The months and days leading up to June are particularly busy for LGBTQ Washingtonians. One group’s DC LGBT Budget Union works year-round so that LGBTQ residents are represented and financially supported by the DC government. This is the Super Bowl. Starting in April, the DC Council and the mayor’s office will hold a budget hearing for the next fiscal year.
While DC’s budget is currently being reviewed, Washington Blade spoke with DC LGBT Budget Union Coordinator Heidi Ellis about the group’s top priorities and push to ensure continued support for the queer community.
“The LGBTQ Budget Union was established in 2020 during the pandemic as a way for the community to work together to advocate for key funding and policy changes,” Ellis said. “We realized we’ve become stronger together. Many groups are often at odds with each other for resources and dollars. This coalition was established out of the need for unity. Since then, we have advocated over $20 million in dedicated LGBTQ investments.”
In addition to coordinating the coalition, Ellis is the founder and CEO of HME Consulting & Advocacy, a company that builds coalitions and advances policy initiatives that address the cross-expression of the LGBTQ community. She explained that one of its most powerful tools is direct outreach through community research.
“We can actually do community research and see what people need and what heartfelt,” Ellis said. “Of course, we are also paying attention to the broader political landscape, like the current threat to HIV funding. That prioritizes us.”
As the coalition consists of over 20 organisations from a variety of sectors, including healthcare, housing and community organisation, Ellis said its diversity can connect grassroots needs to potential policy solutions.
“Our coalition is deeply embedded in our service providers, community groups, health and housing advocates, and what’s going on on the ground,” she said. “They help us decide our direction. We don’t represent all the strange people in DC, but our coalition reflects a broad range of identity and experience.”
The insights gathered through these studies will ultimately inform the council’s annual budget proposals to be submitted to the council and mayor.
“That’s how we reached FY26’s priorities,” she said. “This year, we’re fighting more than ever to protect what we already have. The funds and policies we’ve had to fight in the past. We know there’s concerns about this budget.”
One of the challenges this year is that the DC government’s operating budget and some of its laws must be approved by Congress. The coalition had to think strategically about the expected decline in tax revenue and the Republican-controlled Congress, which has historically opposed LGBTQ funding.
“Even before the hill situation, the CFO predicted that revenue would be reduced,” Ellis said. “So the reduction in social programs has already come, and now, with $1 billion cut from DC’s budget for continuous solutions, we are trying to maintain life-saving services, not only fighting for DC’s budget and autonomy. The message is simple.
This year’s proposal does not include specific dollar figures. Instead, the coalition outlines five funding priorities: health care, employment and economic equity, housing, safety and community support, and civil rights.
Why is there no exact amount? Ellis said it was because not all the solutions were financial.
“Some of our requests do not require new funds. Some build on existing programs. We are asking if the current funding is most effective. We are also proposing policy changes that do not cost any additional costs but could make a real difference.
When drafting proposals, the coalition attempts to prioritize those with the most pressing and intersecting needs.
“Our perspective is that if we advocate for the most vulnerable people, others benefit too,” Ellis said. “Take your LGBTQ seniors. You may be doing well in your life, but now there are people who are struggling to access housing insecurities and affordable healthcare. Many of our coalitions are elders who fought on the frontlines during the AIDS epidemic.
“I love our alliance because it puts us accountable in the moment,” she added. “When you focus on the most marginalized things, you can have an impact that lifts everyone up.”
In addition to healthcare and housing, safety remains our biggest concern. The coalition has fought to maintain funding for the Violence Prevention and Response Team (VPART), an urban support group that includes the MPD, community-based organizations, and the Mayor’s Office of LGBTQ Issues. VPART responds to crimes affecting the LGBTQ community and connects victims to legal, healthcare and housing services.
“We pushed VPART to be more proactive, not just reactive,” Ellis said. “The funds we secured helped survivors get the support they needed. Now cutting that funding would rescind the progress we’ve been seeing.”
After all, Ellis emphasized that this process is far more than a spreadsheet.
“Budgets are moral documents,” she said. “If we’re not represented, you say our lives aren’t important when we need to protect the most. When people can’t get food, medicines, housing, it has a devastating effect. These are important services.”
The DC LGBT Budget Coalition is urging residents to support a letter writing campaign to DC Council members and mayors. You can send a letter here: https://actionnetwork.org/letters/fulley-fund-dcs-lgbtq-communities
Check out our full proposal for the FY26 budget here. https://drive.google.com/file/d/1btrennc4zazjto6lprq3lzkf02qniif1/view
Source: Washington Blade: LGBTQ News, Politics, LGBTQ Rights, Gay News – www.washingtonblade.com
