May 2018

SURVIVING DC: THE HOUSING CRISIS

2 DCCADV

AboutDC Coalition Against Domestic Violence

The District of Columbia’s Domestic Violence Coalition (DCCADV) is the

federally-recognized statewide coalition of domestic violence programs,

organizations, and individuals organized to ensure the elimination of

domestic violence in the District of Columbia. We are a resource for

the thousands of adults and children experiencing domestic violence

in the District each year, as well as the local organizations that serve

them. Our work applies a framework for identifying social, economic, cultural, political,

and legal factors that have critical implications for those affected by violence, oppression,

subordination, and discrimination. We leverage our expertise to expand community

activism, deepen community awareness surrounding poverty caused by domestic violence,

and address systems gaps by promoting sound and effective public policy initiatives.

� ABOUT THE AUTHOR LaToya Young, Housing Systems Coordinator, DC Coalition Against Domestic Violence

With over 12 years of experience, Ms. Young provides technical assistance, training, and support to local and national project partners and community based organizations navigating housing and supporting survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault. Ms. Young is also a consultant with the National Alliance for Safe Housing and has presented nationally on her innovative work. She is proud native Washingtonian and works from a passion and purpose to help others.

This report was produced by the DC Coalition Against Domestic Violence under grant 2018-DCCADV-01, awarded by the Office of Victim Services and Justice Grants, Executive Office of the Mayor, District of Columbia. The opinions, findings and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this report are those of the contributors and do not necessarily represent the official position or policies of the Executive Office of the Mayor.

� SPECIAL THANKS

This report would not have been possible without support from Coalition staff: Karma Cottman, Leanne Brotsky, Dawn Dalton, Andrea Gleaves, Liz Odongo, Tina Terranova, and LaToya Young.

SURVIVING DC: THE HOUSING CRISIS 3

Introductione must remember that housing is a human right, not a privilege. Each of us is just a series of unfortunate events away from being housing insecure or homeless. Homelessness happens

because of a combination of factors, including: family breakdown, abuse, trauma, income, loss of employment, disability, addictions, illness, age, poverty, and nearly impossible to find affordable housing in DC. Housing affects and intersects with education, public health, equity, economic justice, inclusive communities, and other social justice issues.

Safe housing is a critical issue for victims of domestic violence and sexual assault. The lack of safe and affordable housing is often reported as the primary barrier survivors of domestic violence face when they choose to leave an abusive partner.1

Providing safe housing for survivors of domestic violence in DC who are fleeing an abusive relationship is a critical component of the domestic violence service safety net. Securing safe housing comes with significant challenges and requires creative and flexible solutions; it is far from easy. The goal of this paper is to outline the realities that survivors face when fleeing an abusive relationship and the importance of the domestic violence housing continuum in DC. The DC Coalition Against Domestic Violence (DCCADV, the Coalition) continuously works with our member programs to enhance the District’s response to the overwhelming demand for safe housing for survivors of domestic violence.

he link between domestic violence and homelessness is not unique to the District.

In fact, domestic violence is a leading cause of homelessness nationally.

Twenty-eight (28%) percent of cities cited do-mestic violence as the number one cause of homelessness among families with children.2 For survivors, housing is a primary consideration in their decision-making process when determining whether to leave an abusive partner or attempt to survive an abusive relationship. Many domestic vio-lence survivors have no place to turn when they flee their abuser and often lack the necessary financial resources and social supports to help them separate from the abuser safely. Escaping an abusive person may mean losing housing or being unable to sustain housing if the abuser leaves. Both homelessness and

domestic violence victimization put individuals at a higher risk for further victimization.

