Category: Update

The following is adapted from testimony given by our own LaJuan Brooks, Administrative Assistant at WLCH, at the October 26th hearing on the Local Rent Supplement Program. My name is LaJuan Brooks and I am a Local Rent Supplement Program (LRSP) voucher holder. I have been a participant of the program since 2006. It was […] Read more…

We hope everyone stayed safe and inside during the storm. As we all worry about the safety of our friends and families, deal with power outages, and wonder if the roads and public transit will have delays or get us to work on time, DC residents who are homeless have far graver concerns. Without question, […] Read more…

To mark the end of National Pro Bono Week, we’d like to thank our amazing volunteer attorneys, whose steadfast advocacy on behalf of low and no income residents allows the Legal Clinic to provide representation to thousands of clients each year and to engage in transformative systemic litigation. As a direct result of the contributions of […] Read more…

Today, we pay tribute to one of the world’s greatest advocates for peace and justice, Mahatma Gandhi, on the 143rd anniversary of his birth.  His message was simple, yet his wisdom profound: “Poverty is the worst form of violence.” Let us honor his memory by redoubling our efforts to make this a more peaceful, just […] Read more…

by Bobby Jackson, Summer Fellow I remember biting my lower lip as hard as I could in an effort to hide my emotions, hoping that the water building up in my eyes wasn’t noticeable.  I peered down at my notepad for a few seconds and scribbled some non-descript words on the page. When I finally gained […] Read more…

by Robert Medine I have always been drawn to advocate on behalf of those who find themselves in situations where often the only thing left to hold onto is hope. My summer fellowship at the Washington Legal Clinic for the Homeless, thanks to Crowell Moring, LLP, has given me the opportunity to do this work […] Read more…

Last Sunday my client, Shirley Riley, passed away. In speaking with her daughter and her mother this week, it struck me that her family may not know the profound impact she had on the lives of other D.C. residents.  I’d like to share a small part of her story so that they and others will […] Read more…

Being Homeless My Struggles and Hardships By “Tyanna” 6th Grade 4/10/12 Hello, my name is “Tyanna” and one of my biggest challenges is being homeless.  Being homeless is a big challenge to me because my family and I do not have any money for us to get on the bus or to get a house. […] Read more…

We mark our 25th anniversary this year and look to this important occasion not as a celebration, but rather as a call to action.  With nearly 7,000 people homeless in the nation’s capital on any given day (about 40% of whom are in families), and tens of thousands of households struggling to find housing that […] Read more…

Approximately 14 years ago, the Washington Legal Clinic for the Homeless drafted for the first time a document which has since come to be known simply as “The Fact Sheet.” This document was originally entitled “Homelessness in D.C.—Some Basic Facts”, but eventually evolved into the “Fact Sheet On Homelessness and Poverty.” It was initially conceived of […] Read more…