Content categorized as Unemployment

Pride celebrations are over, but queer youth still need help

As Pride month ends, service providers for unhoused queer youth remind us of the work left to be done.

How to get a job in 90 days

The AimHire program, which has helped 1,200 people find jobs, has been expanded into a government pilot.

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.

Two years, no change: Workers say DOES is “failing DC”

D.C. workers applying for unemployment insurance still report long wait times and late pay, as DOES slowly modernizes their application system.

From prosperity to poverty: how my life changed

Jeff Taylor reflects on how he became homeless.

From the mitten to Maryland part IV

Cortney R. Signor shares the 4th installment of her tumultuous experience in D.C.

DC programs connect job seekers and employers during national hiring struggles

Employers nationwide in service and low-skilled industries have struggled to find willing workers for many reasons, including remaining fear of COVID-19. Job seekers have struggled to keep up with skill requirements and balance family care needs. Local D.C. programs are working hard to bridge the gap between the two by placing applicants into reliable jobs.

Until we pay the working poor a living wage, they will still need government aid

Artist/Vendor Wendall Williams provides his thoughts on why the government should consider a living wage based on lessons learned from COVID relief.

DC Inspector General will audit Department of Employment Services over late and missing unemployment payments

The D.C. Office of the Inspector General announced it will review the District’s Department of Employment Services following months of delayed payments and technical glitches that have left many unemployed workers without income.

Overloaded with landlords and real-estate developers, Bowser’s “Saving DC’s Rental Housing Market Strike Force” leaves out marginalized tenant voices

Tenant voices were conspicuously absent from the deliberation on recommendations that will affect the District’s most vulnerable renters’ ability to remain housed through the end of the pandemic and long after.

Protesters call for Biden’s domestic policy chief to cancel rent

Tenants from D.C., Maryland, and Virginia marched to the home of White House domestic policy chief Susan Rice on Jan. 23 and called on the Biden administration to include rent cancelation in the latest COVID-19 relief package proposal

December relief bill keeps DC afloat, but the District and its workers look towards a Biden stimulus package

Jobless D.C. residents can look to extended federal unemployment programs even as problems plague local benefits and Biden’s plan stalls in Congress.

Workers report new problems claiming unemployment in the District

D.C. workers on pandemic-related unemployment programs are struggling to get approved for benefits and back-pay.

Advocates say new “Bridge Fund” shows DC can find money for businesses but not for poor people

After Mayor Muriel Bowser announced a $100 million grant fund for businesses struggling due to COVID-19, community organizations asked for the funding to be used to encourage those businesses to help their community.

Eviction moratorium to extend as COVID-19 and unemployment worsens homelessness

D.C. Council gives the Mayor authority to extend the state of emergency, thus extend the eviction moratorium. But COVID-19 and unemployment remain issues.

DC to provide one-time check to residents on COVID-19 unemployment programs

DC will provide a one-time payment of $1,200 to nearly 20,000 residents whose unemployment benefits are set to expire after Christmas.

Here’s how to claim unemployment in the District

Street Sense explains the unemployment benefits available, and how to claim them.

DOES faces criticism by workers and councilmembers over long wait times and late pay

In the second Council hearing on unemployment benefits this fall, workers and Councilmember SIlverman continued to raise concerns about DOES’s system for unemployment benefits.

DCSEU green energy program helps people who have lost their homes

When Andre Roberson and Yolanda Hayden lost their jobs and homes, the DCSEU Workforce Development program helped get them back on their feet.

Attorney General Racine’s lawsuit prevents cuts to food stamps for thousands of DC residents

The D.C. District Cout prevents the Trump administration from revoking SNAP eligibility for thousands of Americans.