Survivors of domestic violence face unique barriers in accessing housing. First and foremost is their safety. The lethality risk that a domestic violence victim faces increases exponentially when a victim leaves an abuser, especially if the abuser has access to a gun.3 Thus, survivors who escape must struggle to meet their most basic needs while fearing for their safety. Alternatively, survivors who struggle to maintain their housing are highly vulnerable to re-abuse. Economic abuse is a common tactic abusers use to sabotage a survivor’s ability to secure housing. Abusers can interfere with access to resources, education, finding or maintaining a job, and achieving self-sufficiency overall. As a result of the economic abuse, background checks may imply

Link Between Domestic Violence and Homelessness

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4 DCCADV

a poor rental history, evictions, outstanding debt, or a criminal history. Economic abuse is significant and can have long-lasting and damaging effects on a

n the District, accessing affordable and safe housing is nearly impossible. According to the

U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, people who spend more than 30 percent of their income on housing are officially considered cost-burdened and are eligible for vouchers and other government programs. Yet there is no domestic violence specific housing voucher in the District of Columbia. There is also an increasing demand for flexible housing options for survivors navigating different needs and circumstances. Shortages in affordable housing and housing assistance limit survivors’ housing options and increase their risk of becoming homeless.

The number of survivors of domestic violence reaching out for help continues to steadily increase in the District. Last year, for example, the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) received nearly 36,000 domestic violence-related calls — that’s approximately one call every 15 minutes — representing a 9% increase over 2013. In DC Superior Court, nearly 6,000 petitions for Civil Protection Orders (CPOs) were filed last year, representing a 7% increase over 2016, and a 16% increase since 2013. Nearly 6,000 people sought help at the court’s Domestic Violence Intake Centers, which provide assistance with obtaining CPOs and referrals for emergency shelter, legal services, and counseling; this represents a 2.9% increase over 2014, and a 7.1% increase since 2012.4

Domestic violence is a leading cause of family homelessness in the District. The 2017 Point-in-Time Count of homeless people in DC found that one-in-four homeless families had experienced domestic violence in the past, a higher percentage

survivor’s ability to obtain credit, leading to negative outcomes and housing instability.

Domestic Violence and Homelessness in the District

than those reporting severe mental illness, chronic substance abuse, disability, and chronic health problems combined. Further, 8% of the families said that domestic violence had directly caused their homelessness.

A recent needs assessment report of unaccompanied (single) women, released in January 2018 by the Women’s Taskforce of the DC Interagency Council on Homelessness,5 reports that “Nearly one-third of women in the study indicate that violence is the cause of their homelessness or housing instability. This is nearly three times the rate reported in the 2017 Point-in-Time Count.” DC must find trauma- informed and survivor-centered approaches to addressing this epidemic.

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3times

Nearly one-third of women indicate

that violence is the cause of their homelessness or

housing instability. This is nearly three

times the rate reported in the PIT.

2017 DC Women’s Needs Assessment, The Women’s Task Force of the DC Interagency Council on Homelessness

SURVIVING DC: THE HOUSING CRISIS 5

he District of Columbia has a long history of racial inequality, stemming from decades of

discriminatory policies that denied people of color access to well-paying jobs, higher education, and opportunities to build wealth. This created the reality that DC’s severely cost burdened, extremely low-income renters are overwhelmingly people of color: 91 percent of residents in such households are African-American, and 10 percent are Latino (of any race).6 Nationally, because income disparities tend to be drawn across racial lines, African-American and Hispanic residents also make up much of the extremely low-income (ELI) population: 35 percent of ELI renters are black, and 29 percent are Hispanic.7 In the 2017 Women’s Needs Assessment Report that surveyed unaccompanied (single) women in the DC homeless system, “Black/African-American women made up the largest share of women who are homeless (75%), a rate disproportionate to the DC population where Black women account for only 52% of adult women.”8 We must examine the impact racial inequity has in the District and why it leads to Black and African-American women over-represented in DC’s homeless system.

