“My personal experience with housing is being evicted at a very young age and having to experience that at a very small child and not knowing what being evicted meant at that age and being on the streets for 2 days when I was 8.”

Affordable housing remains a significant barrier to youth in D.C. DC residents in rent-controlled buildings are facing exorbitantly high rent increases up to 8.9 %, the highest increase in the history of the District’s rent control statute. Displacement and development are pushing people out of the city and/or into unsafe and unlivable conditions. About 90% of people in public housing — much of which is in poor condition — and 85% of individuals experiencing homelessness in the District are Black. DC has disinvested from public housing in favor of landlords. This creates a dynamic in which landlords are able to get by with using cheap materials in their newly built units and fail to complete repairs in a timely manner. In 2018 almost a 1/3 of the DC’s public housing units were nearly uninhabitable due to lead-paint hazards, out-of-code electrical systems, structural issues, water damage, mold and rodent infestations. Clean and safe housing is essential to the success of young people. Black youth and families deserve a safe and clean place to live, thrive, and survive.

Our Goals

1. Increase access to affordable quality housing and ensure units are available for larger families

2. Expand funding and access to utility assistance

3. Require new affordable housing developments to use quality materials

4. Timely/quality repairs for public housing and low-income housing

5. Offer financial education courses in K-12th grade curriculum

“I can also tell you that the bathrooms at my school are always dirty, there’s never toilet paper or soap in the bathrooms, and the sinks where we should be washing our hands just do not work.”

Black and Brown youth in DC are more likely to be subjected to poor school conditions, yet, they remain last in line to receive updates and modernization. The majority of Department of General Services open work orders for DCPS are in Wards 4, 5, 7 & 8, where many schools have high populations of students of color and less affluent students. Even for schools that are receiving these modernizations, DGS is not managing the upkeep in a way that will allow these modernization efforts to last. Youth express a desire for a safe and comfortable learning environment for them to be at their best academically &, at a minimum, that requires schools that are clean and fixed. It takes the Department of General Services on average 55 days to complete work orders. Over 60% of high-priority work orders – which are issues that present a potential health or safety risk – are not completed within the mandatory 10 days. The level of cleanliness and hygiene in schools sends a message to students that their comfort and safety is not being prioritized. A dirty, neglected environment can cause stress levels to increase, and therefore negatively impact concentration and educational success. Access to personal hygiene products continues to be an unmet need for students. Young people named that some schools have transitioned to having vending machines with tampons and pads in them, however they are not free. Instead students have to pay 50-75 cents to access these products. These products in addition to other hygiene products should be available, as needed, to all students.

our Goals:

1. More funding and training for Deep cleaning

2. More funding for and timely Repairs in schools

3. Expand funding to better support young people with emergency needs like cleaning products, toiletries, food, or clothes.

4. Personal hygiene vending machines at community schools

5. Install water bottle fillers

“At school, there are multiple lockdowns and violence alerts. Sometimes, we go into lockdowns when school drama escalates to violence inside and outside of the school. Other times, we go into lockdowns in response to violence that is happening near the school even when it’s unrelated to school drama.”

Youth deserve to experience true safety. In 2020 & 2021, 7.4 % of D.C. youth were victims of, or witnessed, violence in their immediate neighborhoods. 36 % of students replied that they felt uncomfortable or in danger while traveling to school. We can’t say we are caring for youth until we make schools and communities a safe place for them. In 2021, nearly 80 % of D.C. residents lived within a half mile of a homicide & about 2/3 of D.C. residents lived within a half mile of multiple homicides. This means supporting their growth, learning, and development. This can happen by identifying & supporting non- carceral approaches to care, healing, validating & addressing youth’s experiences with violence.

OUR GOALS:

• Free and Quality Rehabilitation programs

• Increase # of violence interrupters involved in safe passage and supporting are communities in and around schools.

• Fund free shuttles from/to schools to designated areas in community (or individual homes)

• Fund community- led training's to strengthen our community’s skills and capacity around mediation, conflict resolution, De-escalation techniques, and healthy coping mechanisms

• 24 hour access to spaces in the community; including recreation centers

• Increase support for OST programming that provides safe spaces for Black youth