members of our community who are going without services right now. It’s important for us to figure that out. And if that is the case, then we have to figure out how to identify a board and activate the board again.”