Category: Advocacy

The following is testimony delivered by Scott McNeilly at today’s Winter Plan Roundtable. In addition to being a Legal Clinic staff attorney, Scott is also a member of the Interagency Council on Homelessness (ICH) and a member of the ICH’s Operations and Logistics Committee and Capacity Subcommittee, both of which were involved in developing the Winter Plan.   Our Winter Plan process has continued to evolve and this year’s Plan contains some significant improvements in the way alerts are called and communicated, as well as some additional resources to address significant needs. Because this is an oversight hearing, I wanted to highlight… Read more…

October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month, and the Legal Clinic is proud to join the DC Coalition Against Domestic Violence (DCAADV) and others in honoring victims and survivors of domestic violence for the 8th annual observance of Purple Thursday. Domestic violence is the second most frequently stated cause of homelessness for families, and one in four women in DC will experience domestic violence during her lifetime.  According to the 2013 Point in Time Survey, 31.4% of adults in families and 10.2% of unaccompanied single persons who are homeless in the District have experienced domestic violence, and 10.9% of adults in families are homeless directly as… Read more…

From February to May of 2013, one local youth service provider turned away at least 150 unaccompanied minor children due to lack of emergency shelter space, many of whom also had children of their own. When made aware of this unmet need in September, the Interagency Council on Homelessness (ICH) responded by making the adoption of the Winter Plan contingent on the development of a plan to serve this population. But the draft plan that will be voted on by the ICH tomorrow (October 17th at 2PM) does not announce any new resources for youth that will change the status quo… Read more…

The DC Council Committee on Human Services is holding a hearing today on Bill 20-414, the “Temporary Assistance for Needy Families Cost-of-Living Adjustment Amendment Act of 2013.” Legal Clinic staff attorney Becky O’Brien submitted the following testimony to the Committee. I want to thank you for introducing Bill 20-414, “TANF Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA) Amendment Act of 2013” which proposes an increase to TANF benefits for District families. Due in large part to the District’s current low TANF benefit levels, parents live in a state of constant crisis. Nearly all of the TANF families with whom I’ve spoken run out… Read more…

This week, the Housing Complex exposed the troubles DC is having placing homeless families through its Rapid Rehousing program. The director of the Department of Human Services (DHS) is quoted in the article, opining that the biggest obstacle for placing families is the lack of affordable units that families could afford on their own after the program stops helping them pay rent. We think Rapid Rehousing could be a valuable part of the affordable housing spectrum if it were tailored to meet both the needs of homeless families in DC and, perhaps more critically, the realities of DC’s housing market. If the… Read more…

Tomorrow, the DC Council has the opportunity to override the Mayor’s veto on Bill 2-062, the “Large Retailer Accountability Act of 2013” (LRAA). On Friday, we blogged about the high cost of living in the District and how without a livable wage, it is nearly impossible for DC residents to find and secure affordable housing. But it is also impossible for them to end their reliance on public benefit programs like Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF), SNAP(Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program)/food stamps, and Medicaid. In this way, low wages not only hurt those wage earners and their families, but also cost all… Read more…

Yesterday, when Mayor Gray vetoed Bill 20-62, the “Large Retailer Accountability Act of 2013” (LRAA), he let down the thousands of DC residents who were counting on him to assure that DC employers paid a livable wage. Three years ago, Mayor Gray stated that he was “not ambiguous about the fact that they need to pay competitive wages” (speaking specifically about Wal-Mart). “We don’t want low-quality jobs here,” then-candidate Gray concluded. In a city where a worker earning the current minimum wage of $8.25/hour would have to work 132 hours each week to afford the fair market rent on a 2 bedroom… Read more…

Just days ago marked the 50th anniversary of the March on Washington, when Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. stood at the Lincoln Memorial and delivered his “I Have A Dream Speech,” ushering in an era of massive progress in the civil rights and living conditions for millions of Americans. The festivities are now over. The Lincoln Memorial is empty. The pundits are quiet. The visitors have returned home.  But does the dream remain? If “injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere [i],” the way the District of Columbia treats the one-third of its children who live in poverty means that there is… Read more…

Do you believe in affordable housing? If so, we hope you will join us tomorrow, Wednesday, July 24th for the “Hold on to HUD!” Housing Rally on the Capitol Southeast Lawn at 1pm. The event, sponsored by Housing Works, The National AIDS Housing Coalition, Harlem United, and HELP/PSI is being held to urge Congress to fully fund the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) which is experiencing major cuts to its budget, threatening programs that are essential to providing housing for those in need. The Obama Administration has requested $2.38 billion in funding for HUD’s Homeless Assistance Grants which would ensure housing for 213,000… Read more…

Yesterday the DC Council took its final vote on the 2014 Budget Support Act and, as part of that act, the Homeless Services Reform Amendment Act of 2013. We’ve blogged extensively about our concerns about the original bill, from its overly punitive approach to poverty to the negative impact that specific provisions could have had on DC residents living in homeless shelters and supportive housing. The Act that passed yesterday is substantially better than the original version thanks to the efforts of a diverse coalition of advocates, service providers, community members, and ultimately the elected officials who actively listened to… Read more…