Some mayoral hopefuls described their visions for combating homelessness in a March 31 forum hosted by the National Coalition for the Homeless.
All candidates were invited, but the two frontrunners and most high-profile candidates, former At-large Councilmember Kenyan McDuffie (D) and Ward 4 Councilmember Janeese Lewis George (D), did not attend, nor did the majority of the other candidates. The three attendees were Myrtle P. Alexander (I), an educator and entrepreneur, Rhonda L. Hamilton (I), a small business owner and self-described mental health advocate, and Joe Zero (I), who is also a Street Sense vendor and artist.
The forum was held at Pilgrim Baptist Church in Northeast Washington and moderated by Kelvin Lassiter, a policy analyst for the National Coalition for the Homeless. Lassiter asked the candidates about ending encampment sweeps, building more affordable housing, revising the shelter system, reviving public housing, and their plans for seniors, the fastest-growing demographic of unhoused people nationally…