Affordable Housing and Ending Homelessness Campaign
DC has seen double-digit spikes in homelessness in the past few years. The majority of that increase has effected families with children. Adding insult to injury, the District has been placing many of these families in the DC General Family Shelter, a dilapidated, dangerous complex located on the same property as the District’s jail, morgue, and methadone clinic.
A group of ward 3 residents has come together to show their support for the construction of temporary housing in their ward as Ward3forALL. To learn more about the group visit the website.
To learn more about WIN’s campaign to end homelessness click here.
~~
As our communities continue to suffer from a lack of affordable housing, our land, city budgets, and legal policies must do everything they can to promote affordability. Over 7,000 people are homeless in DC. One in five DC households pay more than half their income in rent, many of them are our seniors. Homeownership, which would prevent displacement and help develop equity, is out of reach for most low and moderate income households.
WIN is organizing for investment in the programs that allow DC to maintain economic diversity: affordable rental for young families and seniors, preservation of public and subsidized housing, affordable home ownership, which is the best way to build equity and fight displacement, and Permanent Supportive Housing, that provides services and housing for our currently homeless neighbors. Read more about creating and sustaining affordable housing in DC at the Coalition for Non-Profit Housing and Economic Development website. In 2015, the District also broke ground on North Capitol Commons, 124 units of affordable housing with 60 units of Permanent Supportive Housing for formerly homeless veterans. WIN had fought for and helped win the land transfer that made this possible.
WIN has three goals in our fight for affordable housing, click here to learn what they are.
Jobs Campaign
WIN is organizing for green jobs. Over the next 12 years, DC Water will spend $2.7 billion upgrading DC’s inadequate stormwater infrastructure to pollution and the sewer system overflows. This project will be financed primarily through fees on the water bills of DC residents. WIN is organizing a citywide coalition of environmentalists, job-seekers and ratepayers to demand that this massive investment of public money deliver multiple benefits for the city including: clean water, living wage work and more green spaces.
We are also organizing to include local hiring and wage standards in the enabling legislation and financing mechanisms for large infrastructure projects in the District of Columbia, including the 1 billon dollar Pepco project for the undergrounding of wires, and the 2 billion dollar DC Water Stormwater Runoff project. Over 64,000 D.C. adults (18 and over) lack a high school diploma or its equivalency. WIN is organizing for the continued expansion of funding through OSSE ($6.5 million) for high performing adult education programs.
Immigrant/Refugee/Muslim Campaign
We have been involved in listening sessions with directly impacted communities since February 2017. If you are interested in hosting a listening session, or getting involved as we move forward, please contact on of our organizers.
Community Safety
Our community safety team has also been involved in listening session since early 2017. If you are interested in hosting a listening session, or getting involved as we move forward, please contact on of our organizers.