The Department of Human Services is planning to terminate as many as 913 families from rapid re-housing this year. They estimate that 90% of these families will be unable to pay their rent without further assistance. The first group of families will lose their rental assistance this Friday, April 1. You can read more about the crisis here.

The Legal Clinic, along with the Fair Budget Coalition, is advocating for money to keep these families housed, an increase in permanent affordable housing subsidies, and legislative reform to make sure that this problem gets fixed systemically—so another 913 families don’t face displacement next year.

We need your help! Here are some ways to get and stay involved:

  1. Organizations: sign-on statement. (Check out current list of supporters here.)
  2. Individuals: email action to DC Council
  3. Jews United for Justice (JUFJ) Call-in day: 4/14
  4. Share the email action with your networks! For social media, use #EndTheCliff and #HousingIsJustice.
  5. Email frankie@fairbudget.org to get involved in a direct action.
  6. If you want to be added to a google group to continue conversations and work on this campaign, email amber@legalclinic.org.

Here is our ask, that the DC Council:

  1. Demand that the Mayor immediately withdraw all time-limit termination notices that have been issued by the Department of Human Services (DHS),
  2. Devote surplus funds to maintain rapid re-housing rent support until every participant has the resources they need to afford housing,
  3. Increase permanent affordable housing vouchers in next year’s budget so that rapid re-housing participants can transition into a program that better maintains housing stability, including Targeted Affordable Housing for families and Local Rent Supplement Program tenant vouchers, and
  4. Reform rapid re-housing legislatively so that DC residents cannot be terminated for a time limit until they can afford rent without further assistance.