Category: Advocacy

By: Brit K. Ruffin, Legal Director, Systemic Advocacy and Litigation On July 7, D.C. Council made its final decisions on D.C.’s FY27 budget.  Yesterday, D.C. began its new fiscal year. For the last few years, budget conversations and decisions in D.C. have been discouraging. With the release of Mayor Bowser’s proposed FY27 budget, the budget season forecast was even more bleak than in previous years. Once again, investments that respond to human needs and save lives were the first ones eliminated when reductions in the budget were contemplated. Those who need the most support and face the most harm from… Read more…

Testimony of, Charisse Lue, Attorney, and Brittany K. Ruffin, Legal Director, Systemic Advocacy and Litigation, The Washington Legal Clinic for the Homeless The Washington Legal Clinic for the Homeless envisions a District of Columbia where housing is a human right, racial justice is a reality, and all people have true and meaningful access to the resources needed to thrive. There are concrete economic and affordability challenges facing the District of Columbia and the nation. Now, it is more critical than ever that D.C. Council remain steadfast in its commitment to create and preserve affordable housing. The proposed budget neglects to… Read more…

By Brittany K. Ruffin, Legal Director, Systemic Advocacy and Litigation; Joshua Drumming, Staff Attorney; and Charisse Lue, Staff Attorney On July 28, D.C.’s FY 2026 budget process concluded. From the start, the budget season was riddled with delays and extensions caused by a series of local and congressional budget actions. Unfortunately, the mayor’s proposed budget left much to be desired. Once again, it underfunded or failed to fund critical housing resources and programs within the Department of Human Services (DHS), setting up another fiscal year in which D.C.’s lowest-income residents have to split inequitable investments. Like last year, those who need… Read more…

On Monday, July 14, the D.C. Council will take its first vote on our local budget and many legal changes that will impact the lives of D.C. residents. As we discussed here, the mayor’s budget proposal was regressive and harmful, hardly befitting a city where the vast majority of residents support progressive and humane economic and social policies. The Council has already reversed some of these harmful proposals, but when it comes to responding to the ever-growing gap between household income and the cost of rent, both branches of government are failing D.C. residents, particularly those who are homeless or at… Read more…

There is still time for D.C. Council to mitigate the harm of the mayor’s budget and ensure that the final budget “looks like” D.C. We must continue to urge D.C. government to prioritize the basic needs of its residents and elevate the policies, resources, and investments that keep people safe and protected in all aspects of their life. Read more…

2025 Funding and Reform Priorities: D.C. Must Choose to Support Its People Over the years, we have seen two categories of harmful responses when D.C. elected leaders claim, rightfully or not, that there are not enough resources to meet the pressing needs in the community: 1) cuts or underfunding of housing and human services programs, and 2) tightening of eligibility or reduction in legal rights of participants in those programs. Both of those responses reduce the number of people served without reducing the number of people in need of services, causing harm to D.C. residents. This year and budget season,… Read more…