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The number of homeless people in the Washington D.C. metropolitan area has increased by 18 percent from last year's total, according to a new report published by the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments.

Based on a point-in-time enumeration of the city's homeless population in a single night in January 2023, the number of homeless people in the area has increased to 8,944, up from 7,605 the year before.

All nine jurisdictions in the report—the District of Columbia; Montgomery, Prince George's and Frederick counties in Maryland; and the counties of Arlington, Fairfax, Loudoun and Prince William, adjacent independent cities within those counties and the independent city of Alexandria in Virginia—experienced increases, with the District of Columbia and Montgomery County experiencing the highest numerical increases. In D.C., the number of homeless rose to 4,922 people, up from 4,410 (11.6 percent) last year. In Arlington, Virginia, the report observed a 110 percent increase in unsheltered homelessness, and a 32 percent increase in emergency shelters for families.

The study totaled the number of unsheltered persons in the region along with how many people used winter shelters, year-round emergency shelters, safe havens, transitional housing and several other desperate housing solutions.

The report's executive summary concluded that, while the region's continuum of care (COC) polices had been “effective in preventing and ending homelessness,” the discontinuation of certain programs implemented since the beginning of the COVID-19 public health emergency—such as eviction moratoriums, unemployment assistance, expanded child income tax credit, and emergency housing assistance—has greatly increased the number of homeless people in the US capital and its environs.

These programs were allowed to lapse by the Biden administration, cutting many families off from relief and subjecting the working class population to mass evictions and poverty.

Those reporting that they experienced homelessness for the first time increased by 37 percent from 2022. The study concluded that this was largely “due to the end of both pandemic related assistance and the eviction moratorium.”

In many parts of the country and around the world, working-class people are finding it harder to live in cities as rents continue to rise, leaving their livelihoods in grave doubt. The Washington D.C. area is no exception. The data, the report said, “confirms that one of the most persistent barriers to ending homelessness in our communities is the insufficient number of affordable and available permanent housing opportunities for the lowest income households.”

In a 2019 report by financial advice company Smart Asset, assuming a rent limit of 28 percent of income, a worker living in D.C. would have to make $132,857 annually in order to afford a two-bedroom apartment with an average rent of $3,100 per month. The median household income in the capital, according to the analysis, is $82,372. Only San Francisco ($196,843 for an average rent of $4,593) and New York ($162,857 for an average rent of $3,800) ranked higher.

Spiraling housing costs mean that even those with jobs and other sources of income face increasing rates of homelessness.

In Alexandria, Virginia, wage earners and people on disability saw a vast increase from 2021, making up 49 of the 152 homeless people in the survey. Of the DC homeless, 12.9 percent of unaccompanied adults, and 41.8 percent of adults in families, were employed. Another 81 percent of unaccompanied adults and 46.3 percent of adults in families relied on wages or disability as a primary income, with 51 percent of adults in families relying heavily on public assistance.

The homeless in America are frequently treated as criminals. On February 15, an encampment of at least 70 homeless people in McPherson Square was cleared out by the National Park Service, with their belongings destroyed. While city officials claimed to engage with residents of the encampment, this is not borne out by the evidence.

As one person cleared out of the encampment put it to WAMU, the raid happened “because you just want to hide the homelessness. You don't want it to be down here on K Street, which is a powerful street. You don't want it to be by the White House.” Two homeless people were arrested when they refused to leave.

The Princeton School of Public and International Affairs has long had a significant scholarly presence among and within the three branches of the federal government. Now the school has a dedicated office and meeting space in Washington, D.C., as well.

SPIA has leased space just off Dupont Circle in Washington, D.C., to be used for education, public affairs and other engagement. It marks the first time the school has established a permanent physical presence in the nation’s capital.

“Actually being in Washington, the center of policy making in the country, will enable us to connect faculty members, researchers and students directly with policymakers in ways we haven’t previously,” said SPIA Dean Amaney Jamal. “This initiative gives us an unprecedented opportunity to advance our mission of service to the nation and humanity.”

SPIA in D.C. is one of the strategic priorities identified by Jamal when she became dean in fall 2021. The program was born in part, she recalled, from her own experience having to build a network in Washington during her 20 years as a Princeton politics faculty member and researcher.

