Refugee aid groups are scrambling to find permanent homes for the thousands of Afghan evacuees expected to settle in the Washington region in the coming months, a steep challenge in one of the most expensive housing markets in the country.
With an already sizable Afghan population, mainly in Northern Virginia, the region will be a major draw for the families who have been temporarily housed inside U.S. military installations once they are cleared to leave, those groups say.
But there aren’t enough homes in the area those families can afford with the limited federal assistance most are eligible to receive: $2,275 per individual for housing and other basic services, an amount that is meant to last 90 days.
“It’s a challenge,” said Krish O’Mara Vignarajah, chief executive of Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service, predicting that some families will wind up doubling or tripling up in single-family homes.