The Housing Production Trust Fund’s report was the first filed by Mayor Muriel E. Bowser’s administration in seven years. What makes this even more alarming is that this was stated as a priority of that mayoral administration. The numbers look even worse.
By law 50% of the HPTF’s funds should go toward low-income housing projects. However, according to the report, just 19% of funds went to this purpose. So where is the money going?
Washington D.C’s mayoral administration has been accused of mismanaging the funds in the past. From missing reports on spending to appropriating spending to residents of higher income brackets, the city is neglecting its low-income residents.
This governmental neglect is alarming considering that in Washington D.C. 27.7% of Black people live in poverty according to the DC Fiscal Policy Institute in 2021. Our people deserve housing and Washington D.C’s housing issues illustrates an important lesson.
We cannot rely on the system to invest in us. The system simply can’t be trusted to do that. Instead, we have to rely on community aid and each other to create and share the resources that we need.