Strong turnout for D.C. LGBTQ Town Hall

Representatives of more than a dozen local and national LGBTQ advocacy organizations were among the 83 people who turned out for an Oct. 21 Town Hall Discussion for D.C.’s LGBTQ Community.

The event, which was organized by the local LGBTQ event planning organization Team Rayceen Productions, was held in a conference room in the building at 899 North Capitol St., N.E., where D.C. Mayor Muriel Bower’s Office of LGBTQ Affairs is located.

Much of the discussion at the event focused on topics related to the organizers’ subtitle for the town hall event, “Protest, Liberation & Pride: Preparing for An Uncertain Future.”

Among the six panelists led by Team Rayceen leader Rayceen Pendarvis who led the discussion at the event was Japer Bowles, director of the Mayor’s Office of LGBTQ Affairs, which arranged for the meeting location.

The other panelists included June Crenshaw, deputy director of  D.C.’s Capital Pride Alliance, which played the lead role in organizing WorldPride 2025 in D.C.; Cesar Toledo, executive director of the Wanda Alston Foundation, which provides housing services for homeless LGBTQ youth in D.C.; Heidi Ellis, director of the D.C. LGBTQ Budget Coalition; and Patrick Algyer, executive director of Equality Chamber, a group  that represents local LGBTQ-owned and supportive businesses.
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“Last night we channeled the spirit of many trailblazers and movement leaders who came before us,” Toledo told the Blade in providing his thoughts on the town hall event. “It served as a reminder that by working together, we can overcome today’s challenges,” he said, adding, “Organizing is how we confront today’s attacks, economic uncertainty, and rising queer youth homelessness.”

Read more in the Washington Blade here.

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.

Bowser calls for ‘extraordinary’ response to reduction in D.C. budget

D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser on April 15 issued an executive order calling for “extraordinary actions,” including “significant cuts in District Government services,” to address a decision by Congress to cut the city’s current budget by $1.1 billion.

Also receiving city funding are the Wanda Alston Foundation, which provides housing services for LGBTQ people; and the LGBTQ youth advocacy and services organization SMYAL.

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