Come hear from Ward 7 residents about the success of affordable housing programs in your community and join with others to call for more affordable housing for all our neighbors.

Ward 7 needs affordable housing that

• Keeps long-term residents in the neighborhood
• Allows tenants to purchase their buildings
• Helps people buy their first home

Date: Saturday, March 3
Time: 9:00 – 11:30
Location:
Marshall Heights Community Development Organization
3939 Benning Rd NE
Minnesota Ave Metro

Breakfast provided. Interpretation and child care available upon request.

Sponsored by CNHED and the Marshall Heights Community Development Organization

Download flier here.

Join THC and Housing for All to raise your voice for affordable housing in Ward 4!

Ward 4 needs affordable housing that

• Keeps seniors in our neighborhoods
• Allows tenants to purchase their buildings
• Uses public land to meet community needs
• Provides services people need to succeed.

Come hear from Ward 4 residents about the success of affordable housing programs in your community and join with others to call for more affordable housing forall our neighbors.

Date:Tuesday, February 28
Time:6:30 – 9:00 PM
Location:
Christ Lutheran Church
5101 16^th St NW
Fellowship Hall

Refreshments provided. Spanish interpretation provided.  Child care available upon request.

Sponsored by CNHED and THC-Housing Families, Transforming Lives.

If you were in Columbia Heights today, you probably noticed hundreds of people in line around the block at  14^th Street and Columbia Road Northwest.  They were waiting to apply for 160 units in Columbia Heights Village – a project-based Section 8 development that bases tenant rents on their income level.  Housing for All intern Shaunte Wilcher had seen the line around 9:00 AM, and they were still there when we came back at 12:30, about a half hour after HUD opened the doors to applicants.

Just one day after Mayor Gray brushed over the growing housing needs in the District, there were hundreds of people waiting for a chance to live in a place they could afford.

Shaunte and I went to talk to people as they waited in the cold to apply for these one-and two-bedroom units. We found a broad cross-section of District residents.  There were immigrants, parents, lifelong District residents, and many people had disabilities. Some were angry, some resigned.  All of them were clear: they needed housing that would be affordable to them, even at fixed incomes or low incomes.

Here are some profiles of who is waiting for affordable housing in the District:

Angel  is DC native who lived in Columbia Heights her whole life. Her rent has now become unaffordable and she’s trying to find somewhere else to  live.

Dawn is a DC native who was forced to leave the city, but she is currently trying to move back. She has been on several waiting list for several different organizations and has not found any success yet.  She found today’s even on craigslist.org . She says “They are pushing us out! … Average people deserve to live in the city.”

One of the last people in line when we arrived was an elderly Ethiopian immigrant. He’s lived in the District for 5 years and is retired, but works part time doing security. When asked why he was apply for this housing, he was very direct “I get a little money, but I pay too much.”

Louvenia was a recent resident on Kenyon Street but has had to move to Barry Farms. She has been applying for waiting list and affordable housing since she was 20 (She’s now 27). The Housing Authority waiting list for Section 8 and Local Rent Supplement vouchers is reported at over 36,000 households and residents report waiting over 10 years for assistance.

One group I talked to was frustrated about how the District is changing in a way that they feel leaves them behind. New condos and high-rent apartments were brought up with frustration. “Who can afford $1,100 for an efficiency?” one woman asked. The frustration on the sidewalk mirrored people’s general frustration at how long many residents wait for rental assistance. “We’ve been standing out here for a long time, if you know what I mean.”

Kim, a resident in Northeast was there with her toddler-aged son. When asked what she would say to Mayor Gray about the situation she said, “I hope he finds the funds, there’s a lot of people who need affordable housing.”

As we left the temperature was falling and it was beginning to rain. But the people in line weren’t going anywhere. They were determined, as one person said, “I was born and raised here I’m not moving. I will find affordable housing.”

This post was written with the help of Shaunte Wilcher.

Dozens of people set out to answer the question:  “What Home Means to Me”, but only a few were able to grab the attention of our panel of judges. Arlethia Scott is the Second Place Winner in the adult category of our “What Home Means to Me?” essay contest held in the fall.  Her poem, Rags to Riches, offers a relatable and creative meaning of “home” as she narrates her own story of personal triumph.

Rags to Riches, by Arlethia Scott

All the winners in the adult category for "What Does Home Mean to Me" writing contest. Today's winner, Arlethia, is in the center.

Park benches, yeah you bet,
went to McDonald’s just to use the sink.
Naw, hold up now, it’s time for me to think.
Back tired, feet hurt, limbs aching,
body needs a rest. Pushing, striving, bags on back
bags in hand tryin to do my best.
Walking all day riding buses all night
tryin to get it right. Homelessness, weariness,
staff nagging feel like beggin just to get my
kind of meal. Stressed out without a doubt.
Got myself in, but can somebody tell me what’s the deal?
In the shelter, out the shelter.
Oh I need a break. Sometimes, God
I pray you, lift me up before I wake.
Look to the left, look to the right.
On the brink of insanity, yes. Will he show up.
Programming, progressing seems time is on my side.
Feeling better, noticed God. Maybe now I’ll glide.
I can finally say I have a home, as long
as I’m with S.O.M.E. I am never
alone. This is the place I always wanted
to be, to have others that believe in
me. I know I give people a hard time
I’ll try to stay focused and say what’s on my mind,
being here I’ll have good memories,
being here is the closest place to home
for me.

Join CNHED and Housing for All for a 5-week training course!

Gain skills to be a powerful voice for affordable housingwith our training course for new advocates! We will cover all the basics to help you become a great advocate for yourself and your community. The sessions help you tell your own story, testify at a hearing, and talk to the press. Every session will include time to practice and ask questions. Each week also builds on the last one, so please plan to attendall 5 weeks.

