Yesterday, the DC Council voted on the DC Budget, reflecting increases by both the Mayor and the Council to provide affordable housing to DC residents.
Yesterday, the DC Council voted on the DC Budget, reflecting increases by both the Mayor and the Council to provide affordable housing to DC residents.
Additional funds were committed to fund a stronger homeless services system including coordinated entry system for individuals, increases to Rapid Rehousing, and many of the program improvements included in the Roadmap to Help Families Home.
A tremendous victory for CNHED’s housing advocacy is the fact that the Mayor’s budget started with a baseline increase of $30 million in one-time funding for the Housing Production Trust Fund. One of the biggest surprises that occurred yesterday was an increase of $8.7 million for the Housing Production Trust Fund identified by Chairman Mendelson and passed by the DC Council. These funds were unspent capital dollars in the Department of Behavioral Health budget which would have been lost if they had not been moved to the Trust Fund. They are still dedicated to be used for the production of housing for people with serious mental or emotional illness. With this increase, the Housing Production Trust Fund will have a total of $79.3 million next year.
Unfortunately, none of the Councilmembers chose to recognize the importance of the Trust Fund in the vote discussions yesterday, or acknowledge that the Trust Fund is still short of the $100 million goal many of them have advocated for. We will continue to call on the Council to join with us and increase the total Housing Production Trust Fund commitment to $100 million this year and in future years.
and join the fight for a District where all residents can live in thriving communities that are racially, economically and socially just!
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