Washington DC Homeless Residents Get a Reprieve

Homeless Residents Get a Reprieve
After Suit Is Filed, Shelter Slated for Closing Will Continue Accepting Men

By Sindya N. Bhanoo
Washington Post Staff Writer
Saturday, August 2, 2008; Page B04

District officials reversed a decision to start turning men away from the Franklin School shelter yesterday after several residents filed a suit protesting their removal.

The downtown shelter, which is set to close Oct. 1, will continue to operate as a first-come, first-served facility, said Laura Zeilinger, deputy director for program operations with the Department of Human Services. She offered no explanation for the reversal.

Mayor Adrian M. Fenty (D) announced plans this year to close the shelter at 13th and K streets NW as part of his effort to move the city away from temporary shelters and to create more permanent housing for the homeless.

The shelter had announced that only 320 men on an approved list would be allowed to stay at the facility through the fall. That list included those who had the most stays at Franklin during the past 90 days, those who had 500 nonconsecutive stays since Franklin opened and those who were being referred for permanent housing by the city.

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