Housing Up

07/22/2024

Volunteer to be a part of our youth tutoring program! Housing Up’s youth tutoring program provides on-site homework assistance and supplemental support through journal writing, reading comprehension activities, mathematical review, and experiential learning. Over the past three years, we've held over 1,500 hours of virtual and in-person volunteering, including 660 hours of tutoring. Because of these educational resources, 4 high school senior students from our affordable housing communities were college bound in 2023. Join us and volunteer to be a part of our youth tutoring program: housingup.org/volunteer.

Help families and transform lives. Housing Up believes that service has the power to transform the lives of our staff [...]Read More...

07/19/2024

A newly released report from the Children’s Defense Fund highlights the current crisis of youth living in poverty. Children, especially children of color, are still feeling the effects of the pandemic. Read more here:

Comprehensive report from the Children’s Defense Fund shows that even before the COVID-19 pandemic, children were the poorest age group in America, with children of…

07/17/2024

Thank you to our wonderful partner Union City Church DC for helping us with our annual Back-to-School Drive! Volunteers joined Housing Up this past weekend and prepared backpacks with essential supplies for the school year. With their help, we have now filled almost 300 backpacks for the youth in our affordable housing communities. To read more about our partnership with Union City Church and our Back-to-School Drive, click the link: https://housingup.org/our-2024-back-to-school-drive-is-here/

07/15/2024

Are you looking to make an impact in your community? Join us for Living in the City, Housing Up’s most important fundraiser of the year, on October 1, 2024! Support our mission to end family homelessness and create affordable housing in DC. Reserve a ticket or sponsor the event here:

Our annual benefit, Living in the City, will be a celebration of Housing Up's thirty years and the powerful transformations our families have achieved.

07/12/2024

Join a group of like-minded young professionals who support Housing Up’s mission and goals. Build professional skills and grow as leaders in the community through the Housing Up associate board. Come join us! Please email your application to Sarah Jaleel, Senior Manager of Philanthropy and Communications, at [email protected].

07/11/2024

DC rental property management company AIR Communities has settled a lawsuit from the Equal Rights Center (ERC), which accused the company of housing discrimination. The ERC alleged AIR illegally denied housing to voucher holders and used overly broad eviction and criminal history screenings. Read more about this win for affordable housing advocacy:

D.C. Civil Rights Group Settles Tenant Screening Discrimination Case Against Rental Property Management Company FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Press Contact: [email protected] Settlement includes meaningful tenant screening policy reforms, training, and testing at several Northwest D.C. apartmen...

07/10/2024

Help students in the District this school year by donating to our annual Back to School Drive. Students need access to supplies and resources now more than ever to recover from Covid-era decreases in math and reading scores. Make your donation here and provide each of our 1,170 children with a backpack this school year.

[...]Read More...

07/09/2024

High temperatures pose a significant health risk to people experiencing homelessness. Read more here about an outreach worker’s day distributing water and supplies in a DC heatwave:

Schuster’s task on this dangerously hot day is to make sure members of the District’s homeless population, estimated at 5,600, stay cool.

07/09/2024

Do you have a special skill that you’d like to bring to the families we serve this summer? Get involved in our programs at Housing Up! Learn more & sign up to volunteer at housingup.org/volunteer.

Help families and transform lives. Housing Up believes that service has the power to transform the lives of our staff [...]Read More...

07/05/2024

Housing Up is launching its annual Back to School Drive! This initiative provides children in our programs with a backpack full of school supplies and builds a foundation for a successful school year. Last year, thanks to the support of our partners, we were able to assemble and distribute 650 backpacks. With your help, we hope to expand our goal and distribute over 750 backpacks for our 2024 Back to School Drive! Your involvement in this year’s Drive will make a valuable difference in the lives of vulnerable families in Washington, DC. Can the families we serve count on your support? Make your donation here: https://housingup.org/2024-back-to-school-drive-donation/

07/03/2024

The Covid-19 pandemic shifted the process of learning and led to DC students experiencing a decrease in reading and math levels. Progress is beginning to be made to get students back to pre-pandemic levels of math and english proficiency. Read more here about the impact of the pandemic on childhood education:

DC students' winter 23-24 test scores on nationally normed assessments show signs of learning acceleration in math and reading, achieving more than typical year's worth of growth on average. However, there are still large performance gaps compared to pre-COVID norms. K-2 students are on pace to retu

07/03/2024

Living in the City is happening on Tuesday, 10/1 at 6pm! We’re so excited for an evening of inspiration, fun, and connection as we celebrate our community and hear the stories of the families we serve. Living in the City is our most important fundraising event of the year. Proceeds from the event directly support our families; not a cent is spent on event expenses or overhead. Reserve your ticket or sponsor the event today! housingup.org/litc

06/28/2024

According to the DC’s annual Point-in-Time count, a count of people experiencing homelessness on a given night in January, family homelessness rose 39% in the last year across the District. Though family homelessness is still below pre-pandemic levels, the increase is staggering. More here:

Homelessness is up 14% compared to 2023, according to an annual count that took place in January.

