A group of activists milled about outside the Wilson Building this morning urging elected officials to raise funding for the District's social safety-net programs in the coming budget for fiscal year 2013. more ›

Morning D.C. Now isn't this weather better than yesterday? The Nats are scheduled to play a double header, a great day for two games. It might be a bit windy today, but this is certainly the kind of weekend spring day we've been waiting for. more ›

Yesterday, the National Alliance to End Homelessness released its annual report on the State of Homelessness in America -- and the news for the District and the country as a whole is not good. According to the study, D.C. joined 31 states which experienced an increase in its overall homeless population. Meanwhile, the homeless population in the United States rose by 20,000 people between 2008 and 2009, a three percent increase. more ›

Families Forward Inc., the contractor in charge of running the city's largest shelter for homeless families, is getting the boot, Jason Cherkis reports over at City Desk.

Ward 6 Councilmember Tommy Wells tells City Desk that Families Forward Inc. will lose their contract by month's end to operate the shelter, which is located on the D.C. General campus. more ›

Now that hypothermia season has truly hit the city, District homeless shelters are starting to feel the shock of the Fenty administration's $12 million cut to homeless services. more ›

Public Enemy came to D.C. Wednesday on a mission–not to fight the power, but rather to use the band's influence to fight youth homelessness in the District and the rest of the country. The evening began at the Sasha Bruce House, where Chuck D, Flavor Flav and the rest of the iconic hip-hop group toured the facility and hosted a pre-Thanksgiving dinner for more than 30 homeless youths. more ›

City Desk recently ran an item about how Street Sense, D.C.'s homeless newspaper, was one of the only local publications thriving during the recession. As a volunteer member of the board of directors of Street Sense, the piece made me cringe just a little bit, even though I get what reporter Chris Lewis was trying to say: more and more people are turning to jobs selling the paper, so circulation is up. But make no mistake, this has been an incredibly shaky year financially for Street Sense, just like every other non-profit in town. Grants and donations are down across the board, and the board has had to make difficult choices to keep the organization, which employs almost 100 area homeless men and women, afloat. more ›

If you're a regular customer of Street Sense, D.C.'s only homeless newspaper, but have been frustrated over the years with its lackluster online offerings, be sure to check out the paper's recently redesigned web site, StreetSense.org. (Full disclosure: I'm a volunteer member of the board of directors of Street Sense, and consulted just a little bit on the design process of this site). more ›