Testimony In Support of Ms. Rachel Pierre

October 9, 2025

Good afternoon, Councilmember Frumin and members of the DC Council. My name is Cesar Toledo, and I was recently appointed Executive Director of the Wanda Alston Foundation, one of a few queer-led organizations in DC that provides gender-affirming housing and support services to LGBTQ+ youth.

I’m here today in support of the confirmation of Ms. Rachel Pierre as the Director of the Department of Human Services (DHS). Ms. Pierre has a notable two-decade career across the non-profit and government sectors, leading critical social services for vulnerable members of our community. Throughout my short tenure at the Wanda Alston Foundation, the Acting Director and her team at DHS have been exceptional partners in our efforts to house and support homeless LGBTQ+ youth.

As DHS acknowledges, LGBTQ+ youth homelessness increased this year compared to last year’s Point in Time count, and they understand the challenges these young people face. I look forward to working hand-in-hand with DHS under Ms. Pierre’s leadership to ensure that every young person has access to safe, affirming housing and the resources they need to thrive.

With her steady leadership, shared values, and proven commitment to equity, I am confident that Ms. Pierre will continue to move our city in a positive direction. I respectfully urge the Council to confirm her appointment.

Thank you for your time and consideration!

Cesar Toledo
Executive Director
Wanda Alston Foundation

LGBTQ homelessness on the rise

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.  

Read more here in the Washington Blade.

In D.C., 28% of homeless youth identify as LGBTQ+

The LGBTQ operated and LGBTQ supportive homeless shelters and transitional housing facilities in D.C. are operating at full capacity this year as the number of homeless city residents, including LGBTQ homeless residents, continues to increase, according to the latest information available.

The annual 2024 Point-In-Time (PIT) count of homeless people in the District of Columbia conducted in January, shows that 12 percent of the homeless adults and 28 percent of homeless youth between the age of 18 and 24 identify as LGBTQ.

SMYAL began its housing program for LGBTQ youth in 2017. It was preceded by D.C.’s Wanda Alston Foundation, which opened the city’s first transitional housing program solely dedicated to LGBTQ youth facing homelessness between the ages of 18 and 24 in 2008. As of 2022, the Alston Foundation had opened two more LGBTQ youth homeless facilities.

Both SMYAL and the Alston Foundation provide a wide range of services for their LGBTQ youth residents in addition to a safe and stable shelter, including food and nutrition services, case management services, mental health counseling, crisis intervention, and employment related skills development and education services.

The two groups also have designated at least one of their housing facilities to offer their LGBTQ residents extended transitional housing for up to six years.

Jaramillo, of SMYAL, and Hancie Stokes, SMYAL’s communications director, told the Blade this week that SMYAL and other local LGBTQ organizations continue to advocate for LGBTQ cultural competency training for the staff at non-LGBTQ organizations or private companies that provide LGBTQ-related homeless services.

“We work closely with our community partners to make sure that when a queer young person is matched into their program or placed into their program that they are equipped with basic cultural competency to be able to provide those supportive services to folks,” Stokes said. 

“But there is a great need for increased funding for programs like SMYAL and Wanda Alston, which is why we partner with the LGBTQ+ Budget Coalition to advocate for more funding on behalf of all LGBTQ+ housing programs,” she told the Blade.

Read more

12% of D.C. homeless adults identify as LGBTQ+

In a development not widely reported, the 2024 annual Point-In-Time (PIT) Count of homeless people in the District of Columbia conducted in January shows that 527 or 12 percent of the homeless adults counted identified as “part of the of the LGBTQ+ community based on their responses to questions about their sexual orientation and gender identity,” according to a report released on May 13 by the D.C. Department of Human Services.

This year’s report also says that for LGBTQ+ youth in the District, there are at least 53 transitional housing units and a rehousing program that serves 20 individuals at a time. Although the report doesn’t identify the LGBTQ youth housing facilities by name, they most likely are operated by the local LGBTQ youth services organization SMYAL and the Wanda Alston Foundation, which also provides housing services for LGBTQ homeless youth.

Read more