06/26/2024

The Supreme Court case Grants Pass v. Johnson, that could criminalize sleeping outside, could also disproportionately impact homeless LGBTQ+ individuals. LGBTQ+ youth and adults are 120% more at-risk than their straight counterparts for homelessness. Read more:

Groups warn the Supreme Court that LGBTQ youth make up 65 percent of the chronically houseless youth population.

06/24/2024

Bayard Rustin was a prominent gay civil rights activist who helped organize the 1963 March on Washington. He was often asked to do work behind-the-scenes or left out of the movement due to his visibility as a gay man. Rustin advocated for the rights of LGBTQ+ individuals, later testifying in support of New York City’s gay rights bill. Read more about him

Bayard Rustin was a brilliant strategist, pacifist, and forward-thinking civil rights activist during the middle of the 20th century.

06/18/2024

This we are highlighting LGBTQ+ activist and organizer Barbara Gittings. Barbara was a le***an activist who worked closely with Frank Kameny while protesting job discrimination against LGBTQ+ people in government positions. She worked to include and promote literature about gay people in libraries, and she was vocal against homosexuality being classified as a mental illness.

This month, PPI celebrates Pride. Pride is about people embracing who they are and coming together to show how far gay rights have come. Although awareness and support for the community continue to grow, members still face discrimination and mental health struggles. During June, we want to educate a...

06/17/2024

In 2019, a group of DC-area elected leaders said the region needed to build at least 320,000 housing units in the next decade to accommodate the region’s growth. More than a third of the way through the decade, the region is falling behind the pace needed to meet this target – 87 units per day.

Most cities and counties in the D.C. area aren’t on track to build the number of homes regional lawmakers say are needed to keep up with population growth.

06/15/2024

Watch an author interview from the DC History Center about Frank Kameny. We recently highlighted Washingtonian & gay-rights activist Kameny, and this interview “​​Gay is Good: Frank Kameny and the Fight for LGBTQ+ Rights” discusses more about his life and work from author Eric Cervini.

On April 22, 2021 historian Eric Cervini, author of "The Deviant's War: The Homosexual vs. the United States of America," joined Washington History managing ...

06/13/2024

Frank Kameny was a Washington, DC native who championed LGBTQ+ rights in the District and beyond. Frank was working during the Lavender Scare, a period of time from the 1940s to 1960s where government employees were discriminated against & fired from federal service for being or suspected of being LGBTQ+. Frank was a victim of this discrimination and was fired from his position as an astronomer with the Army Map Service. He worked to decriminalize homosexuality in the law and founded the LGBTQ+ rights group, the Mattachine Society. Read more about him here: https://www.dol.gov/general/aboutdol/hallofhonor/2016_kameny

06/10/2024

Happy Pride Month from Housing Up! Follow along for content & to learn more about the LGBTQ+ community in DC and beyond.

05/24/2024

A newly released report from School House Connection shows that DC leads in infant and toddler homelessness. Read the full report here

05/20/2024

The work of our volunteers is vital to helping the families in our programs thrive. Learn about the work our volunteers do here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n1b6EJZx2EM and visit housingup.org/volunteer to join us.

Help families and transform lives. Housing Up believes that service has the power to transform the lives of our staff [...]Read More...

05/17/2024

Thank you to everyone who has donated to our Spring Fundraising Campaign! If you haven’t already, there’s still time to make a contribution to support families like Asia’s break the generational curse of poverty. Read her story and donate:

Your Support Will Help Families Like Asia’s Continue to Blossom. Make Your Donation Today.   Over the past three decades, [...]Read More...

05/16/2024

Our Spring Fundraising Campaign is here, and we want to celebrate moms all month long. Housing Up client Asia and her daughter recently moved from a one- to two-bedroom apartment in one of our affordable housing communities, giving mom - Asia - the chance to have her own room again. Read Asia’s thoughts on motherhood & make a donation:

Your Support Will Help Families Like Asia’s Continue to Blossom. Make Your Donation Today.   Over the past three decades, [...]Read More...

05/15/2024

When asked what affordable housing means to her, Housing Up client Asia paused before getting emotional. She described it as giving her the chance to “break the generational curse of poverty.” Read her story here & consider contributing to our Spring Fundraising Campaign today:

Your Support Will Help Families Like Asia’s Continue to Blossom. Make Your Donation Today.   Over the past three decades, [...]Read More...

05/14/2024

Our Spring Fundraising Campaign is here! Meet Asia and her daughter Ayesha, long-time residents of one of Housing Up's affordable housing communities. With the support of donations like yours, they continue to thrive. Read their story here and consider a donation today:

Your Support Will Help Families Like Asia’s Continue to Blossom. Make Your Donation Today.   Over the past three decades, [...]Read More...

05/12/2024

Happy Mother’s Day from all of us at Housing Up!

05/10/2024

Join a group of like-minded young professionals who support Housing Up’s mission and goals. Build professional skills and grow as leaders in the community through the Housing Up associate board. Come join us! Please email your application to Sarah Jaleel at [email protected]: https://housingup.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/2023-2024-AB-Application.pdf?blm_aid=0