The intersection of domestic violence, housing, and criminal backgrounds are closely intertwined as many survivors, and in particular survivors of color, are disproportionately impacted by wrongful arrests or arrests that are related to the abuser or the abuse that occurred. Domestic violence survivors also face barriers such as being refused housing, offered less favorable lease terms or conditions, or being evicted because of the violence perpetrated against them.9 A report10 by the Equal Rights Center (ERC) highlights how denying housing based on an applicant’s criminal history compounds discrimination against women, particularly women of color and survivors of domestic violence. Some survivors have criminal records because they were arrested and prosecuted for defending themselves against an abuser or for crimes such as theft or prostitution that they committed due to coercion and threats by an abuser. African-American women are imprisoned at more than twice the rate of white women, and girls of color are detained and adjudicated at higher rates than white girls. The most common infractions that girls are arrested for include running away and truancy — behaviors related to trauma and abuse; only 3% of incarcerated women have been convicted of violent crimes. Enhancing racial and gender equity requires dismantling these intersecting systemic barriers to safe and stable housing.11

The Intersection of Racism, Domestic Violence and Homelessness

T

DC must find trauma-Informed and survivor-centered approaches to addressing this epidemic.

75%75%of homeless

women are Black/African American.

2017 DC Women’s Needs Assessment, The Women’s Task Force of the DC

Interagency Council on Homelessness

6 DCCADV

Local Housing Protections for Survivors of Domestic Violence

n 2006, the DC Council passed landmark legislation protecting victims of domestic violence from

evictions due to domestic violence/intrafamily offenses. Moreover, DC has some of the most comprehensive protections for survivors of domestic violence in the country, and the status of a victim of an intra-family offense is a protected class under the DC Human Rights Act (DCHRA).12 These protections allow victims to terminate their lease early if necessary for their safety, require landlords to take certain actions to improve a tenant’s safety, and prohibit housing discrimination against survivors of domestic violence.13 The law also prohibits landlords from limiting a survivor’s right to call for police or emergency assistance or impose a penalty for doing so.14 The law recognizes the link between domestic violence and homelessness and the way in which survivors housing security is threatened as a result of their victimization.

In 2016, the Fair Criminal Record Screening Act, also known as “Housing Ban the Box,” was introduced and unanimously passed by the DC Council. This statute aims to provide successful reintegration for individuals with a criminal history by removing barriers:

To securing adequate housing accommoda-tions;

To restrict a housing provider’s inquiry into a housing applicant’s pending criminal accusa-tions or prior convictions until after a condition-al offer of housing is made;

To allow a landlord to consider an applicant’s pending criminal accusation or criminal convic-tion only if the conviction occurred during the last 7 years and only with respect to specific crimes;

To ensure criminal record screening policies achieve substantial, legitimate, non-discrim-inatory interests, to establish penalties, and;

To authorize the Office of Human Rights to adjudicate complaints filed under this act.15

DC

HR

A DC has some of the most

comprehensive protections

for survivors of domestic

violence in the country, and the status of

a victim of an intra-family offense is a

protected class under the DC

Human Rights (DCHRA) Act.

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SURVIVING DC: THE HOUSING CRISIS 7

ederal laws under the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) also

provide protections for victims of domestic violence in public housing and federally-funded housing programs. These protections do not cover private housing. The Fair Housing Act (FHA) applies to the majority of housing and prohibits discrimination in housing on the basis of sex.16 Although the statute does not explicitly include victims of domestic violence as a protected class, it does prohibit acts having a disparate impact on women, who are the majority of victims of domestic violence. The Violence Against Women Act of 2005 (VAWA 2005) provides explicit protections for survivors of domestic violence who are tenants and occupants of federal housing programs, such as public housing and the Housing Choice Voucher Program (HCVP) — previously known as Section 8.17 It bars evictions and terminations due to a tenant’s status as a survivor and requires landlords to maintain survivor-tenant confidentiality. It also prohibits a survivor from being denied assistance, tenancy or occupancy rights based on criminal activity related to an act of domestic violence committed against them.18 VAWA provides an exception to the “one strike” rule — which governs evictions from public housing for criminal offenses — for survivors of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking. A public housing authority or HCVP landlord may bifurcate a lease to evict the abuser and allow the survivor to keep their housing.

