Franklin School Shelter in Federal Court Tomorrow - Housing ...

It’s been almost two years since the city at the Franklin School on 13th and K Streets NW. Superior Court–a request for an injunction to re-open the shelter was denied–as well as the D.C. Human Rights Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act, and the Fair Housing Act on the basis of disparate treatment–the men served by the Franklin Shelter were overwhelmingly African American and frequently had mental disabilities and substance abuse problems. In addition, the plaintiffs fault the city for failing to provide adequate alternative shelter for those displaced, as well as homeless families across the District now packed into overcrowded shelters. But the need for emergency shelter is rising fast–by the Metropolitan Washington Council of Government’s , the District has 6,538 homeless people this year, up from 6,228 last year. At the same time, is pushing the District to move faster on the reason it kicked people out of the shelter to begin with–putting the Franklin School back into use as a school.