photo by Mr.TinMD
From the Volunteers for HRA Reform:
“On Wednesday August 28, Humane Rescue Alliance (HRA) CEO Lisa LaFontaine announced in an email to staff [attached] that the DC government’s Department of Health will end its animal care contract with HRA and take over operation of these services effective January 2025. As current and former volunteers, staff, and community members who spent countless hours raising concerns about the quality of HRA’s services, we are cautiously optimistic about this news.
Throughout our multi-year long efforts to drive change at HRA, it has become increasingly evident that reform is unlikely to occur under current leadership. DC Health can now meet the moment by providing necessary services that have been lacking. Still, there are more questions than answers. We anxiously await specific details about what this will entail and a plan from DC Health taking on crucial animal control services in just four months.
We know this change will not erase all of HRA’s broken promises to DC. We are waiting on the long-promised east-of-the-river vet clinic and for the return of low-cost spay/neuter services, both of which LaFontaine committed to in her email. HRA will likely still struggle to provide adequate animal care at its Oglethorpe location, including for Humane Law Enforcement (HLE) animals. We remain committed to advocating for HRA animals, staff, volunteers, and the people who rely on HRA services until systemic problems are solved. We hope HRA will use their new chapter as a chance to take ownership for the choices it made that led to losing the contract.
We are grateful, though, that this change will solve several problems, including providing a higher paid, unionized work environment for staff and more transparency. Through the transition process, we are eager to collaborate with DC Health and help connect them with needed resources. With a four-month timeline and the current neglected state of the shelter at New York Ave, we urge the city to work with industry professionals in shaping the future of animal care services. DC residents and animals are relying on DC Health to manage this transition right.”