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Activists Demand More Shelters

by Steve Donkin

March/April 2002

Volume 39, Number 2

On Monday, February 11, activists from the housing advocacy group Olive
Branch Community staged a banner drop from the fifth floor of the John
A. Wilson Building, home to the offices of the D.C. City Council and
Mayor, to draw attention to the desperate plight of D.C.'s homeless
this winter and the need for emergency hypothermia shelters. At the
same time, supporters rallied in front of the building providing information
to passers-by.

This month, Mayor Anthony Williams has been busy wining-and-dining
with Olympic Committee fatcats in Salt Lake City (in preparation for
his own bid to bring the Olympics to Washington in 2012), while up to
7 people froze to death on the streets of D.C. Emergency hypothermia
shelters are at full capacity when the temperature drops below freezing,
and the Olive Branch and others are demanding the re-opening of the
Reeves Center at 14th and U Streets, NW for emergency use, as well as
the establishment of bilingual shelters for men, women and families
to relieve the pressure on currently operating shelters, particularly
in Ward 1 where the need is especially acute.

Meanwhile, three members of the Olive Branch Community (Harold Moss,
Jamie Loughner and Tom Gomez) went to court on February 15 to answer
charges of "unlawful entry" for occupying the Mayor's office several
weeks previously when they attempted to discuss the situation with the
Mayor following the year's first wave of freezing deaths. The defendants
entered "not guilty" pleas and are scheduled to appear in court for
trial at 9 am on Wednesday, April 10, in D.C. Superior Court, 500 Indiana
Ave., NW, court room 210. Supporters are encouraged to attend!

The defendants' action eventually resulted in a meeting with Ward 1
Councilmember Jim Graham and others and a tentative commitment from
some on the City Council to look into the crisis. Additional emergency
hypothermia shelters are being considered, including the Josephine Butler
Park Center on 15th St., NW.

For more information, contact the Olive branch Community at 202-682-9056.

email: olivemoss@aol.com

web: www.mindspring.com/~rwburden/oliveBranch.html