Norton Receives Assurances from Hope Village of Safe Conditions During Coronavirus, Calls for Federal Site Visit

March 28, 2020

Contact: Sharon Eliza Nichols

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) said today that she has received assurances from Hope Village, the men's residential reentry center, or halfway house, in the District of Columbia, that it is providing safe conditions for its residents during the coronavirus. However, Norton has asked the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP), which has jurisdiction over BOP inmates at halfway houses, including those at Hope Village, to conduct an unannounced site visit. The assurances from Hope Village came the same day Norton sent a letter to BOP Director Michael Carvajal concerning complaints she received about conditions at Hope Village, such as a lack of soap, during the coronavirus. Hope Village indicated that residents are using social distancing to the fullest extent possible, are not experiencing overcrowding and that the facility does not have unsanitary conditions. Hope Village said it has opened a new building to allow for more space. Hope Village said the facility has plenty of supplies, including soap, to try to prevent the coronavirus from infiltrating the facility. Three Hope Village residents were tested for the coronavirus and were immediately separated from the rest of the residents. Two of the tests came back negative for the coronavirus, and the third has not yet been returned from the lab.

"We appreciate the quick response from Hope Village, which would seem to indicate that their residents are safe and that the halfway house is using best practices to ensure the residents are protected as much as possible from spread of the coronavirus," Norton said. "However, it is timely and appropriate for the Federal Bureau of Prisons to conduct an unannounced site visit as soon as possible to ensure the facility is following BOP guidelines as well as the guidelines of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention."

Norton will continue to monitor the situation and has requested regular updates from Hope Village, including in a conference call she will have with Hope Village this morning.