The Committee on Judiciary and Public Safety heard hours of testimony Monday on how the Office of Neighborhood Safety and Engagement is managing the violence interruption programs under its responsibility, in light of the recent bribery allegations that implicated Life Deeds, one of the contractors.
Councilmember Nadeau attended the hearing to ask questions and to emphasize that problems with one contractor should not be seen as an indictment of all violence interruption programs and contractors.
“We heard passionate testimony today about how these programs should work—what they’d look like and the impact they’d have if leadership at the top truly believed in and invested in them, and if there were a clearer vision,” she said.
“The testimony today has been powerful. Their testimony is creating a roadmap I wish our government was already following. In fact, a number of plans have been created before, but ONSE is not following them.”
Read Councilmember Nadeau’s full remarks below.
Pastor Delonte Gholston, Pastor, Peace Fellowship Church/ PeaceWalks DC, was one of multiple witnesses who gave powerful testimony about the importance of violence interruption programs and the barriers they face in doing their work.
He said: “It’s clear to me that, for whatever reason, prevention has never been a priority here. In the community where I pastor, you cannot find a rec center open on a Sunday… Can we just think for a minute about what kids are supposed to do on the weekends in this city… This is not rocket science…
“We don’t have any lack of proposals and plans in this city, what we lack is vision and implementation and strategic coordination.”
You can watch/hear Pastor Gholston’s remarks below:
You can watch the full hearing, with lots of excellent testimony by many witnesses starting here and continuing here
Councilmember Nadeau’s full opening remarks at the October 7, 2024, roundtable on ONSE in the Committee on Judiciary and Public Safety
Good morning, everyone. I appreciate you being here today as we discuss important issues concerning our community and the organizations that serve it. Today is an important first step to demand accountability and answers from the Executive – specifically ONSE Interim Director Kwelli Sneed and the Deputy Mayor for Public Safety Lindsay Appiah.
ONSE has been without a permanent director since May 2023, a deficiency that appears to have set the stage for a lack of vision and organizational structure at the agency. And now the agency now finds itself in the spotlight due to allegations of illegal activities with one of its contractors, Life Deeds.
District residents deserve better. Â
I think it is fair to say that the problems at ONSE did not just appear with the Life Deeds incidents, but this current, high-profile situation serves as an opportunity to dive into what went wrong here, and what systemic issues lie underneath.
Life Deeds contracts were previously terminated in 2019 by the Department of Human Services for falsifying documents, raising concerns about its integrity and capability. Yet, ONSE continued to award them contracts. It’s crucial for us to understand the reasoning behind this decision and how it aligns with the Council’s mandate to prioritize vendors with a history of sound performance.
Last week, City Administrator Kevin Donahue announced the termination of all Life Deeds contracts with the city. This is a significant development, and I will be asking for clarity on which contracts are being terminated and what the plan is for transitioning violence interruption services to a new grantee.
Speaking of oversight, this brings us to the Progressive Life Center (PLC), the primary organization currently managing grants for ONSE, which is problematic. PLC is paid a hefty $5 million to conduct oversight and manage the agency’s grants –something that should be done in house. ONSE should be prepared to answer why it relies on an external entity for grant oversight. How much money could ONSE be saving District residents if it did this in house?
I’ve received numerous complaints from the community about PLC’s treatment of community organizations providing VI services. I’ve heard that PLC has refused to approve the release of allocated funding for community groups to take on additional case work.
I’ve received alarming reports that PLC refuses to approve funding for grants meant for the community, based on reasons unknown and not disclosed.
To me, this raises significant concerns about how funds are being allocated—or rather, withheld—from those who need them the most.
Lastly, I’d like to address a critical funding matter on which I have not been able to get a straight answer from the Executive for over a year now. As Chair of the Committee on Public Works and Operations, I allocated $800,000 in the FY2024 budget specifically for the Ward 1 Violence Interruption program. I’m frustrated because I haven’t received clear answers regarding where this money has been allocated. Has the funding been fully utilized? What has it been spent on?
Where did the money go?
I want to be clear. Life Deeds is one organization that failed us in specific ways, owing to illegal activities. It does not represent the entirety of the violence interruption space here in D.C. While some have used and will use this denigrate the work of violence interruption, there is much evidence telling us that these organizations can and do valuable work in a highly challenging environment, one in which lives – sometimes including those of the workers themselves – are at risk.
What needs to be addressed are the issues that led to this incident, systemic deficiencies in the oversight of these programs, and how we can identify and expand the practices that have proven successful and identify and adjust or discontinue those that have not.
Throughout this hearing, my goal is to hold those in charge accountable and ensure that our community receives the support it desperately needs. We have a responsibility to make sure that funding is effectively utilized and that organizations are held to the highest standards of performance.
