WASHINGTON — More than 2,000 families are at the end of a year-long subsidized housing program in D.C. They fear they’ll be back on the streets because they can’t afford the city’s high rents on their own. WUSA9 went to District leaders Thursday to get answers about the Rapid Rehousing program.
There’s good news and bad news.
The good news is the Department of Human Services and the DC Housing Authority have teamed up to now offer 1,300 public housing vouchers to families exiting the Rapid Rehousing. The Deputy Mayor of Health and Human Services Wayne Turnage told WUSA9 that DHS caseworkers are helping families with a transition plan and those vouchers should be available to families in the next few weeks. Turnage said in many cases, families may be able to use the vouchers to get into public housing or other HUD-approved properties.
But the bad news is those vouchers still leave about eight hundred families in limbo.
The Rapid Rehousing Program has been around since 2008. It is designed to get formerly unhoused families back on their feet. The city subsidizes your rent for twelve months. The Department of Human Services said case workers offer training and support and a year later families should be able to get a job and pay the rent on their own.
But one D.C. grandmother who emailed us says she left the program, got a job, and is still struggling to pay her monthly rent of $1,500. The Deputy Mayor said there are other rental assistance programs, such as ERAP, to help residents. The grandmother said she’s on a waiting list for those too.
On Tuesday, DC Council passed an emergency bill that would allow families exiting RRH to stay for another six months, but DHS told WUSA9 the agency does not have the money to offer extensions. Mayor Muriel Bowser said some families already received an extension due to COVID.
“I think Council should move permanent legislation. They should not be extending COVID-era exceptions,” said Mayor Bowser. “There were a lot of COVID-era protections that we put in place because it was a public health emergency that no longer exists, and we need to right-size our housing programs.
According to the agency’s own data, 1,422 families have exited Rapid Rehousing since last year. Fifty-four families moved to more affordable housing. Only four stayed in their units with enough money to pay their own rent. Most families relied on city programs to help keep a roof over their heads.
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