Rising for Justice

05/26/2026

05/21/2026

Today, we're diving into the Mayor's proposed FY27 budget.

The proposal includes a larger police budget, including $81 million for overtime, bonuses and rental assistance for officers, and more.

Meanwhile, she proposes steep cuts to the social safety net, which is made up of resources that prevent violence and harm from happening in the first place.

Mayor Bowser's proposed budget makes many cuts that will make DC less safe, destabilize communities, and worsen crises. Just a few highlights:

- Cuts to housing vouchers and Emergency Rental Assistance
- Cuts $27.3 million from Access to Justice grants, leaving many DC residents without legal help for housing, family, and domestic violence issues
- Severe cuts to TANF cash assistance that will push more DC families deeper into poverty
- Cuts to youth homelessness programs, school-based behavioral health services, and substance use treatment

Join us and in urging Council to rebalance this approach. In a tough budget year, MPD must share the sacrifice.

05/20/2026

Thank you, Councilmember Felder, for highlighting the importance of DC’s social safety net, including the Access to Justice Initiative. Legal aid is essential infrastructure that helps residents remain housed, secure employment, protect their rights, and navigate civil legal crises. Protecting this funding means protecting pathways to housing, economic security, and justice for thousands of DC residents.

We appreciate your commitment to preserving these services for our neighbors.

Fair Budget Coalition

05/14/2026

In courtrooms and across communities, Rising for Justice stood alongside Washingtonians in 2025 as they navigated compounding hardships, including escalating housing costs, growing unemployment, and a safety net strained to its limits.

Since our founding in 1969, we have combined legal services, social work, student clinics, and advocacy into an integrated model that helps families navigate challenges and build lasting stability.

In 2025, together we:

⚖️ Served 6,200 low-income DC residents across all eight wards.

🏠 Closed 1,675 cases, 86% related to housing and eviction prevention.

🤝 Provided social work services to 2,000+ residents.

📋 Sealed 600+ criminal records, opening doors to housing, employment, and community life.

🎓 Trained 50+ law and social work students to be impactful advocates.

Behind every number is a neighbor. Tenants like Maria and her young son who stayed housed. Returning citizens like Jay who got a second chance. Families who didn't have to face the legal system alone.

The road ahead is uncertain. But Rising for Justice's team of attorneys, social workers, and student advocates will be there for every neighbor who needs us. Today, tomorrow, and always.

This impact is only possible because of our allies and supporters. Will you stand with us?

🔗 Read the full report at https://www.risingforjustice.org/2025-annual-report/

05/12/2026

This spring, our nine student attorneys helped more than 300 DC residents avoid displacement and stay housed.

The Spring 2026 Housing Advocacy and Litigation Clinic just wrapped, and we could not be prouder. These Georgetown Law students resolved tenant-landlord conflicts, fought unsafe living conditions, and stood beside low-income residents in Landlord Tenant Court. Along the way, they gained the skills they’ll need for impactful public-interest careers.

They now join our alumni community of 5,000+ advocates working to balance the scales of justice.

We cannot wait to see them walk across the stage on May 17 in their Rising for Justice graduation cords!

05/08/2026

Jacob Lemon-Strauss, Director of our Criminal Record Sealing and Respondent Representation programs, testified before the DC Council's Judiciary and Public Safety Committee on the transformative legal services Rising for Justice provides to DC residents through Access to Justice Initiative (ATJ) funding.

Jacob spoke about the lifelong consequences of a criminal record. From limited housing options to unstable employment, to something as simple as being unable to volunteer at their child's school, residents with past criminal justice system involvement, even from non-violent convictions, navigate life with persistent barriers to success and stability.

These burdens don't stay with one person; they ripple through families and neighborhoods. And because the criminal justice system has long produced racially disparate outcomes, it is predominantly Black DC residents and their communities who bear that perpetual socioeconomic weight.

Access to Justice funding ensures that cost is not a barrier to justice. In 2025, Rising for Justice's record sealing program worked with over 250 pro-bono attorneys to seal over 600 criminal records, opening doors to individuals and their families.

We urge the DC Council to recognize the life-changing impact Access to Justice Initiative programs have on our community members and their families.

05/07/2026

On May 6, Chijioke Akamigbo, Executive Director of Rising for Justice, testified before the Council of the District of Columbia’s Judiciary and Public Safety Committee on the indispensable impact civil legal aid has across our city, in response to the proposed 86% cut to Access to Justice Initiative (ATJ) funding for FY27.

An 86% cut is not a trim. It is an elimination of DC's support network. In 2025 alone, over 44,000 DC residents benefited from the interwoven, collaborative ecosystem of 30+ organizations that rely on ATJ funding.

The needs of those community members will not go away. Chijioke testified to the real consequences: fewer families with representation at eviction hearings, fewer of our neighbors able to seal records and access jobs, less equitable representation in court, and severe hardships in DC's underserved communities.

Chijioke also spoke to civil legal aid's return on investment. Prevented evictions reduce downstream costs across shelter systems, emergency services, and DC Superior Court. Every dollar invested in helping our neighbors regain stability is a dollar invested in a DC where justice is accessible, and communities can thrive.

We are grateful to the Council of the District of Columbia for the opportunity to make this case alongside our legal aid peer organizations. We urge the Council to reject these cuts and recognize the Access to Justice Initiative for what it is: a foundational, city-wide investment in a more just and stable DC.

05/05/2026

The Access to Justice Initiative is a key component of our city’s civil justice system, and a reduction in funding would have devastating consequences for low-income and underserved DC residents.

DC has one of the highest eviction rates in the nation, yet nine in ten tenants face housing court without a lawyer. Rising for Justice attorneys change those odds. In 2025 alone, our attorneys resolved 1,400 housing cases, helping families stay housed, reducing unnecessary displacement, and giving both tenants and landlords a fairer path to resolution. More than a third of those cases involved households with children under 18.

Without this support, thousands would face legal crises alone, and the resulting costs to the city, from emergency shelter to disrupted schooling to lost employment, will far exceed what prevention would have required.

Rising for Justice urges the Council of the District of Columbia to maintain funding for the Access to Justice Initiative as an investment in a safer and more resilient District of Columbia.

04/30/2026

Our new website is here, and it was built with YOU in mind 💜⚖️

Same mission. Same life-changing services for low-income residents. Now with features designed to make learning about Rising for Justice and our services more accessible:

→ Language translation in nine languages

→ Online intake form

→ Emergency exit button

Whether you're seeking legal representation, social work support, or want to learn about our training programs for law and social work students, we're here to help.

Explore our new site today: https://www.risingforjustice.org/

04/28/2026

Legal problems can put housing, safety, and financial stability at risk.

Yesterday, Rising for Justice, alongside peer legal aid organizations, took to the John A. Wilson Building to urge DC leaders to restore funding for the Access to Justice Initiative and reverse the proposed 86% cut.

The Access to Justice Initiative—a DC City Council-created solution that bridges the gap between civil legal needs and available services—has, for nearly 20 years, protected DC residents navigating legal crises when they cannot afford a lawyer. Without Access to Justice funding, thousands will face the legal system alone, and the resulting costs to the city, from emergency shelter to disrupted schooling to lost employment, will far exceed what prevention would have required.

In 2025, 6,200 DC residents turned to Rising for Justice for help, through eviction defense, housing conditions advocacy, criminal record sealing, respondent representation in protection order cases, and integrated legal and social work services.

Sustaining Access to Justice funding advances a safer District of Columbia, where stability, due process, and opportunity are within reach for every resident.