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        The message was simple.  Homeless residents of Washington have spent too long on the waiting lists of Washington.  People are waiting for housing and waiting to get into permanent supportive shelter.  An estimated 300 teens a night are on the waiting list for the dwindling number of youth-designated shelter beds funded by the city in Washington.  Shelter residents spent much of last year worried about whether the shelters would find their way off the mayor’s “waiting list” to receive their funding.  Homeless citizens are tired of waiting, and over 80 of them voted on Saturday, showing their political power.

        As the City Council prepares to debate the mayor’s budget proposals for the rest of FY2013 and FY2014, now is an important time for the homeless citizens and their allies to demonstrate their political power, and an important time for WIN.  Historically the Washington Interfaith Network has proven effective in turning out traditionally unlikely voters, and the “I Am a Voter” rally demonstrated that capability.  In the next weeks we will be working to turn out more people, members of our congregations and institutions, and other citizens of Washington.  Sign up to contact the council, to act with WIN and DC’s homeless voters to fund homeless services and bring the our homeless voters off the waiting list.

- Rev. Mike Angell

Assistant rector at St. John’s Lafayette Episcopal Church

WIN Strategy team leader

Washington Post mention

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/mike-debonis/wp/2013/04/22/homeless-residents-organize-for-d-c-special-election/

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On Tuesday, 30+ WIN leaders turned out at the DC Water Ward 8 Town Hall meeting to ask DC Water GM George Hawkins to commit to a pathway to jobs for DC residents. Even more leaders turned up to the Ward 4 Town Hall on Thursday, establishing a strong tone in the lead up to April 22nd.

The water bills of DC residents will contribute $2.6billion to the Clean Rivers Project, and want a fair shot at the jobs created by the project.  WIN leaders did 1 on 1’s with the 30 or so Ward 8 residents in attendance to educate them about DC Water’s track record of local hiring.   Ward 8 residents were shocked by a recent DC Water report on hiring by contractors that showed there are more residents of North Carolina working on DC Water projects than wards 7 and 8 combined.

Rev. Kelly Wilkins and a team from Covenant Baptist UCC, along with leaders from Paramount Baptist, St. Teresa of Avila, All Souls, Holy Comforter St Cyprian, and other WIN institutions stood up during the Q & A to ask GM Hawkins to commit to hiring DC residents on projects funded by ratepayer money.

On both Tuesday and Thursday, GM Hawkins said he would not commit to the jobs pipeline.

On Thursday, Rabbi Jessica Oleon joined Rev. Wilkins in bringing the jobs pipeline to the floor.  Supported by the crowd of blue shirts behind them, which included leaders from All Souls, Temple Sinai, Mt. Lebanon Baptist Church, Emory UMC, Luther Place, and others from all over the district, Rabbi Oleon and Rev. Wilkins had a spirited back and forth with GM Hawkins in front of over 100 attendees, who applauded the idea of DC Jobs being attached to the stormwater infrastructure construction.

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The budget is now before the DC Council, and it is our job to let each councilmember know that DC voters want a budget that ensures DC is a place where all can afford to live and we invest in youth

See the detailed WIN budget platform here

ACT WITH US

The best way to make sure that the budget reflects these priorities is if thousands of voters – like you – stand together to demand it.

Email the members of the DC Council using the form below, then spread the word by email, facebook and twitter!  Be sure to list your full address and the name of your WIN institution/congregation/nonprofit in the “organization” field!

The post Take Action for a Budget that Invests in Affordable Housing and Supports Young People! appeared first on windc-iaf.org.

WIN leaders have stood up and taken action — letting Councilmember Graham, the Chair of the Human Services Committee, the full scope and urgency of youth homelessness in the district; organizing their congregations with over a dozen issue briefings; and continuing frequent in person meetings with leaders from all across the district in the Wilson Building.

The DC Fiscal Policy Institute has released yet another excellent resource in the fight for jobs, housing, and young people.  The Citizens Guide to the DC Budget can be found at their website, and will help us all prepare for tomorrow’s release of the Mayor’s budget.  There are many complicated processes that, when it all comes down to it, determine whether or not some of us have a roof over our heads or a job to go to.  DCFPI does an excellent job of making these processes clear and will help more leaders join the fight to fund crucial services in the district.

WIN leaders are staying informed and engaged, even as many are absorbed in Holy Week.  We hope this helps many more of us to do the same.

Download DCFPI’s full guide here: http://www.dcfpi.org/a-citizens-guide-to-the-dc-budget

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The article featured three Washington Interfaith Network member organizations Covenant House Washington, Latin American Youth Center, and Sasha Bruce.  In a city with one of the best financial situation and reserves in the country, if not the world.  We know that residents like you want this situation addressed ASAP, and for that to happen, we need to take action.

ACT TODAY!

This Spring elected officials will decide on the DC budget and WIN is organizing thousands of residents to take a stand.  WIN is organizing alongside homeless youth to let District leaders know that no person should be homeless in Washington DC.

Act today by forwarding this email to at least 10 friends, and Share This Link on Facebook or on Twitter, and urging residents to sign the  petition below and get involved in the fight for Housing, Youth, and Jobs in DC.

SIGN UP TO TAKE ACTION!

The post Take Action Today to Address Shelter Shortage for Homeless Youth! appeared first on windc-iaf.org.

They reminded Washington DC that there are far too many homeless youth in the District – by some estimates as many as 3,000 young people per year.  Despite the fact that there are currently fewer than 300 beds provided for homeless youth, funding has recently been cut even further, putting current services at risk.

Let’s stand together with homeless youth to challenge our elected officials to invest an additional $6.1 million in to provide housing, intensive counseling, and educational and career services for 150 youth.

Take action right now and contact your city councilmember, telling them: “EXPAND THE PIE FOR HOMELESS YOUTH.  SUPPORT THE WIN AGENDA.” Send an email to members of the committee:

If you use the email links above, we’ll be able to keep track of the power of our collective voice!

Once you’ve taken action, please ask your friends and neighbors to stand with you!

And if you’re not on our action list yet, sign up here!

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“We could end homelessness; we just need the political will of politicians and the funding to do it.”

Image courtesy of the Washington Post

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In all, WIN secured $12.5 million in repairs over a three-month period in 25 schools—more work our parent leaders noted than had been done in the past 15 years combined.

WIN accountability led to major changes in DCPS facilities operations, a Washington Post article challenging DCPS’ oversight of private contractors doing building repairs, and a pledge from Dr. Vance to add 10 new schools to the WIN/DCPS Facilities Partnership.  During the year, WIN trained 50+ school leaders on broad-based organizing.  This training enabled parents and teachers to organize to secure victories on a variety of issues, including refurbishment of the playground at Ludlow-Taylor ES and securing back pay raises due custodians and other support staff.

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WIN leaders began the year meeting with Mr. Barry at the start of his term, determined to realize something great in Ward 8.  The Barry meeting was followed by a series of neighborhood accountability walks and local actions in Anacostia with Anacostia Bible, St. Teresa of Avila, Our Lady of Perpetual Help and the Ft Stanton Civic Association, in Washington Highlands with Ferebee Hope PTA and Southeast Childrens’ Fund joining Paramount and St. Thomas More, and in Bellevue with Covenant Baptist.

Local action teams have gotten alleys and streets cleaned, stop signs installed and improvements to libraries, neighborhood schools and recreation centers.  These local actions have built the foundation for implementation of WIN’s $100M Neighborhood Investment Fund spending plan in three of the four target neighborhoods in Ward 8.

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