Current News in the Affordable Housing Community 

February has been a busy and challenging month for many in the affordable housing community. Since January 20th, the new administration has issued several Executive Orders that threaten the funding of important housing and homelessness programs. Although a judge blocked the Executive Order to freeze all federal funding, the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has delayed the disbursement of grant funds to many organizations. If this delay in HUD funding continues, providers like Housing Up will face extreme difficulty serving their communities. Last week, the new administration proposed massive cuts in staffing at HUD, which will likely exacerbate these delays.

In addition to the federal funding freeze and drastic cuts to the federal workforce, the administration has made it clear that the rights of people of color, the LGBTQ+ community, and undocumented individuals are also under threat. While there is still uncertainty about the future, one thing is certain: we remain committed to our core mission and values. Housing is a basic human right and all people deserve to have a secure and permanent place to call home. We pledge to continue to provide safe and affordable housing to all families in the District regardless of their race, gender identity, sexuality, or citizenship status. We urge you to stay informed and take action by reaching out to your congress members and advocating for issues that matter to you. While these times are uncertain, together we can continue to fight until all DC families have access to safe and affordable housing.

Black History Month 

Throughout Black History Month, Housing Up celebrated the achievements, culture, and history of the Black community. On social media, we launched two new weekly series: Black Housing Heroes and Black History Month Culture Spotlights. Our Black Housing Heroes series paid tribute to the Black activists that have worked tirelessly to advocate for fair and affordable housing, like Robert C. Weaver, Lisa Rice and more. Our Black History Month Culture Spotlights series highlighted podcasts, books, movies, TV shows, and local Black-owned businesses that reflect Black perspectives and culture. Click on the links in the sidebar to see what we featured and visit our Instagram to view the full list.

Our Associate Board members also joined in the celebration by decorating the community bulletin board at our Partner Arms II building. The theme of the Black History Month board focused on wellness, with family games, recipes, and mindfulness techniques. As the month of February comes to a close, Housing Up is here to pay attention to the issues facing the Black community and the incredible achievements of our families year-round.

On The Blog: Federal Investment and Racial Inequality 

This month we published two blog posts addressing critical topics in the affordable housing community. Our first blog post, “Mayors Call for Federal Investment in Housing” examines the National Housing Survey results released in January 2025. This survey recorded the responses of mayors in 120 cities throughout 43 states, representing 34,921,066 Americans. Mayors unanimously agreed that the housing crisis is “severe, widespread, and worsening”. Cities and states cannot face the housing crisis alone and investment from the federal government is critical. You can check out the full blog here.

We also posted a blog post, “Racism and Homelessness”, where we investigate how racial inequality shapes socioeconomic, historical, and political factors that lead to the disproportionate overrepresentation of people of color in the homeless population. The relationship between racism and homelessness is complex and deeply entrenched in historical housing discrimination and systemic racism. As we work to accomplish our goal of ending family homelessness in DC, we recognize that prioritizing families of color is critical to this mission. Read more, here.