Denton Hutchinson describes neglect and mistreatment in shelters
Hutchinson, formerly in shelter seven years, says security staff escalate conflict and ignored a resident who later died. He also describes being forced outside in winter while sick with shingles.
Denton Hutchinson.
Good afternoon.
My name is Denton Hutchinson.
I'm with the Community Leadership Collective of the Coalition for the Homeless.
I want to thank you for holding this long-awaited hearing today on safety in shelters.
I was in shelter for over seven years.
And only recently was able to get housing and leave shelter.
During my seven years in shelter, I was transferred around to many sites, but I saw the same issues at different shelters.
One of the hardest parts of living in a shelter is how people are treated by staff,
including the security staff who were supposed to create a safe environment.
Whether it was DHS police or private security guards, they treated us with absolute disrespect and complete disregard for our lives.
Security guards don't de-escalate conflict, they only escalate them, or they just ignore it.
In one shelter I was in, I noticed someone sleeping on the floor in the back of the recreation room in the morning.
I pointed him out to the DHS shelter security staff stationed about six steps away from the recreation room.
They said that he had missed his bed check, so he had to sleep on the floor.
Hours later in the afternoon, I came back and he was still lying there unmoving.
I spoke with security staff again, DHS that is, telling them that he had moved since I saw him that morning.
DHS security finally walked over to see him and discovered he was dead.
It was horrifying, to say the least.
He was someone that I knew, interacted with him.
They let him lay there, steps away all night and day without even bothering to check on him or do anything that could have saved his life.
This shows the security staff do not care about the lives of people in shelter.
In other instances, I was sick with the worst case of shingles.
Because of the shingles, I could only wear the lightest of clothing because it hurt so excruciatingly bad.
It was the middle of winter.
There was an altercation and the DHS police required all residents to leave the building.
I asked DHS staff if I could stay inside or go to my bed or another room because I was sick and didn't have winter clothes on and it was very cold out.
They said I had to leave and I stood outside in the cold wearing next to nothing, worried about apothema and my health.
Again, this only goes to show that shelters and security staff do not care about the lives and well-being of shelter residents.
Those of us who have no place to go but shelter deserves basic respect and dignity, but that is not what we get in shelter.
I want to thank you for this opportunity to testify.
Thank you so much for sharing.
You're welcome.
Appreciate it.