Our collective advocacy during the fiscal year 2023 budget season led to significant policy wins, and increased investment in deeply affordable housing – and there is still more work to be done!

The Legal Clinic, along with the Fair Budget Coalition, is advocating for money to keep families facing termination from rapid re-housing housed, an increase in permanent affordable housing subsidies, and legislative reform to make sure that this problem gets fixed systemically.

Councilmember Brianne Nadeau has announced emergency legislation that would prohibit encampment evictions and the creation of “no tent” zones while also addressing some of the health and safety concerns raised by unhoused and housed residents. The Council will vote on the bill next Tuesday, December 7, and nine votes are needed for the bill to pass.

We are in crunch time for DC’s budget! We need your help to tell the DC Council that they have a lot of work to do to end homelessness and repair public housing.

With a significant infusion of federal dollars, a new understanding of the importance of housing as healthcare, and a commitment by DC Department of Human Services to undergo an analysis of the racial equity impact of its programs, now is the time to take these lessons to heart and make substantial changes to the status quo.

The DC Council needs to do so much more to get us to a #JustRecoveryDC. DC had a preexisting affordable housing crisis that is about to get much worse as a result of the global pandemic and economic recession.