A federal complaint accuses the D.C. Housing Authority of unlawfully ending a domestic violence victim’s housing assistance
By Samantha Schmidt Samantha Schmidt Reporter covering gender and family issues Email Bio Follow March 13 at 5:56 PM It wasn’t the first time the 45-year-old woman’s husband had verbally abused her. But last September, he “spiraled out of control,” she said. In front of their children in their Northeast D.C. living room, he threatened to stab her to death.
“I’m already stressed out with all that I went through, all that I’m going through,” said the woman, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because she fears retaliation from her former husband. “I just can’t do it by myself.” This domestic violence victim’s complaint. A Housing Authority spokesman declined to comment on the case, citing pending litigation.The Violence Against Women Act provides protections for victims of domestic violence who rely on housing assistance. D.C. regulations parallel federal law by requiring that if a family breaks up because of domestic violence, the victim of the violence must continue to receive housing assistance, the complaint said.
“Word gets around,” she said. “If a client knows or has heard of someone in the past not being able to retain their housing voucher to get out of a domestic violence situation, that’s going to be another incentive for that person to stay in an abusive relationship.” In this woman’s case, her former husband was listed as the “head of household,” and the amount of the voucher based on their joint income was about $300. The family was responsible for paying the remainder of the rent, about $1,700.In October, according to the complaint, the woman showed the Housing Authority copies of her civil protection order and requested a new voucher based on her income alone.
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