Where: Jubilee Housing1631 Euclid Street NW
Ritz Community Room
When: Wednesdays 6:00-8:00 PM

Schedule

January 18 – Advocacy Basics
January 25 – Telling your story
February 1 – Giving testimony
February 8 – Meeting with elected officials or agencies
February 15 – Talking to the media

Please RSVP.  View or print the flier in Spanish and English.

Questions? Contact Elizabeth: efalcon@cnhed.org or 202-745-0902 x205

So what exactly does HOME mean to me

All the winners in the adult and youth categories for "What Does Home Mean to Me" writing contest. Today's winner, Eugene, is on the far left.

There are four different points to that question, my friend
For after enduring the mean, heartless streets
My pain of homelessness are truly at an end.

H is for Haven, my own comfortable abode
A place to be stable, safe, warm and dry,
I can find a large room to hide out from the world
While kissing my homeless troubles good-bye

O is for Opening, an invitation, really
For family, friends, and those who’ve helped me
I can invite them to visit anytime
And show off Mi casa for all the world to see

M is for Myself, to whom I can take care of
While staying in my place, I can heal from all pain
Once this euphoria has completely worn off
I will never reside on the streets yet aGAIN

E is for Eternity, as to how long I will stay
No hopping around from shelter to shelter,
Or from one city to another, place to place
For at last I have reached the promised land
And have regained my own exclusive space

So that is what home truly means to me
For I was once there before the streets came
And now that this life has returned to my soul
Life as I now know it, will never be the same.

On Saturday, December 10, hundreds of DC residents gathered to show their support for Housing for All.

Over 250 people filled the Martin Luther King Junior Memorial Library’s Great Hall demanding that mayor Gray and the DC Council invest in affordable housing programs.  The diverse event included resident stories, powerful calls to action, comments from elected officials and presentation of awards to the winners of the “What Home Means to Me” writing competition.  (Watch this space! All the winning entries will be available on the blog over the next few weeks)

Reverend Jim Dickerson, founder of Manna, Inc. started the program off by welcoming the audience. He also explained the idea of the Continuum of Housing, the concept behind the multiyear platform this campaign seeks to win. “What are we doing with this Continuum of Housing campaign? We want to restore all the housing funds that we’ve lost in the last few years. We want to again make housing and affordable housing a top public priority. We want a continuum, a system, of housing and support services that allows people to achieve their greatest and highest good in this city.”

Rev. Jim Dickerson welcomes the crowd, calls for a full Continuum of Housing.

DC housing programs have suffered in the last year. Most recently, in the current budget, $18 million was cut from the Housing Production Trust Fund. These funds were then used to pay for the Local Rent Supplement program, which had previously been paid for using the General Fund like most other DC programs. The $18 million loss from the Housing Production Trust Fund will prevent 788 families from accessing affordable housing through this program.

Brenda Jordan spoke out for the Housing Production Trust Fund. An owner and board member at Pleasant Park Co-op, Ms. Jordan shared how funds from the Housing Production Trust Fund helped her and her neighbors purchase their building using the Tenant Opportunity to Purchase Act.  Pleasant Park Co-op tenants are still waiting for rehabilitation funds the city committed to them years ago. The loss of $18 million from the Housing Production Trust fund will further delay Pleasant Park Coop and others from receiving the funds they need – and the city committed – to make needed improvements in their building.

In addition to the support of the Housing Production Trust Fund, voices were also raised for key housing programs: Home Purchase Assistance Program, Local Rent Supplement Program and Housing First. Without additional funding, Local Rent Supplement Program and Housing First cannot serve new residents and cannot achieve their goals of ending homelessness and taking people off the DC Housing Authority waiting list.

Local Rent Supplement recipient Gilma Merino, who lives at Jubilee Housing, testified to the value and importance of the

Ward 1 Councilmember Jim Graham

Local Rent Supplement in her life and in the lives of her children. “My dreams came true last year seeing my daughter go to college. My other children have a good education.… Housing is changing my life. I love the Local Rent Supplement Program. My clinic is around the corner, my children’s school is around the corner. I invite all Councilmembers to stick with us  - and don’t forget us when the budget comes. We need your help. We are vulnerable people. We need your help to get housing, especially for our children.”

Ralliers were joined by Councilmembers Barry, Thomas, Graham and Michael Brown as well as David Berns, Director of the Department of Human Services;  John Hall, Director of the Department of Housing and Community Development and Adrianne Todman, Executive Director of the DC Housing Authority.   Director Todman acknowledged the difficulty her agency will face if DC does not dedicate additional funds to the Local Rent Supplement Program. “We are handicapped here in DC because we can’t build new affordable housing because there’s just not the funds to do so.”

Jos Williams, president of the local AFL-CIO, lent his voice of support. Reiterating the sentiments of the residents who spoke before him, Mr. Williams said, “I am here to say to you on behalf of the working families of this city…. Housing is a right, not a privilege.” The local AFL-CIO represents 48,000 DC residents who are union members, and has supported affordable housing programs such as inclusionary zoning and the Housing Production Trust Fund in their long history of advocacy and organizing.

Residents left the event excited and empowered to continue to fight for affordable housing. Hundreds signed holiday cards that read “Mayor Gray, this winter Restore the Commitment to Affordable housing!” David Bowers, Vice President of Enterprise Community Partners challenged the audience to carry the message from this rally with them. He asked District officials, and called on the audience to ask their elected officials, “I want to know, what have you done to make sure there’s access to housing that’s affordable in the District of Columbia?”