Residents gather outside Foundry United Methodist Church March 5 to advocate for more affordable housing in D.C. (Photo by Shantella Y. Sherman )
The atmosphere at Foundry United Methodist Church was charged with excitement. Mayor Muriel Bowser, D.C. Council Housing and Community Development Committee Chair Anita Bonds, and Councilmember Elissa Silverman, joined roughly 500 residents to announce continued efforts to secure existing and increase the number of affordable housing units in the city.
At times the gathering took on the call and response style of an old Baptist church service. “We now have to make sure that we’re doing all that we can where the government can make a difference,” Bowser said at the event on March 5.”There’s no mayor, there’s no government that can reverse housing prices. But what we can do is make sure that the city is involved in supporting subsidized units and preserving housing and ending homelessness. And that’s what our focus is.”
Bowser, aware of the criticism she has faced in trying to ending homelessness, asked residents to consider the dilemma faced by the city. She mentioned the competing realities of trying to halt the loss of reasonably-priced housing, as 30-year-covenants between the city and building owners end and developers hoping to capitalize on the influx of single, childless professionals with high, disposable incomes, rush in.
“We are absolutely working to ensure that even as we add new affordable housing units to the city, we do not lose the ones we currently have. Many of you have been in the city for 5 days, 5 months, 5 years, while there are many more who have been here, like myself, who have been here for 5 generations,” Bowser said. “And what we need to realize is that no matter the length of time you have been here, D.C. is your home.”
Bowser talked about upcoming legislation that incorporates both social services and better employment opportunities to housing production.
The Coalition for Nonprofit Housing and Economic Development, who organized the event, was joined by members of Union Local 25 to support the city’s initiatives. Local 25 members and Ward 8 residents Juanita King and Patricia Samuels cheered Bowser and Bonds and said understanding how employment and housing are intertwined is the first step to ending chronic homelessness.
“Mayor Bowser shadowed me for a day on my job at the Marriott Marquis – from the time I got up in the morning, she took public transportation with me, and stayed with me the entire day and on the journey home,” King told the AFRO. “It helped her understand how three things: housing, public transportation, and a livable wage, operate in tandem to keep residents safe, secure, and happy. If even one of these is functioning poorly – say the Metro is experiencing delays or my building has a rodent issue – the other areas are compromised.”