As we close out the first month of 2023, we’re taking a moment to share some reflections with you. Before we dive fully into our work to influence Mayor Bowers's upcoming budget, we wanted to ground ourselves in both our past wins and the ongoing urgency of our work to end chronic homelessness.  

We have made huge progress

Since our founding in early 2014 and due to our collective advocacy, DC has: 

• Added over 6,000 units of housing with supportive services for individuals experiencing chronic homelessness and hundreds of units of housing with supports for families, 
• Created and funded a comprehensive, DC-Wide homeless street outreach network,
• Launched an innovative program to prevent homelessness for single adults, 
• Expanded funding to create housing for our lowest income neighbors; and, 
• Built the political and collective will to end chronic homelessness. 

Thanks to the combined power of our 110 partner organizations and nearly 7,000 individual supporters, solving chronic homelessness in DC is within sight. While we have much more work to do to ensure that all our neighbors have the housing they need to thrive, we take pride in all that we have done together. We’re reminded that, when we work together, anything is possible. 

Our work remains urgent 

In late December, we joined with Way Home Campaign Steering Committee partner the People for Fairness Coalition to honor the lives of 72+ of our neighbors who died without housing. One person dying without housing in the capital of the wealthiest country in the world is tragic, 72 is simply unacceptable. Click here to read our takeaways from this powerful vigil and remind yourself why ending chronic homelessness is a matter of life and death.