Testimony originally delivered on February 26, 2026
Chairperson Frumin and members of the Committee, thank you for the opportunity to testify today. My name is Kate Coventry, and I am the Director of Legislative Strategy at the DC Fiscal Policy Institute (DCFPI). DCFPI is a non-profit organization that shapes racially-just tax, budget, and policy decisions by centering Black and brown communities in our research and analysis, community partnerships, and advocacy efforts to advance an antiracist, equitable future.
While the District has made strides in ending homelessness among individuals—particularly improving voucher implementation and launching a second bridge housing program—a lack of resources, underutilized bridge housing, harsh income requirements for assisted living residents, and new roadblocks for obtaining IDs are undermining progress.
Black residents bear the brunt of these problems. Just over 76 percent of unaccompanied adults counted in the District 2025 Point in Time Count were Black. [1] This is the result of the enduring legacies of structural and individualized racism—such as racist zoning and residential segregation, redlining, restrictive covenants, and practices barring federal employment—that for years prohibited Black families from equitably accessing the housing and employment markets.
The Department of Human Services Has Made Great Strides in Voucher Implementation, but Lack of Resources Will Hinder Progress
The Department of Human Services (DHS) housed 1,322 households in fiscal year (FY) 2025, the highest number ever. [2] The agency’s pace in the first quarter of FY 2026 is even higher, with 495 households housed. [3] They also reduced the average length of time that individuals experience homelessness from 279 days in FY 2024 to 250 days in FY 2025. [4] DHS has achieved this progress by implementing housing-focused case management, deploying case management staff to shelters, and focusing on long stayers and the most difficult clients. [5]
But this progress is threatened because of a lack of housing resources. The FY 2026 budget included no new Permanent Supportive Housing (PSH) vouchers for individuals. Additionally, many turnover PSH vouchers (i.e., those available due to churn) were not able to be used for new individuals in need because DHS improperly budgeted them, requiring those savings to be folded into existing voucher costs to account for growing rents. The Committee should push for new PSH resources in the FY 2027 budget and ensure that all current vouchers are properly budgeted so that new individuals can access them.
The Council Should Urge DHS to Make It Easier for Unhoused Residents to Obtain Identification
A photo ID is required to access public benefits and to apply for most jobs and apartment leases. [6] In order to obtain this ID, an individual needs to prove their identity and that they are a District resident. Residents experiencing homelessness often struggle to prove residency because they do not have a lease or bill that confirms their address. These residents can instead obtain a social service proof of residency form in which a homeless services provider confirms their homelessness and their DC residency.
Prior to this year, individuals could obtain this form from more than 30 providers. [7] DHS has now reduced the number to three adult day centers, four youth drop-in centers, and four outreach providers [8] Two of the three adult day centers are located in men’s shelters, and some women experiencing homelessness have reported they do not feel comfortable going to these locations. [9] The outreach providers are often on the street serving their own clients and generally do not have forms at their agency’s service location(s). [10] Individuals have reported that despite making trips to multiple providers, they have been unable to secure the form.[11]
DHS should monitor the current form distribution to make sure each agency has a sufficient supply and should add providers, particularly providers that serve women. As part of this process, they should hold surveys, focus groups, or interviews with clients experiencing homelessness to gather feedback on how the new process is working and, if needed, ways to improve the process.
The Council Should Urge the Mayor to Expand Capacity at the Aston
The Aston provides a safe, dignified, short-term bridge housing solution for individuals and adult families as they work toward permanent housing. While the building can accommodate 190 individuals, the Aston’s current capacity is capped at 100 because of an agreement with the building’s neighbors. The Council should urge the mayor to expand the capacity to the maximum number.
The District, like many other jurisdictions, has primarily provided congregate shelter for individuals experiencing homelessness. While the District has recently built new shelters and rehabilitated existing shelters, many of these congregate shelters are in older, large buildings that have been repurposed as shelter. Residents generally sleep on bunk beds. The spaces are often loud, dirty, and chaotic. There is very little privacy. Many report in Interagency Council on Homelessness meetings that they do not feel safe in shelter. These conditions lead many individuals to sleep outside rather than going into shelter.
