Testimony On Mayor’s Office of LGBTQ+ Affairs
Wanda Alston Foundation Executive Director Cesar Toledo testifying at the Public Works and Operations Budget Oversight Hearing.
Cesar Toledo
Testifying before Public Works and Operations Budget Oversight Hearing
Good afternoon, Councilmember Brianne Nadeau and members of the DC Council,
My name is Cesar Toledo, newly appointed Executive Director of the Wanda Alston Foundation, one of a few queer-led organizations in DC that provides gender-affirming housing and support services to LGBTQ+ youth. I’m here today to express my deepest gratitude and appreciation for the Mayor’s Office of LGBTQ+ Affairs and ask for your continued support.
The Foundation was founded in 2008 to honor the life and legacy of Wanda Renita Alston, a fierce LGBTQ+ activist, feminist, and organizer. Wanda dedicated her life to fighting for justice, never backing down. Thanks to her leadership, the LGBTQ+ community secured greater representation on DC’s local governing boards and launched the Mayor’s Office of LGBTQ+ Affairs.
When the office was created under Mayor Williams, the mission and objectives of the office were to:
Serve as liaison between the Mayor, government agencies, City Council, and the LGBT community
Identify areas of need for the LGBT community
Advise the Mayor on policy issues affecting the LGBT community and the District government
Collect and disseminate research on the impact of public policies and legislation affecting the LGBT community and make recommendations to the Mayor regarding these policy and legislative issues
Two decades later, the office has lived up to the values it was established to uphold. The community has greatly benefited from this office’s services and leadership in the community.
Today, it serves as the:
Largest LGBTQ+ focused grantmaker solely focused on the District
Serves as the central hub for support and resources to the community.
Just this weekend, WorldPride was hosted in DC, where we witnessed an unprecedented turnout, generated more than half a billion dollars in economic impact, had a historic increase in metro ridership, and hosted hundreds of events. As the gayest city in the world, the queer community is a powerful economic engine.
DC has long served as a beacon of hope across the country, providing refuge for those facing anti-LGBTQ attacks. It’s because of this office and the critical resources it provides that organizations like the Wanda Alston Foundation can offer life-saving support to the community.
Thank you for your time and allyship.
Cesar Toledo
Executive Director
Wanda Alston Foundation
Cesar Toledo Testifies for LGBTQ+ Youth
Cesar Toledo, the Executive Director for the Wanda Alston Foundation, testified before the Committee on Human Services in support of transitional housing for homeless LGBTQ+ youth.
DHS Budget Oversight Hearing
Today, Cesar Toledo, the Executive Director for the Wanda Alston Foundation, testified before the Committee on Human Services. His statement can be read below.
Good afternoon, Councilmember Frumin and members of the DC Council. My name is Cesar Toledo, and I was recently appointed Executive Director of the Wanda Alston Foundation, one of a few queer-led organizations in DC that provides gender-affirming housing and support services to LGBTQ+ youth.
Since 2008, the Foundation has provided housing, support services, and pathways to economic mobility to over a hundred LGBTQ+ youth. As the rise of attacks on our LGBTQ+ youth rages across the country, DC has long served as a beacon of safety, and that legacy must be preserved.
The facts are stark. According to the District’s most recent Point-in-Time snapshot, 40% of youth experiencing homelessness identify as LGBTQ+. A national survey found that more than 2 out of 5 trans people in DC have experienced homelessness at some point in their lives. Lastly, at the Foundation, 99% of the youth we have served are Black or Latino.
Thanks to the support of Mayor Bowser, DC Council, the community, DHS and the Community Partnership, we operate 20 beds that are never empty. However, like many nonprofit organizations in this space, we face significant challenges. Staffing mandates and bureaucratic invoicing processes create barriers to funding. These hurdles are painfully difficult for LGBTQ+ nonprofits like ours, which are being targeted by the federal government and face declining corporate support.
Councilmember Frumin and members of the Council, I’d love to sit down with your staff to share more about these operational hurdles and explore potential solutions.
As you continue to debate the FY2026 Budget and Spending Plan, I strongly urge you to preserve funding for transitional youth housing and ensure that homeless LGBTQ+ youth have access to the life-saving, specialized care and support that the Wanda Alston Foundation provides.
Any cuts to this sector could result in a clinical disaster.
Thank you.
Cesar Toledo
Executive Director
Wanda Alston Foundation
Bowser calls for ‘extraordinary’ response to reduction in D.C. budget
D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser on April 15 issued an executive order calling for “extraordinary actions,” including “significant cuts in District Government services,” to address a decision by Congress to cut the city’s current budget by $1.1 billion.
Also receiving city funding are the Wanda Alston Foundation, which provides housing services for LGBTQ people; and the LGBTQ youth advocacy and services organization SMYAL.
D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser on April 15 issued an executive order calling for “extraordinary actions,” including “significant cuts in District Government services,” to address a decision by Congress to cut the city’s current budget by $1.1 billion.
Also receiving city funding are the Wanda Alston Foundation, which provides housing services for LGBTQ people; and the LGBTQ youth advocacy and services organization SMYAL.
House vote to cut $1 billion from D.C. budget threatens LGBTQ services
Among the D.C. organizations providing services to the LGBTQ community that could lose funding if the D.C. budget cut is approved by the Senate are the Wanda Alston Foundation and SMYAL, which provide housing and other services for LGBTQ youth.
The U.S. House on March 11 voted to approve a Republican proposed budget reconciliation bill to prevent a federal government shutdown that breaks from past practices by declaring D.C. a federal agency and calling for a $1.1 billion cut in the city’s current budget.
Among the D.C. organizations providing services to the LGBTQ community that could lose funding if the D.C. budget cut is approved by the Senate are the Wanda Alston Foundation and SMYAL, which provide housing and other services for LGBTQ youth.
DC LGBTQ Budget Coalition urges city to boost funding for queer programs
Among the LGBTQ and LGBTQ supportive organizations that are members of the D.C. LGBTQ Budget Coalition are Capital Pride Alliance, the D.C. Center for the LGBT Community, Capital Stonewall Democrats, the Wanda Alston Foundation, the LGBTQ youth advocacy group SMYAL, the sex worker advocacy group HIPS, the Washington AIDS Partnership, Us Helping Us, the Gay and Lesbian Activists Alliance (GLAA), the ANC Rainbow Caucus, Damien Ministries, and the Latin American Youth Center.
The D.C. LGBTQ Budget Coalition, which consists of at least 10 prominent local LGBTQ organizations and another nine LGBTQ supportive allied groups, is calling on Mayor Muriel Bowser and the D.C. Council to include about a dozen specific programs in the city’s fiscal year 2024 budget that add up to about $13.5 million in funding.
Among the LGBTQ and LGBTQ supportive organizations that are members of the D.C. LGBTQ Budget Coalition are Capital Pride Alliance, the D.C. Center for the LGBT Community, Capital Stonewall Democrats, the Wanda Alston Foundation, the LGBTQ youth advocacy group SMYAL, the sex worker advocacy group HIPS, the Washington AIDS Partnership, Us Helping Us, the Gay and Lesbian Activists Alliance (GLAA), the ANC Rainbow Caucus, Damien Ministries, and the Latin American Youth Center.