OLIVE BRANCH COMMUNITY home

Activists Demand More Shelters
by Steve Donkin

March/April 2002
Washington Peace Letter, Volume 39, Number 2 WPC

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 fat-cats 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! [update: Harold was charged with a symbolic fine. The next court date for Jamie and Tom is on May 29.]

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.