New housing protections in VAWA 2013 require housing agencies to provide notice of rights under VAWA when:

A person applies for housing;

A person is admitted as a tenant of a housing unit, and;

When a tenant is threatened with eviction or termination of housing benefits.

It also requires agencies to adopt a model transfer plan for tenants who explicitly request a transfer because they have been threatened with imminent harm if they remain in their unit.19

The HUD Final Rule published in November 2016 further protects victims in their housing and homelessness programs and reflects the statutory changes made by VAWA 2013. HUD’s Final Rule highlights the importance of providing and expanding housing protections and rights to victims of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking. This rule better enables housing providers to comply with the mandates of VAWA 2013, and reflects federal policies recognizing that all individuals should be able to live in their homes without fear of violence. By increasing opportunities for everyone to live in safe housing, this will reduce the risk of homelessness and further HUD’s mission of utilizing housing to improve quality of life.20

Federal Housing Protections for Survivors of Domestic Violence

F

New housing protections in VAWA 2013 require housing agencies to provide notice of rights under the Violence Against Women Act. The HUD Final Rule published in Nov. 2016 further protects victims in their housing and homelessness programs and reflects statutory changes.

laws

8 DCCADV

urvivors of domestic violence and their families need comprehensive, holistic

services in order to prevent homelessness or force them to stay in an abusive home. Historically, resources have largely focused on emergency shelter and temporary housing. However, there has been a growing discussion nationwide to expand and broaden what’s available to survivors to include more flexible options.

DC’s domestic violence services must be responsive to the needs of families and provide consistent and ongoing support and advocacy including economic self-sufficiency, continuous safety planning, and access to supportive services desired by survivors. Emerging flexible funding and mobile advocacy models can play a critical role in helping survivors gain access to and maintain permanent housing.

Currently, DCCADV is focused on expanding domestic violence-specific housing options that will allow: an additional 119 individuals or families to access transitional housing; provide domestic violence violence specific shelter for an additional 37 individuals or families; and create a Flexible Funding program that supports survivors by paying for emergency expenses to prevent homelessness and keep them safely housed (i.e. one month’s rent, car repairs to ensure transportation to child care and/or work, emergency medical care, etc.). We are also pursuing a Domestic Violence Housing Choice Voucher specifically for survivors. The existing HCVP Domestic Violence Selection Preference is not being effectively-implemented; we are working with other jurisdictions to learn how they have integrated this as an option for survivors in their communities.

Lastly, ensuring confidentiality for survivors in the domestic violence homeless data system is critical, and federally mandated for organizations receiving

Family Violence Prevention and Services Act (FVPSA) and/or VAWA funding. DCCADV has worked with the domestic violence housing service providers to securely gather service data that complies with confidentiality laws.The DC Domestic Violence Housing Continuum (DVHC) brings together domestic violence housing providers to develop city-wide procedures in response to the housing needs of survivors of domestic violence, which includes a domestic violence specific coordinated entry and assessment process. In order to help facilitate this process, DCCADV and its housing member programs are using the Osnium database which is identified as one of the most secure and consistent systems for managing domestic violence and sexual assault client and case data. The company that developed this database — also used by other statewide domestic violence coalitions and programs — works in close partnership with HUD to offer a compliant report for the HUD Continuum of Care requirements. The database allows for a streamlined reporting process that increases the consistency of the data that is collected and reported across the DVHC. Data collected allows providers to identify barriers survivors are facing regarding shelter, rapid re-housing, and other services, as well as patterns on how survivors move through the system.

A Response to the Housing Needs of Survivors of Domestic Violence

Domestic violence-specific housing

is a necessary resource for

survivors to safely flee abusive

relationships.

