Despite a promise to end homelessness in D.C., the mayor’s proposed FY24 budget funds ZERO new housing vouchers. As you know, tenant vouchers are a crucial support for thousands of D.C. residents. The impact of no funding next year will be devastating for those who are unhoused/housing insecure. With such a well-resourced D.C. budget, D.C.’s lowest-income residents should not have to continue to struggle for basic resources each year....
Mayor Bowser’s Budget Fails Unhoused D.C. Residents
Mayor Bowser’s proposed FY24 budget isn’t just tight, it is deeply and fundamentally out of balance– particularly when it comes to the needs of District residents experiencing housing instability and homelessness. Where the government has failed to follow the law or implement its programs, there is no consequence levied on the government-only on District residents. When cuts are made to critical programs, they are accompanied by...
2023 Funding & Reform Priorities
It’s budget season again, and the Legal Clinic continues to advocate for budgets and laws that further housing justice for D.C. residents. Along with our Fair Budget Coalition and Way Home Campaign partners*, we implore D.C. to “Meet the Needs” of all D.C. residents—particularly those who struggle the most to maintain their lives in the city. Recent housing investments and legislation during the height of the pandemic were crucial to minimize...
The Longest Night of the Year: National Homeless Persons’ Remembrance Day
On December 21, winter solstice, communities across the country will recognize National Homeless Persons’ Remembrance Day.
Statement on the US Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Scathing DC Housing Authority Audit
The recent report from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (“HUD”) that lays out eighty-two ways in which the DC Housing Authority (“DCHA”) is failing residents, tenants, and voucher holders confirms what housing advocates and residents have long known.
Real Rapid Re-Housing Reform Is Finally Within DC’s Reach!
We have long advocated for substantial reform for the rapid re-housing program in DC. The urgency of that advocacy intensified last winter, when the Department of Human Services announced it intended to start terminating almost 1000 families for reaching a time limit in rapid re-housing, even though the agency knew that nearly all of those families would be thrown into crisis as a result. In the spring of 2022, 66 organizations and experts and...
