Housing Support for Young Parents in DC

My name is Shaune Smith, and I am a 27-year-old mom of four. I am a member of the Context Team with DC Action advocating on behalf of young parents in the District. I was once a homeless young and parenting teen. I became pregnant at age 17, and I specifically remember all of the obstacles that came with attempting to sustain affordable and long-term housing for myself and my children. The process to even attempt to get into a family shelter was unreasonably difficult. It took all of two years to actually get in the shelter, and it would be an additional two years before I actually received housing through the District’s rapid rehousing program which provides families with only a year of rental assistance. 

As you can imagine, being a new parent and struggling to find housing can take a toll on one’s mental and physical health. It was a struggle to constantly return to Virginia Williams Family Resource Center every day with two newborns. I had little money, and constantly being turned away and ignored made me feel helpless. I did not actually know what resources were available to me at that time. There was limited help and support back in 2016. I had five to six case managers when I was in the shelter, and I constantly had to keep updating the new case managers on my situation. This constant turnover made it hard to actually get matched with stable housing.

It seems to be even worse now. I am still witnessing young people or parents in 2025 struggle to sustain affordable and long term housing for their families. It’s been nine years and feels like nothing has evolved. I would like to see more programs specifically for young parents under the age of 25 since they make up about 15% of births here in the District each year. The District should expand access to resources that are designed specifically to meet the needs of young parents and provide additional support if needed when trying to overcome these obstacles here in the District.

It is important that the District supports all young families’ ability to thrive through access to comprehensive and supportive services.