Despite living in a well-resourced District of Columbia, DC residents are facing homelessness, housing instability, and crisis-level lack of affordable housing every day, so there is much work to be done to address these issues in DC in order to further housing justice. The budget process is an opportunity to do just that.

As we look ahead at 2022, envision with us a year that holds promise for being the year when a great number of our unhoused neighbors are able, at long last, to go home.

This victory was made possible by a group of residents who refused to be marginalized and pushed out. Not only did they stay and fight, but they won. The Legal Clinic is honored to represent the Coalition and proud of our staff’s passionate and committed lawyering.

On July 20, the DC Council took its first vote on DC’s Fiscal Year (FY) 2022 budget, and we are looking ahead to the final vote on August 3. With the end of the FY22 budget season on the horizon, here is how our housing and homelessness priorities have fared in the budget process thus far.

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.

Here is a compilation of the information you need to provide your input to the DC Council on key government agencies, whether by submitting written testimony, participating in a virtual hearing, or leaving a voicemail with your thoughts.