In her role as a D.C. Department of Human Services (DHS) program support specialist, Jayneil Jackson assists District residents who are seeking stable housing and other quality-of-life resources — just as had been the case for her more than a year ago when she was couch surfing and without employment.
Jackson says, with this opportunity, she gets to work behind the scenes and better understand what she describes as the forces preventing the D.C. government from providing more housing vouchers during a period of economic uncertainty.
“Seeing now what the process is, I would think to myself [that] it’s [about having] more patience,” Jackson told The Informer. “I always had patience, but … patience turns into frustration. Being on the inside now, [I understand] these are the things that need to get done. … If you just explain the steps that need to be taken, maybe the process would move a bit faster. On the outside, you don’t really know what to do. You’re just listening to what they’re telling you.”
Earlier this year, Jackson completed three months in the Peer Case Management Institute (PCMI), a program by DHS, Howard University’s (HU) School of Social Work, Community Partnership for the Prevention of Homelessness, and Pathways to Housing DC that trains unhoused D.C. residents to become case managers.
The program includes hours in the classroom at Howard before participants take on internships and transition into full-time employment through which they help others navigate the District’s continuum of care.
By the time Jackson learned about PCMI through a cousin, she had already found an apartment on her own after severing ties with a case manager. Before then, as she recalled, she struggled to maintain housing while taking on roles as a nonprofit executive assistant and nanny. While in PCMI, Jackson interned at DHS’ Adams Place Day Center before supervisory homeless coordinator Brandon L. James recommended her for a permanent role at 801 East Men’s Shelter in Southeast.
That’s where, amid a depletion in housing vouchers provided, Jackson follows a system where the most vulnerable gets connected to those resources. She’s also introducing clients to other forms of support, including shared housing and Project Reconnect, a shelter diversion and rapid-exit program for single adults who want to rent a room, move in with a family member, or leave the District altogether.
“There are people willing to take other options so I’ve been helping them get housed in ways that they can,” Jackson told The Informer. “Especially for elderly people, I’ll take the time out to go and look up what will be affordable for them, and what type of help they can get when moving into these places.”
The Fight to Fund Housing Resources, and a Director’s Plea for PCMI
D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser’s Fiscal Year 2027 budget proposal earlier this year funded no new housing vouchers and left a funding gap of $142.7 million throughout the four year financial plan. In the leadup to the D.C. Council’s approval of a modified budget, its Committee on Human Services closed that gap and allocated the equivalent of 216 new housing subsidies.
A broad look at the District’s local Fiscal Year 2027 budget shows an allocation of $276 million toward: the maintenance and rental subsidies for existing voucher holders connected to DHS; case management and rental subsidies to permanent supportive housing and targeted affordable housing, and a rental subsidy to more than two dozen families exiting the Family Rehousing Stabilization Program through the Local Rent Supplement Program. A DHS spokesperson said that the agency plans to match 200 new people to permanent supportive housing this year once others exit the program, while leasing 104 others to site-based permanent supportive housing.
D.C. Councilmember Matt Frumin (D-Ward 3), chair of the Committee on Human Services, told The Informer that, when it came to funding housing resources, he wanted to strike a balance.
“Landlords need to be fully compensated, but the program should not be a source of profiteering,” Frumin said. “At the same time, permanent vouchers aren’t the only tool we need. Preventing homelessness in the first place is essential. We scour the full portfolio of options for people in need and work to make them available—whether that be through pressing D.C. Housing Authority to make units available, expanding access at the Aston, or supporting other transitional housing options.”
Frumin, who introduced legislation to make DHS’ long-term rental assistance program DC Flex permanent and boosted funding for the Homelessness Prevention Program to $9.3 million, identified PCMI as another resource in curbing homelessness.
“When my committee reviewed the institute last year, I was deeply impressed by its high-quality training and the dedication of its graduates,” he said. “People with lived experience belong at the forefront of our response to homelessness. Their leadership in case management is key to helping neighbors transition off the streets and stay safely housed.”
The first PCMI cohort, a class of nearly 40, graduated in 2024. Two more cohorts have since graduated with the fourth cohort scheduled to start in the spring of 2027. Per DHS Director A.D. Rachel Pierre, more than 60% of PCMI alumni have secured employment with service providers.
Those not in the number are often connected to D.C. Department of Employment Services (DOES)’ American Job Center.
“Although we have some fiscal constraints, workforce is a big pillar of this administration, and I know it will continue to be a big pillar in the upcoming administration,” Pierre told The Informer. “This is a program that yields very great outcomes for residents and for the community, because really being able to leverage not only our residents with lived experience of homelessness, and give them the skills and tools to give back to a community, it’s a win-win.”
On Oct. 15, Pierre joined Jackson at 801 East Men’s Shelter to learn more about her story and see her in action. As the Bowser administration sunsets, Pierre told The Informer that Jackson exemplifies what PCMI, a 2025 Cafritz Award recipient, has been able to do for D.C. residents.
“I get very excited when we hear graduates such as Jayneil share their stories and what she’s gotten from it,” Pierre said. “It makes it worthwhile to invest in a program that not only supports residents who have experienced homelessness in their lives, but [is] also really a program [where] they feel that they don’t just get the skills to get employment, but a program that pours into them.”