The Aston addresses these issues as well as a longstanding issue highlighted in Homeward DC 2.0, the District’s Strategic Plan to End Homelessness: the need for co-ed shelter capacity to ensure that mixed gender adult households—such as adult siblings, a parent and adult child, and domestic partners—can access shelter together.[12] Currently, all but two year-round shelters are single sex. The Aston also serves clients with self-managed but chronic conditions that benefit from privacy and space. And finally, the Aston targets those who have been avoiding congregate shelters and are living outside.
Expanding capacity at the Aston can help serve more clients with these needs as well as address the ongoing shortages of shelter beds for individuals during non-hypothermic weather when individuals do not have the right to shelter. A lack of beds will give individuals no choice but to sleep outside during a time when the District is regularly clearing encampments and President Trump has tasked the National Park Service to clear encampment on their land. As DC is facing significant spending pressures over the next few years, with revenues expected to grow more slowly due to cuts in the federal workforce while the costs of many programs will increase because of inflationary pressures and growing human needs, expanding the Aston is likely more cost-effective than procuring a new shelter. I also urge the Committee to examine whether the Aston’s per person per month cost of $2,885 is so much more than the cost at 25 E Street, another bridge housing site that costs just $2,064, because of the reduced capacity.[13]
The Council Should Urge the Mayor to Implement Personal Needs Allowance
Some unhoused DC residents are rejecting assisted living because of harsh income rules that leave them unable to afford basic items and compromise their quality of life. DC residents who use Medicaid coverage to pay for assisted living must contribute all their monthly income towards the cost of this care, except for a small personal needs allowance (PNA) of $138.[14] This PNA is intended to cover personal expenses not provided by the facility, such as cell phone bills, toiletries, and prescription copays. But the amount is so inadequate that it forces these assisted living residents to go without necessities and leads some individuals to reject assisted living altogether.[15] Black DC residents, who are insured through Medicaid at much higher rates and more likely to experience chronic homelessness than residents of other races because of systemic racism, are disproportionately at risk of being harmed by the PNA policy.[16]
Some individuals experiencing homelessness or receiving housing and services through the District’s PSH programs, especially seniors, have needs that providers are not meeting, such as help with bathing and dressing.[17] Assisted living facilities are an alternative option to get housing and deeper levels of care. But many facilities will not accept clients who have experienced homelessness and/or have behavioral health conditions.[18] Some facilities have regulations that explicitly exclude individuals with substance use disorders or mental health conditions. Others may deny access because of bias or unwillingness to prescribe or manage medications for behavioral health issues and substance use disorders.[19]
To address this need, the District helped fund the city’s first assisted living/PSH facility, Abrams Hall, for people experiencing chronic homelessness or in need of more services than their homelessness program can provide. The program offers all of the services provided by traditional assisted living program including meals, medication management, laundry, and house cleaning. But it also provides a PSH case manager to help connect residents with resources and trouble shoot problems that could lead to eviction.
When it opened in September 2022, Abrams Hall could only fill 22 of its 54 units with individuals who had experienced homelessness.[20] By May of 2025, only 9 of the 54 units were occupied by these individuals.[21] Due to low participation, DC made the remaining units available to seniors with low incomes who have not experienced homelessness.
PSH residents reported they would stay in their current placement and unhoused residents reported they would wait for a PSH placement since PSH only requires residents to contribute 30 percent of their income towards rent and utilities.[22] For example, a PSH resident may receive Supplemental Security Income, which is a benefit for those with limited income and assets who are also over 65 or have a qualifying disability.[23] The maximum monthly benefit is $994.[24] An individual enrolled in PSH would pay $290 in rent and retain $677 for their monthly expenses—or about four times more than what they could maintain under the PNA at Abrams Hall.
Residents who stay in PSH rather than moving into assisted living are likely to face difficulties moving forward, as PSH does not offer the intensity and types of services provided by assisted living. For those who are unhoused, they may wait years for a PSH voucher. There are no PSH vouchers for individuals in the FY 2026 budget. By increasing the PNA, the Council will help individuals end their homelessness more quickly and receive the services they need.
Recognizing the harm of the PNA policy, the DC Council added a provision in the FY 2026 budget that directed a portion of FY 2025 revenue growth to increase the PNA to $300 as long as the additional revenues exceed actual expenditures, as estimated by the Chief Financial Officer (CFO).[25] In December, the CFO certified the additional revenue was available, but District leaders are now considering whether to implement this increase.[26], [27] DCFPI urges the Committee to support this increase and to encourage the mayor to implement it as soon as possible.
Thank you for the opportunity to testify, and I am happy to answer any questions.