“The school is not like any other policy school in the country,” Jamal said. “Ninety-nine percent of our faculty are jointly appointed with other departments. We have the most outstanding economists, sociologists, political scientists, etc., teaching our students. Because of this, they aren’t naturally connected to policymakers; they haven’t gone through the process of compiling their own networks of policymakers and influencers. It’s imperative that we as a school think about how we help our faculty make these linkages.”

According to representatives of SPIA’s 20 centers and programs, the site offers opportunity and great value for students and faculty to interact in a real-world setting outside the Princeton campus. They also look forward to hosting meetings and events, engaging with policymakers and partners, and expanding professional networks.

Alan Blinder, the Gordon S. Rentschler Memorial Professor of Economics and Public Affairs and a member of the planning committee for a SPIA in D.C. launch event held May 10, has considerable experience in Washington. He served as vice chairman of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System and as a member of President Bill Clinton’s Council of Economic Advisers. He noted that the initiative will help to connect two groups that can learn from each other.

“There are lots of possibilities for collaboration between Princeton faculty, who tend to be deeper and more academic, as they should, and think tankers, who tend to have their feet on the Washington ground better, as they should,” he said. “Cross-fertilizing that will add value to both.”

Todd Bristol, SPIA’s acting associate dean of public affairs and communications, noted both the symbolic and practical impacts of SPIA’s expansion to the District of Columbia.

“The School of Public and International Affairs could not be more excited to plant our flag in Washington,” he said. “This is a physical manifestation and extension of the influence SPIA has had here for decades.”

For example, Bristol said, the co-directors of the School’s Scholars in the Nation’s Service Initiative (SINSI) already spend a significant amount of their time in Washington. A dedicated office and meeting space will greatly facilitate their work with SINSI students pursuing graduate fellowships and undergraduate summer internships within the U.S. federal government.

SPIA plans to use the space for both formal and informal alumni gatherings, networking and other career-related activities. In addition, the site will host events for prospective graduate students, facilitate communication between local alumni and applicants, and host recruitment and other informational meetings with local organizations and visiting delegations.

“Twenty-eight percent of SPIA’s graduate alumni and 17 percent of our undergraduate alumni are in the greater Washington area,” Jamal said. “In terms of career placement, our alumni network is one of our most valuable resources to students. To have a dedicated space for students to meet with alumni to network is extremely important.”

The site of SPIA in D.C. comprises more than 6,700 square feet of office space that includes a reception area, offices, conference rooms, a pantry and kitchen space, and an open area for gatherings and events. There is also a shared rooftop with views of downtown Washington that can accommodate almost 490 people in indoor and outdoor spaces.

“It looks like a wonderful home base in Washington,” said Janet Currie, the Henry Putnam Professor of Economics and Public Affairs and co-director of the Center for Health and Wellbeing, who travels to the capital often. “I’m sure I will use it when I’m in town for meetings or to meet with policymakers.”

SPIA in D.C. launched officially with the May 10 event. The site had already hosted numerous private SPIA gatherings, including receptions, planning meetings, several student visits and a meeting of the Public Affairs Committee of University’s Board of Trustees.

A host of public events is planned for the months to come. These include annual meetings of some of SPIA’s centers and programs, a Masters in Public Policy alumni lunch, presentations and panel discussions, and a conference marking the 50^th anniversary of the 1973 oil crisis.

“We have remarkable intellectual talent at SPIA,” Jamal said. “SPIA in D.C. will enhance our strategies for communicating research to inform national policymaking at all levels of governance, as well as augmenting the public policy training we provide for our students.”

Jamal sees the move as a natural extension of the progress the School of Public and International Affairs has made in recent years.

“SPIA has accomplished much over the last few decades,” she said. “I was lucky to become dean of a school where a lot of benchmarks and target points have been met, so I could think more creatively about what’s next. It’s an opportune time to think about what we can do next.”

OTTAWA, ON, May 17, 2023 /CNW/ - The Honourable François-Philippe Champagne, Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry, and the Honourable Mary Ng, Minister of International Trade, Export Promotion, Small Business and Economic Development, will travel to Washington, D.C., on May 18 and 19. They will participate in a North American semiconductor conference to discuss how to strengthen and secure the semiconductor supply chain on the continent.

While in Washington, Minister Champagne and Minister Ng will also meet with U.S. Secretary of Commerce, Gina Raimondo.

The two Ministers will then hold a media availability to provide an update about their visit to Washington.

Media Availability:

Date: Friday, May 19

Time: 2:00 pm (ET)

Location: Embassy of Canada to the United States, Washington, D.C.