S

SURVIVING DC: THE HOUSING CRISIS 9

t is our obligation as a city to offer opportunities, including affordable housing, job-training, and comprehensive services for survivors of domestic violence. Moreover, domestic violence,

homelessness, and their intersection, present a significant challenge to the overall well-being of our community. In order to address this challenge, we must address the safety needs for survivors of domestic violence and mitigate the impact of the abuse. Understanding and appropriately responding to trauma reactions is especially important when helping survivors obtain and sustain housing, as sometimes these responses manifest after initial stability is attained.21 Survivors need a range of services available to them in order to promote housing stability and personal well-being on an as-needed and entirely voluntary basis. Collaborative initiatives within the District’s justice, housing, policy, and human services systems and between the domestic violence community will increasingly serve the crucial social imperative to end violence against women. By partnering, we strengthen our community connections, work together to invest in the community, and find solutions to housing instability for survivors of domestic violence in DC.

Local and Federal Housing Protections for Survivors of Domestic Violence22

DC Law

Housing anti-discrimination, D.C. CODE § 2-1402.21

Right to call police, D.C. CODE § 2-1402.21 Early lease termination. D.C. CODE § 42-

3505.07 Eviction defense, D.C. CODE § 42-3505.01 Lock changes. D.C. CODE § 42-3505.08 Fair Criminal Screening for Housing Act § 21-706

Federal Law

Fair Housing Act, Title VIII of the Civil Rights Act of 1968, as amended, (42 U.S.C. 3601 et seq.)

prohibits discrimination and harassment on the basis of sex in federal housing programs

housing ordinances, policies, and practices in federal housing programs that have a disparate impact on domestic violence survivors may constitute unlawful sex discrimination

Violence Against Women Act (2005 & 2013 Reauthorizations)

provides protections for victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, dating violence, and stalking in federal housing programs

prohibits evictions and terminations based on domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault or stalking

requires landlords to maintain confidentiality of a tenant’s status as a survivor

creates an exception for survivors to the federal “One-Strike Rule” which states that any drug-related and certain other criminal activity by any household member is grounds for eviction

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Conclusion

10 DCCADV

Violence Against Women Act, continued

allows a family with a voucher to move to another jurisdiction to protect the health or safety of a survivor

allows Public Housing Authorities (PHAs) to bifurcate leases, turn the voucher/apartment over to a survivor, and grant emergency transfers

HUD Final Rule of the 2013 Reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act (Published 11/2016)

Implements HUD’s regulations with the requirements of the 2013 reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act, which applies to all victims of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking, regardless of sex, gender identity, or sexual orientation, and which must be applied consistent with all nondiscrimination and fair housing requirements

Expands housing protections to HUD programs beyond HUD’s public housing program and HUD’s tenant-based and project-based Section 8 programs as well as the Housing Trust Fund

Enhanced protections and options for victims of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking. Specifically, this rule amends HUD’s generally applicable regulations, HUD’s regulations for the public housing and Section 8 programs that already pertain to VAWA, and the

regulations of programs newly covered by VAWA 2013

Prohibits termination of assistance or eviction solely on the basis that an individual is a victim of domestic violence, dating violence, stalking or sexual assault and applies to certain housing programs subsidized by HUD

Specifying “sexual assault” as a crime covered by VAWA in HUD-covered programs

Established a definition for “affiliated individual” based on the statutory definition that is usable and workable for HUD-covered programs

Ensures that existing tenants, as well as new tenants, of all HUD-covered programs receive notification of their rights under VAWA and HUD’s VAWA regulations

Established reasonable time periods during which a tenant who is a victim of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, or stalking may establish eligibility to remain in housing, where the tenant’s household is divided due to a VAWA crime, and where the tenant was not the member of the household that previously established eligibility for assistance

Established that housing providers may, but are not required to, request certain documentation from tenants seeking emergency transfers under VAWA. Provided for a six-month transition period to complete an emergency transfer plan and provide emergency transfers, when requested, under the plan

Revised and established new program-specific regulations for implementing VAWA protections in a manner that is workable for each HUD-covered program

Local & Federal Housing Protections for Survivors of DV

SURVIVING DC: THE HOUSING CRISIS 11

1 See NNEDV, “Domestic Violence Counts: 11th Annual Census Report,” https://nnedv.org/content/domestic-violence-counts-11th-annual-census-report/

2 The U.S. Conference of Mayors 2012 Status Report on Hunger & Homelessness, at 26 (Dec. 2012), https://www.acf.hhs.gov/fysb/resource/dv-homelessness-stats-2016

3 Risk Factors for Femicide in Abusive Relationships: Results from a Multisite Case Control Study Jacquelyn C. Campbell, PhD, RN. Available at: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1447915/.

