Thursday, July 6, 2006; A20

As the waters subside and the damage is repaired, the population that was homeless long before the recent storms in the Washington area remains in a state of emergency. People who are homeless lack the safety net of credit cards, savings accounts, insurance, and friends and family, and they are unequipped to cope when an emergency hits. Last week, the District proved it was unprepared to help the homeless as well.

At least three homeless shelters were damaged during the heavy rainfall, leaving shelter units uninhabitable and displacing seven families. In response to the emergency, the city instructed the displaced families to find their own shelter by knocking on doors, asking friends and family, or moving into the day room at a remote, overcrowded communal shelter in a deteriorating building that is unsafe for vulnerable populations. Last month the stress and chaos of the shelter caused one of the women displaced by the storm to nearly lose her pregnancy.

The lack of resources combined with a general indifference creates a fundamental breakdown in our capacity to assist residents in need and raises the question: How will the District weather the next storm, let alone the one the homeless face on a daily basis?

EMILY A. BENFER

Arnold & Porter Equal Justice Works Fellow

The Washington Legal Clinic for the Homeless

Washington