April 30, 2026
Good morning Chairperson Frumin and members of the Committee on Human Services. My name is Jorge Membreño (he/him), and I am the Director of Youth Advocacy at DC Action. I am testifying today on behalf of our Youth Economic Justice Coalition, as a practicing mental health clinician, and as someone who has directly managed transitional housing, extended transitional housing, and rapid rehousing programs.
I want to focus my testimony on the very necessary clinical role that youth housing programs play in stabilizing young people and what happens when those interventions are reduced or cut altogether.
As a quick trauma science lesson: after repeated trauma, the brain shifts into a chronic survival state, with the amygdala (fight or flight center) becoming overactive while the prefrontal cortex, which is responsible for decision-making and impulse control, becomes less effective. At the same time, the hippocampus, which helps process memory and distinguish past from present, can become impaired, leading to heightened fear responses, difficulty regulating emotions, and a constant sense of threat even in safe environments.
The Mayor’s proposed budget is directly leading to repeated trauma. It includes a $2.5 million reduction across the youth homelessness continuum, including cuts to front door services, transitional housing, and most significantly, a 35% reduction to Extended Transitional Housing. These programs function as a coordinated continuum of care, with each intervention designed to meet different clinical, developmental, and basic human needs.
Front door services are where engagement begins. Outreach teams, drop-in centers, and shelters are not just access points to the larger system, they are therapeutic entryways. Case managers build trust with young people who often have long histories of system involvement, trauma, and institutional mistrust. They assess needs and connect youth to the appropriate level of care and housing intervention.
Transitional housing provides the next level of support: stable, rent-free housing combined with case management. Clinically, this is where stabilization begins. Many young people entering these programs are experiencing symptoms of trauma like difficulty regulating emotions, impaired decision-making, anxiety, and depression. A stable living environment allows the nervous system to begin to regulate, making it possible for young people to engage in goal-setting, employment, and mental health support. For many of them it’s also the first time they are unpacking their belongings and their feelings.
Extended Transitional Housing serves youth with the highest level of need. These are young people whose mental health challenges, such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), major depressive disorder (MDD), and chronic anxiety are significant barriers to independent living. These programs are staffed by trained professionals including licensed clinicians.
From a clinical perspective, reducing access to these programs has immediate and long-term consequences. When young people lose access to stable housing and consistent support, their stress response systems become chronically activated. This can result in hypervigilance, sleep disruption, emotional dysregulation, and cognitive impairment. As a secondary science lesson – untreated PTSD and MDD can become chronic and lead to adverse physical health outcomes like a weakened immune system, chronic pain, gastrointestinal issues, and cardiovascular disease.
Therapeutic progress depends heavily on consistency and trust. When housing instability disrupts that process, young people often disengage from care entirely. Rebuilding that trust can take months or even years. As I mentioned earlier, some young people distrust institutions for this very reason. Young people who have begun to stabilize experience a return to crisis conditions, reinforcing beliefs that stability is temporary and that systems can’t be relied upon.
In my experience, there is a predictable escalation in response to these cuts:
- Increased use of emergency rooms and inpatient psychiatric care
- Higher rates of substance use as a coping mechanism
- Greater exposure to unsafe or exploitative situations
- Increased likelihood of chronic homelessness into adulthood
It is also important to name the impact on providers. Providers that offer Extended Transitional Housing can’t simply “do more with less.” They rely on qualified staff, including licensed clinicians to meet the complex mental health needs of participants. Reductions in funding directly translate to reductions in workforce, which means fewer clinicians, higher caseloads, and diminished capacity to provide consistent, quality care. This not only increases staff burnout and turnover, but also disrupts therapeutic relationships, delays services, and compromises clinical outcomes for youth.
Housing is one of the most effective mental health interventions we have. If we reduce investment in these programs, we will not reduce need. We will see that need show up in more acute, more expensive, and less effective systems.
I urge the Council to restore funding across the youth homelessness continuum and to ensure that our system remains clinically responsive to the young people it serves.
Thank you for your time, and I welcome any questions.
While I am testifying on other topics today in front of the Committee, I want to take a moment to uplift the TANF is Still a Lifeline Coalition’s ask to restore funding for TANF, to reverse policies increasing work sanctions, removing the COLA, and implementing time limits to TANF. Moreover, we are alarmed to learn that the Budget Support Act proposes that in FY28 a family who is on TANF for 60 months will have their benefits reduced to $0 instead of the original proposed step down. These policies are harmful to District children and families, are not rooted in evidence or reality (numerous studies say sanctions and time limits do not work), and will further increase administrative burdens on an already strained agency. This Committee and DC Council must act now to ensure DC families continue to have access to life sustaining cash benefits.