4 See DC Coalition Against Domestic Violence, Domestic Violence in the District of Columbia: 2015 Statistical Snapshot. Available at http://dccadv.org/img/fck/file/Domestic%20Violence%20in%20the%20District%20of%20Columbia%20-%202015.pdf

5 https://actionnetwork.org/user_files/user_files/000/020/452/original/2017_DC_WNA_report_FINAL.pdf

6 See Urban Institute, “The Color of Wealth in the Nation’s Capital” and “A Vision for an Equitable DC”, 2016

7 See https://www.citylab.com/equity/2018/03/for-low-income-renters-the-gap-in-affordable-housing-persists/555458/

8 https://actionnetwork.org/user_files/user_files/000/020/452/original/2017_DC_WNA_report_FINAL.pdf

9 Id. at p.3.

10 See Equals Rights Center, UNLOCKING DISCRIMINATION: A DC Area Testing Investigation About Racial Discrimination and Criminal Records Screening Policies in Housing, https://equalrightscenter.org/wp-content/uploads/unlocking-discrimination-web.pdf

11 See the Equal Rights Center, “Unlocking Discrimination: A DC Area Testing Investigation About Racial Discrimination and Criminal Records Screening Policies in Housing.” October 18, 2016. Available at: https://equalrightscenter.org/wp-content/uploads/unlocking-discrimination-web.pdf.

12 Office of Human Rights. “Protected Traits in DC.” Government of the District of Columbia. Web. https://ohr.dc.gov/protectedtraits

13 D.C. Law 16-273, the “Protection from Discriminatory Eviction for Victims of Domestic Violence Amendment Act of 2006,”was passed by the DC Council in December of 2006 and became effective on March 14, 2007.

14 D.C. Code § 2–1402.21(f)(3).

15 Fair Criminal Record Screening for Housing Act of 2016, B21-706, December 20, 2016. Available at: http://lims.dccouncil.us/Download/35646/B21-0706-Amendment4.pdf.

16 42 U.S.C. §§ 3601 et seq.

17 Violence Against Women Act and Department of Justice Reauthorization Act of 2005, Pub. L. No. 109-162, § 41401, 119 Stat. 2960 (2005).

18 Id.

19 For a summary of the domestic violence protections in VAWA 2013, see the National Law Center on Homelessness & Poverty, “Fact Sheet: Impact of the Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act of 2013 on the Housing Rights of Survivors of Domestic Violence.” Available at https://www.nlchp.org/documents/VAWA_Fact_Sheet.

20 Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act of 2013: Implementation in HUD Housing Programs; 81 Fed. Reg. 80724 (November 16, 2016). Available at: https://portal.hud.gov/hudportal/documents/huddoc?id=5720-F-03VAWAFinRule.pdf.

21 Sullivan, C.M. (2017) Creating Safe Housing Options for Survivors: Learning From and Expanding Research, https://safehousingpartnerships.org/sites/default/files/2017-06/LearningFromResearch-Housing-NRCDV-6-2017.pdf

22 This list, which is not exhaustive, is not intended to constitute legal advice and is for informational purposes only.

For additional

information regarding

housing rights and protections

for survivors of domestic

violence, please contact the

DC Coalition Against

Domestic Violence at

(202) 299-1181 DC

CA

DV

Endnotes

5 Thomas Circle, NW

Washington, DC 20005

tel 202.299.1181

fax 202.299.1193

info@dccadv.org

www.dccadv.org