by Scott McNeilly Last month, one hundred and ninety-seven families came into the District of Columbia’s Virginia Williams Family Resource Center to apply for emergency shelter. Fifty seven of those families were determined to have no other temporary or safe place to stay the night they applied. None of those families received emergency shelter. Until the weather turns hypothermic, none will. Next week, DC’s Interagency Council on...
Real Life Hunger Games: Are Children Being Sacrificed In Our Nation’s Capital?
Sarah* and her two young kids have lived in DC their entire lives. Sarah works 7 days a week as a hair stylist but only makes $1,100 a month. Sarah and her children were recently put out by Sarah’s mother. Every night Sarah tries to find someone to take her kids while she spends most nights sleeping in a car. Sarah’s family applied for shelter last fall but was told that no families would be placed unless the weather dipped below freezing. ...
Oversight Roundtable on Winter Plan
Today, starting at 2pm, the District of Columbia Council’s Committee on Human Services is conducting a roundtable to discuss the Department of Human Services’ plan to protect the lives of people who are homeless this winter. Below is the testimony that will be delivered by Legal Clinic Staff Attorney Amber W. Harding. Council of the District of Columbia Committee of Human Services Hypothermia Roundtable Thursday, October 20, 2011...
The Ambiguities of Hypothermia Season – A Home Court Fellow Speaks Out
By Kate Gannon, Lane Evans Home Court Fellow at Washington Legal Clinic for the Homeless Since starting my Home Court fellowship at Washington Legal Clinic for the Homeless (WLCH) I find myself checking the weather and hoping for a very cold forecast. Usually at this time of year I am anxiously anticipating the arrival of spring and its ensuing warm weather, but not this year. Why? Because warm weather means no right to shelter in D.C. For the...
“Where Do We Go When the Shelter Closes?”
By Julie Broas, Staff Attorney Every weekday at 10 a.m., Ana Portillo, a Case Manager with Catholic Charities, meets with a group of Latino men in a small conference room at the Sacred Heart Church in Columbia Heights. During the winter months, the conversation invariably focuses on survival strategies – how the men, most of whom are homeless, can secure a bed in the hypothermia shelter that opens at Sacred Heart when it’s freezing or, if they...
Mother Told to Leave DC or Give Kids Up – A Follow Up
Readers responded strongly to our recent blog post about a mother, who was a D.C. resident, being told to choose between leaving the District or giving up her children. We received some media attention for this post. One of the stories is by Jason Cherkis of the Washington City Paper, who followed up with a great article. At this point, the mother finally reached out to the Legal Clinic. While at Virginia Williams, and in front of Broas, a...
