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    FY27 Budget: Limited Housing Wins, but Scarcity Continues to be a Feature, Not a Bug

    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…

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    Committee on Human Services Public Roundtable: The Future of the Interagency Council on Homelessness

    Committee on Human Services Public Roundtable: The Future of the Interagency Council on Homelessness 9/30/26 Testimony of Amber W. Harding My name is Amber Harding and I am the Executive Director of 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. While much has changed since the ICH was enshrined into local law in 2005, the need for cross-agency collaboration and government leadership on ending… Read more…

  • One Year Later: Statement on the Impact on People Without Homes of the Federal Takeover in the Nation’s Capital 
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    One Year Later: Statement on the Impact on People Without Homes of the Federal Takeover in the Nation’s Capital 

    Amber W. Harding, Executive Director On August 10, 2025, President Trump posted on Truth Social that: “The Homeless have to move out, IMMEDIATELY… We will give you places to stay, but FAR from the Capital.” The next day, the President announced that he would be sending 800 National Guard members to D.C., deploying federal law enforcement officers, and taking over D.C.’s police force– all with instructions to clear all the homeless people off of D.C. streets and to end D.C.’s alleged violent crime problem. Thus began the federal police occupation of the nation’s capital that continues to this day, one year later.… Read more…

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    This Budget Sends a Clear Message: Unhoused People Are Not Welcome in D.C.

    The following is an excerpt of the oral testimony of our Executive Director, Amber Harding at the final budget hearing at the D.C. Council. Since delivering this testimony, we learned that homelessness has increased by 4% this year, with a 15.8% increase for families. The FY27 proposed budget lays out a vision for a D.C. that few low-income residents will be able to call home. This budget promises a D.C. with street sweeping but no homes for people living on those streets, homes for sports teams but not for families, and more and more law enforcement to enforce the increasingly… Read more…

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    D.C. Council Committee on Housing-DHCD Budget Oversight Hearing-FY 2027

    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…

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    D.C. Council Committee on Housing-DCHA Budget Oversight Hearing- FY 2027

     Charisse Lue, Attorney, The Washington Legal Clinic for the Homeless and Testimony of Brittany K. Ruffin, Legal Director, Systemic Advocacy and Litigation, Since 1987 the Legal Clinic has worked towards a just and inclusive community for all residents of the District of Columbia–where housing is a human right and where every individual and family has equal access to the resources that they need to thrive.             The District of Columbia is currently facing unprecedented challenges, including the most economically devastating proposed budget that D.C. residents have had to face in decades. Unfortunately, D.C. public housing residents have had to endure deplorable and… Read more…

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    2026 Funding and Reform Priorities from the Legal Clinic

    1. End Homelessness: Housing Vouchers With a cost of living substantially higher than the national average, D.C. is one of the most expensive cities in which to live. Despite an early Bowser Administration promise to end all homelessness by 2020, D.C. residents are still experiencing housing insecurity and homelessness at alarming rates. The vast majority of people experiencing homelessness in D.C. need permanent housing assistance to maintain housing stability. Additionally, due to laws providing for more opportunities for release from incarceration, there is an urgent need to fund housing for D.C. residents returning home and rebuilding lives post-incarceration. Funding housing… Read more…

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    A Home for the Holidays and Beyond

    By Amber W. Harding, Executive Director of Washington Legal Clinic for the Homeless This holiday season, I want to talk a little about what having a home means. In my view, home is not quite the same as housing—it is more. You can have housing without having a home, but you cannot have a home without housing. Recently, the Legal Clinic was invited to a community event hosted by Spur Local where we asked participants to share their thoughts on our poster about what home means to them. Here are some of their answers: Home is… This question, this feeling,… Read more…

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    Legal Clinic Celebrates Its Exceptional Volunteers

    On Tuesday, October 21, the Legal Clinic held its annual Volunteer Reception to thank all of its volunteers and honor some of its most exceptional volunteers and law firms. We are grateful to Crowell & Moring for hosting, and to all of our volunteers, staff and board members, friends and family who came to celebrate our wonderful community. As Executive Director, Amber Harding, said in her opening remarks: Many of our clients face long odds in their fight for justice. We believe that they shouldn’t have to fight alone, and that our efforts can shift those odds in their favor.… Read more…

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    The FY26 Budget: Another Year, Another Disappointment

    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…

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