It's Past Time to Fix Rapid Re-housing

Right now, as many as 913 families are facing time limit terminations from a rental assistance program called rapid re-housing, despite the Bowser Administration estimating that 90% of these families will not be able to afford rent on their own when they are terminated.

The lack of affordable housing in the District of Columbia is a structural, systemic problem with deep roots that demands comprehensive and sustained solutions. Cutting DC residents from rental assistance for hitting a time limit when they cannot afford market rent on their own is unfair, unjust, and will lead to increased evictions and homelessness--disproportionately harming Black residents and other communities of color.

In the past few months, DC has found over one billion dollars in unexpected money-- plenty of money to keep these families safely and stably housed. Right now, the DC Council is making decisions about how to spend that unexpected money and what spending priorities should be for the upcoming year.

The Council must dedicate funds to keep families in rapid re-housing until they can pay the rent on their own or transition into a better, more permanent program. The Council also needs to change the law to ensure that families don’t face this threat of displacement and trauma in the future. You can read more about the problems with rapid re-housing here.