This morning, 20 leaders of local direct service and anti-poverty organizations sent a letter to DC Council to raise alarm that as-is, the fiscal year (FY) 2026 DC budget includes a multitude of cuts and policy changes that will lead to unprecedented and irreparable damage to the stability of DC’s poorest residents. In the letter, they express concern that the fundamental changes to the social safety net currently on the table will result in long-lasting harm for Black and brown residents and reflect an alarming retrenchment of DC’s commitment to addressing poverty.
They urge DC Council to:
- Acknowledge the essential role of social services
- Reverse the deepest cuts
- Reject programmatic changes that would make it hard in the future for residents to access these services
They also express support for all efforts to find the revenues to address these cuts and believe all policy tools should be on the table, including improving taxation of profitable businesses and DC’s wealthiest residents.
The letter is in conjunction with a press conference happening today at 9:30am on the front steps of the Wilson Building.
Key excerpts from the letter:
“We, the undersigned, write to you as leaders of long-standing organizations that work to meet the needs of DC residents with low incomes. Many of us have worked in the District for decades, and together we serve hundreds of thousands of DC residents, providing food, shelter, health care, child care, and other core necessities. It is due to this experience that we have a deep sense of alarm about the proposed DC budget: devastating cuts to multiple essential services and fundamental changes to the social safety net will likely result in long-lasting harm to DC’s poorest residents.”
“Together, these deep cuts and fundamental policy changes will deepen poverty and hardship at a time when income inequality is at an all-time high, and result in more hunger and homelessness, widen DC’s already gaping racial inequities, and significantly roll back collective efforts to improve quality of life for residents struggling with the lowest incomes.”
The letter is signed by the following individuals:
- George Jones, Chief Executive Officer, Bread for the City
- Kelly Sweeney McShane, President and CEO, Community of Hope
- Abel Nuñez, Executive Director, Carecen
- Myrna Peralta, Executive Director, CentroNia
- Judith Sandalow, Executive Director, Children’s Law Center
- Kimberly Perry, Executive Director, DC Action
- Mark LeVota, Executive Director, DC Behavioral Health Association
- Erica Williams, Executive Director, DC Fiscal Policy Institute
- LaMonika Jones, Director, DC Hunger Solutions
- Karen Cunningham, Executive Director, Everyone Home DC
- Niciah Mujahid, Executive Director, Fair Budget Coalition
- Carlos Plazas, Chief Executive Officer, La Clínica Del Pueblo
- Vikram Swaruup, Executive Director, Legal Aid DC
- Nancy Ban, Chief Executive Officer, Mary’s Center
- Reverend William H, Lamar IV, Pastor, Metropolitan AME Church
- Elin Zurbrigg, Co-Executive Director, Mi Casa
- Scott Schenkelberg, President and CEO, Miriam’s Kitchen
- Elizabeth McNichol, Tri-Chair, Poor People’s Campaign, DC Chapter
- Andrea Thomas, President and CEO, United Planning Organization
- Naseema Shafi, Chief Executive Officer, Whitman Walker