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University of Wisconsin–Madison
Poverty-related issues in the news, from the Institute for Research on Poverty

Homeless Shelter Shortage – Washington, D.C.

D.C. seeks motels to house families this winter amid expected homeless surge, By Robert Samuels, November 5, 2014, Washington Post: “D.C. Mayor Vincent C. Gray’s administration has been seeking out motels that could be used this winter as makeshift emergency family shelters in an effort to handle the expected surge in homeless families, according to internal documents and interviews with city officials. Securing the facilities could help prevent a repeat of the pratfalls that occurred last winter, when officials said they had no alternative to placing families in Maryland motels and city recreation centers, until a judge ruled that the latter is illegal. At that point, the shelter at the dilapidated, old D.C. General Hospital had filled to the brim, and city motels were booked up…”