Approximately 14 years ago, the Washington Legal Clinic for the Homeless drafted for the first time a document which has since come to be known simply as “The Fact Sheet.” This document was originally entitled “Homelessness in D.C.—Some Basic Facts”, but eventually evolved into the “Fact Sheet On Homelessness and Poverty.” It was initially conceived of and created for use in a new training, called “Homelessness 101”, for D.C.’s Metropolitan...
Hypothermia: Believe it or Not, it’s Just Around the Corner!
By Patty Mullahy Fugere, Washington Legal Clinic for the Homeless Executive Director As we trudge through these dog days of summer, it’s hard to imagine the mercury dropping below 80 for more than a twelve hour stretch at a time. Yet the calendar tells us that’s just around the corner…and so, too, do the preparations of DC’s Interagency Council on Homelessness (ICH) for hypothermia season 2010-2011. This past winter will...
Can you help a family with no safe place to sleep tonight?
By Amber Harding, Washington Legal Clinic for the Homeless Staff Attorney A mother walks the city in 100 degree heat with her 10 year old son and 2 year old daughter, desperately searching for help to get her family off the streets. They have spent the last five weeks repeating this pattern since losing their housing; told daily that there is no room for them in shelter. This mother lives in fear that she will lose custody of her children...