Content categorized as Rapid Rehousing

Council adds 400 housing vouchers to budget in first vote

The D.C. Council took the first vote on next year’s budget, adding money for 400 housing vouchers and an expansion of the earned income tax credit.

Budget mark-ups feature small wins for housing advocates

D.C. Council committees proposed small increases to housing programs and social services during the markup process, but did not meet housing advocates’ demands.

FAQ: How to apply for housing in DC and what to expect

How does a homeless person in Washington, D.C. find housing? Here’s what you should know about a house application & process for finding housing.

DHS causes panic among families with letter contradicting recently announced changes to rapid rehousing

The Department of Human Services (DHS) sent notices informing about 20 families living in rapid rehousing (RRH) that the agency will terminate their rental subsidies starting Oct. 31, contradicting an earlier announcement made by the agency’s director. Earlier this month, DHS director Laura Zeilinger announced six-month extensions for all families participating in RRH.

Families in rapid rehousing will be given a minimum 6 months’ notice before they will be asked to leave

When the public health emergency came to an end last month, families who stayed in rapid rehousing beyond the limit began to ask the question, “What happens next?” Now, the DHS has announced that all families in its rapid rehousing program will be given a minimum of six months’ notice before being told to move.

Despite including additional money for housing vouchers, today’s FY22 budget vote may leave 500 rapid rehousing recipients facing termination

During the pandemic, families living in rapid rehousing have not been required to move out once their time in the program ends. Now, with the publicly declared health exemption coming to an end, many program participants are growing concerned about finding a new place to live. Here’s how the D.C. Council’s latest budget might help them.

Bowser’s office announces Homeward D.C. 2.0 with revamped goals toward ending homelessness

Following the mayor’s 2015 strategy to “make homelessness rare, brief and nonrecurring,” Homeward D.C. 2.0 expands on permanent supportive housing and rapid rehousing proposals to focus on individual, unaccompanied homelessness. 

The at-large candidates who want to change or enhance DC’s rapid rehousing program

Candidates for the D.C. Council’s At-large seats have made reform or improvement of the District’s rapid rehousing program, which has often been the target of attack from housing advocates, part of their campaign platforms.

Of DC’s 24 at-large candidates, who has a specific plan to address homelessness?

A Street Sense Media analysis determined that only six of the 24 at-large DC Council candidates on the ballot advertised specific plans with measurable goals to address homelessness in their online platforms. We sent them five questions about local poverty.

Protesters to Bowser: Reform the Department of Human Services

Activists marched to the home of Mayor Muriel Bowser to protest the quality of services provided to homeless people in the District.

DC government restarts referrals for housing, focusing on people at high-risk for COVID-19

D.C.’s system for matching homeless people with housing was stymied by the pandemic, so they are prioritizing people who are most vulnerable to the virus.

Advocates highlight major gaps in proposed budget for affordable housing and reducing homelessness

The Way Home campaign and the Fair Budget Coalition are calling on the D.C. Council to allocate an additional $66 million to build more permanent supportive housing and fund critical homelessness prevention programs.

The city’s next 5-year-plan to end homelessness provides more questions than answers

Last week the ICH presented a draft of Homeward D.C. 2.0 in an effort to revitalize the goals of their initial plan, Homeward D.C., and fix shortcomings discovered during its implementation over the past four years. During the meeting, multiple D.C. residents, many of whom were formerly homeless, expressed their concerns with the city’s ability to fulfill the plan’s ambitious goals. Along with the general vagueness of the document itself, residents took issue with the lack of transparency regarding policy meetings and the little progress being made for universally affordable housing.

Seeing Double: DC drastically reduces the number of people in shelter as more double up

Since 2015, the D.C. Department of Human Services has decreased the number of families in its care by over 40 percent.

Problems with DC’s rapid rehousing program remain after years of concerted reform efforts

Despite years of reform efforts, DHS is still working to fix the many issues with rapid rehousing.

D.C. Superior Court ruling fights back against housing discrimination

Two housing groups in Washington, D.C., were penalized for refusing to accept government subsidies as payment for security deposits and monthly rent, said the Equal Rights Center, the plaintiff in this case.

DC government looks to family and friends to help stabilize people facing homelessness

Inspired by the homeless prevention pilot program for families that was launched in 2015 a new Department of Human Services program called Project Reconnect will provide “shelter diversion and a rapid exit” for single adults.

Product of Progression: Life after rapid rehousing is not easy

A Street Sense vendor talks about his struggles after rapid rehousing.

Product of Progression: I’m Trying To Succeed In Rapid-Rehousing

An opinion piece depicting author Tyrone Chisolm Jr’s struggle to succeed in governmental rehousing.

Rapid rehousing clients decry program and ask for pathways to employment

Several families who have received rapid rehousing subsidies marched nearly two miles from Virginia Williams Family Resource Center to the headquarters of the D.C. Department of Human Services, to voice their concerns about the program.