But a 1989 study conducted by The City revealed that 97 percent of the families seeking shelter were D.C. residents. The new requirement will, however, succeed in keeping many of the District's homeless people, who have neither I.D. nor personal papers, out of City shelters. H. R. Crawford H.R. Crawford is the proponent of Amendment 8-156. They are human beings in crisis, who, almost without exception, are desperately and legitimately in need of help. Amendment 8-156 limits shelter availability to 30 days for individuals and 90 days for families.
Homelessness is physically, psychologically, and financially devastating.
It takes a substantial amount of time and stability for many homeless people to pull their lives back together. Finding a place to live at a price they can afford may take even longer - particularly in Washington, where affordable housing is as scarce as hen's teeth. For many homeless people, such as those who are physically or mentally disabled, or elderly and on fixed incomes, appropriate and affordable housing simply doesn't exist. Demanding that people contribute 30 percent of their income to defray the cost of shelter, or that they spend four hours a day in unpaid community service if they have no income, guarantees that they will never have the time or tile money to be able to break tile cycle of Homelessness. It has been widely reported that the cost of providing shelter has skyrocketed as a result of Initiative 17.