A Long-Awaited Conversation About Revenue Generation
Pierre and Jackson spoke with The Informer on the day preceding a D.C. Council Committee of the Whole hearing about local tax policy. Throughout much of Oct. 16, council members listened to witness testimony and weighed on various aspects of revenue generation, especially as it relates to funding public programs and increasing the tax burden on wealthier D.C. residents.
In her opening remarks, D.C. Councilmember Janeese Lewis George (D-Ward 4) said the future of the District’s most vulnerable residents hangs in the balance.
“They’re relying on us to make this city more affordable. They need public services they can count on and they deserve to know that their dollars they contribute are being put to good use,” said Lewis George, the Democratic mayoral nominee. “So that means this moment isn’t about maintaining the status quo. That isn’t going to cut it. This means that this moment isn’t about kicking the can further down the road. We can’t kick this can any longer. That means taking a hard look at who contributes to those services and who our tax system lets off the hook right now.”
Topics discussed in Room 412 of the John A. Wilson Building included the Wealth Proceeds Tax Amendment Act of 2026, legislation that imposes a surcharge on profits accumulated on high earners, along with the Revenue Stabilization and Land Value Assessment Amendment Act of 2026, a business activity tax, pied-à-terre tax, sales tax, real property tax, and individual income tax.
Straight out the gate, former D.C. mayor Anthony Williams, speaking as an invited witness in his capacity as chief executive officer and executive director of the Federal City Council, encouraged the new mayoral administration to understand the current moment.
“For decades, as the D.C. economy exploded and with generous federal pandemic-era relief, the council and the mayor continuously matched luxurious tax windfalls with new spending priorities and programs,” Williams said. “Now that the windfalls are coming to an end, a responsible fiscal steward would match sources and uses, would match spending to the tax revenue reality.”
Williams, a member of the D.C. Tax Revision Commission, went on in his call to the new mayor and council to scrutinize spending, protect taxpayers, and shepherd the District through a period of anticipated revenue shortages. He made those comments amid the council’s approval of an expenditure commission and a commitment by Lewis George, the likely winner of the Nov. 3 general election, to prioritize government efficiency.
“Look at program impacts, look at program evaluation, look at cost effectiveness, and economize where needed,” Williams said. “Get a firm grip on spending that is flowing out of control, whether it be metro or Medicaid. Just because something is important and just because it’s urgent doesn’t mean it should be satisfied in any way.”
The D.C. Tax Revision Commission, appointed by the mayor and council, hasn’t approved any recommendations for improving the local tax code. This is despite the release and revision of draft recommendations. Months after the impasse, and, more recently, the council’s restoration of one-time funds for social programs in the four-year financial plan, Bowser and D.C. Chief Financial Officer Glen Lee continues to warn of an impending fiscal cliff that will make spending decisions more difficult.
For D.C. Councilmember Brianne Nadeau (D-Ward 1), these conversations have long been part of the job.
“In every budget, the mayor and the council are forced to make difficult choices and far too often these choices include cuts to our social safety net and asking our most vulnerable neighbors to figure it out as funds are drained from housing, TANF, clients, child care assistance and other programs,” Nadeau said in her opening remarks during the Oct. 16 tax policy hearing.
In the absence of finalized commission recommendations, and even a council Finance and Revenue Committee, Nadeau aimed to influence tax policy earlier this year by amending the Fiscal Year 2027 budget with a 20-cent surcharge on food deliveries. She also introduced the Wealth Proceeds Tax Amendment Act of 2026 and other legislation that makes the D.C. Tax Revision Commission permanent. These actions came years after the passage of Nadeau, Lewis George, and Ward 6 D.C. Councilmember Charles Allen’s (D) Hearts and Homes Amendment Act, another budget amendment that funds early childhood education programs with tax revenue.
“Even when the council re-established the tax revision commission, we made little progress in creating a more sustainable and equitable tax code,” Nadeau said. “With respect to the commission members and staff here today, and I thank you for your efforts, but it imploded and now we have nothing to go from. The changes we have made to the tax code in the last six years have been made outside of the committee process without official recommendations from the commission.”
Lessons Learned for Better Case Management
Jackson’s stint at PCMI marked her return to a college campus. During the pandemic, she left the University of the District of Columbia, where she was pursuing a bachelor’s degree in education. At this juncture in her career, Jackson’s goals involve the launch of a Montessori school in a majority-Black community and purchase of farmland.
“Being in that program gave me the drive to show up for myself even more,” Jackson told The Informer. “It just gave me faith in knowing that something good was gonna come out of it. That’s something that people need [when] going through a lot.”
The District’s 2026 point-in-time count, released in May, shows a 4.4% increase in homelessness from 2025. Homelessness among families increased by nearly 16%, due to what officials called longer shelter stays, while the rates for unaccompanied people and young people in transition remained relatively unchanged.
As Jackson interacts with people suffering from the scourge of homelessness, she continues to put into use the lessons imparted on her during her time at HU’s School of Social Work. She said those lessons keep her rooted in reality and work her hardest to guide clients through their storm.
“Just because we believe things differently doesn’t mean that we can align them with the policy of our work,” Jackson told The Informer. “It’s really hard talking to a client and sometimes …you have to give them a little push and encourage them because they already have so much going on. It teaches you how to deal with a person going through trauma and still trying to live their life and do right.”