Accredited members of the media wishing to attend must register by sending an email to WSHDCMedia@international.gc.ca. Only those attending in person will be able to ask questions. Media are asked to arrive no later than 1:45 pm.

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View original content: http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/May2023/19/c9082.html

From Fellowship for Performing Arts, the producers of The Screwtape Letters and The Most Reluctant Convert, and starring award-winning actor Max McLean, comes a dazzling, new theatrical experience that will take you Further Up & Further In the heart and mind of C.S. Lewis.

C.S. Lewis On Stage: Further Up & Further In plays at the Klein Theatre June 7-18.

McLean's tour de force performance captures Lewis' magnetic personality, astonishing eloquence and self-deprecating wit to create an onstage experience venturing deep into the soul of one of the most influential thinkers of the past century.

"When Lewis moved from vigorous debunker to believer, it wasn't obvious he would become the most influential Christian writer of the past hundred years," said McLean, who also wrote the script.

So, using Lewis' own words, this multimedia, theatrical event explores what convinced Lewis of the divinity of Christ, why the BBC gave him a huge audience to deliver wartime talks that would become Mere Christianity, how Hitler influenced the writing of The Screwtape Letters, and ow his profound insights on prayer, heaven and the Second Coming of Christ influenced The Chronicles of Narnia.

The award-winning creative team includes Kelly Tighe, set design (National Tour, Cats), John Gromada, original score (Broadway, Tony Nomination, The Trip to Bountiful), Harry Feiner's visual imagery (Off Broadway, Paradise Lost) and Geoffrey Fishburn's lighting (Off Broadway, Martin Luther on Trial), all under the direction of Ken Denison (The Lion King, associate producer).

Visit FPAtheatre.com for additional stops in the C.S. Lewis On Stage: Further Up & Further In, Spring 2023.

Founded by Artistic Director Max McLean, Fellowship for Performing Arts is a New York City-based production company whose mission is to create theatre and film from a Christian worldview to engage a diverse audience. In addition to annual seasons at Theatre Row in New York City, it produces coast-to-coast tours in both major performing arts venues and university theatres. McLean is the 2022 recipient of the C.S. Lewis Foundation Award for Distinguished Lifetime Contributions in Faith and Dramatic Arts.

FPA also produced the hit film THE MOST RELUCTANT CONVERT: The Untold Story of C.S. Lewis, which is available to stream now on Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV, Google Play, PureFlix and YouTube, as well as to purchase on DVD and Blu-ray. For more information visit FPAtheatre.com.

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Review: BEETLEJUICE at National Theatre

Whether you are a fan of the movie, have seen the musical on Broadway, or even listened to the amazing cast recording, you'll lose your head over Beetlejuice.

National Philharmonic Reveals 2023-2024 Season

National Philharmonic (NatPhil) announced its 2023-2024 Season, which includes six classical programs conducted by Music Director Piotr Gajewski, one classical concert led by guest conductor Jeri Lynne Johnson, and two choral performances presented in partnership with The Washington Chorus (TWC) and conducted by TWC Artistic Director Eugene Rogers. All season concerts will be held at The Music Center at Strathmore, the Orchestra’s longstanding home in Montgomery County.

Review: MONTY PYTHON'S SPAMALOT at Eisenhower Theatre At The Kennedy Center

This riotously funny production takes the beloved, hilarious Monty Python musical comedy to a whole new level.

Review: LA BOHÈME at Kennedy Center

The glorious music of Puccini remains the principal reason to see the Washington National Opera’s (WNO)current production of the beloved classic opera La bohème. This oft-referenced opera that has influenced everything from the famous film Moonstruck to the hit Broadway musical Rent, must be a fairly faithful revival of the original opera that the WNO presented at the Kennedy Center in 2014 –the original director Peter Kazaras is one again at the helm. Additionally, the original costumes by Jennifer Moeller (which are appropriate to the updated period), the original choreography by Ben Wright and the original set design by Lee Savage have all been retained. From referencing the program, however, it seems that lighting design by A. J. Guban has been brought in for this production.

As the dark cloud of record-high office vacancy hovers over downtown D.C., a growing number of universities from across the country looking to establish a foothold in the nation's capital is starting to provide a glimmer of sunshine.

“Even though people are really nervous [about downtown], this might be the greatest opportunity we’ve ever had to really shape the Washington we all would like to live in,” said Adam Glaser, a managing director at KPMG and an instructor for urban and regional planning at Georgetown University.