Elena Turner, LGSW

Our home was truly troubled but she helped turn around the atmosphere. She was gifted with charming genuine concern for residents. She was never without a smile, friendly hello, and going out of her way to connect people with resources. Thanks to her, residents received early notices on events, qualified for benefits, connected with job training, and she was able to regularly provide the residents with emergency toiletries. She connected with an array of resources that only someone familiar with the DC Community and fully empathetic is able to. Moreover, she was down to earth---she even stayed overnight in the house once in a while! This kind of Social Worker presence is indispensable to the operation of the house, and it was too bad they think they can do without her. The new director is an inadequate replacement for case manager because this person lacks the sophistication, capacity, and motivation having come from another bureacracy long performed other kinds of specialized work.

We have had two women die in our permanent supportive housing of 18 women within six months, non-covid related. The most recent was an older woman whose death was preventable. She was deliberately moved from first floor even when she could barely ascend or descend stairs. She was assigned chores with heavy lifting. Her room was broken into, but nothing was done to secure the door better. Her ID was missing and staff would not help replace. Her drinking problem was ignored. I advocated repeatedly for her but was brushed off. This is how she treats older poor women who are defenseless or cannot pull strings. She is working on destroying the life of another older resident here. Each time I advocated for former resident, her response basically was "__I appreciate your concern, but S___ is a tough/independent person. She can take care of herself." This is both glib and disingenuous, and the manipulation is intended to bully residents. S__ had been here just over a year.