A 2018 D.C. Fiscal Policy Institute report found that it would take $2.6 billion over 10 years in construction costs alone to meet the District’s affordable housing goals — more than double the mayor’s annual investment.
“We’re now behind on our strategies [to end homelessness]” laid out in the initial plan, says Kate Coventry, a senior policy analyst at the D.C. Fiscal Policy Institute.
Research conducted in June by the DCFPI found that the $200 million request is less than half of what’s needed for excluded workers to match the average unemployment benefits received by other workers through the first year of the pandemic.
Eliana Golding, a policy analyst at DCFPI focused on inclusive economies, says presenting trackable metrics in an easily digestible or visual way allows activists & organizers to add quantitative data to their lived experiences when advocating to lawmakers.
Still, advocates for affordable housing and homeless services believe the mayor’s budget does not do enough to meet residents’ needs given the times.
Mayor Bowser ordered the shift on Thursday after consulting with DCHA officials, taking the combined $57 million she initially included in her 2022 budget plan for repairs at the Claridge Towers complex near Shaw and distributing it among 3 other communities.
As demand picks back up, child care programs are making some tough choices: Charge parents more than they can afford to retain staff and pay them fairly, or pay early educators less than they deserve to serve families.
A large majority of D.C. voters support raising taxes on big corporations and higher-income residents to help bankroll the city’s recovery and other goals. That’s according to the results of a new poll sponsored by DCFPI and DC Action.
Kate Coventry, a senior policy analyst at the D.C. Fiscal Policy Institute, said she is a bit puzzled the city isn’t setting aside money to give prospective tenants vouchers to pay rent at the buildings it acquires.
Doni Crawford, Senior Policy Analyst at the DC Fiscal Policy institute, told The Outlaw Report she was encouraged to see the new funding, though work remains to be done to create an equitable medical cannabis market in the District.