Tick Tock Sheptock

Saturday, October 29th was a wet, cold miserable day in Washington, DC. There was a light rain throughout the day. It felt like the temperature was somewhere between 35 and 40 throughout the daylight hours, though I missed the forecast. We even got some snow that evening and had an even colder night. DC Law defines "hypothermia season" in two ways -- by date and by temperature. DC Government's Department of Human Services (DHS) is required by law to provide enough shelter for all people who present as homeless between November 1st and march 31st. However, if it freezes before or after that time frame(including the windchill factor), they must be prepared to provide shelter to all who are in need of it and are within the city limits at that time (regardless of whether or not that person claims to be a resident of the city). But on that fateful day in October, a homeless man in a wheelchair was denied shelter and died in the parking lot behind the shelter. I've yet ...

Occasionally I write a blog post that has little, if anything, to do with homelessness. This is one of those times. A touching story about elder abuse was brought to my attention recently and the person who told me asked me to blog about it. Though the story was moving in and of itself, the fact that this person has done much to help me in my homeless advocacy is all the more reason for me to oblige. Several months ago, on Change.org I blogged about an elderly woman (presently 91 years old, if she hasn't passed since I saw her about 4 months ago) who became homeless at 87 due to a landlord violating her rights (http://news.change.org/stories/87-years-old-and-homeless-for-the-first-time). She then went to a shelter which caught fire and was taken to the hospital for smoke inhalation. Then she went to a different shelter where she was accidentally pushed down and broke her hip. While she was in the hospital, I contacted DC Government. She has since healed as well as can be exp...

Spring is here!!!!! Many people are getting spring fever. For some it means that they will tend to the garden. Others will go to the Cherry Blossom Festival. Some will paint the house. Then there are those who will do some spring cleaning. This final group includes DC Government and the DC homeless shelters. For most people the onset of spring is a time of great pleasure. For the homeless it means that they lose their right to shelter. DC Law only gives the homeless a right to shelter if the temperature is 32 and below or 95 and above (including the wind chill factor or heat index). So long as the temperature remains between 33 and 94, there is no right to shelter in our nation's crapital. The homeless are put out of shelter and into the rain quite often. Some shelter employees will allow people to come in if it is raining hard enough. However, they do this at their own discretion and risk, with many insurance policies not covering the shelters during usual off hours except during ...

Something suspicious is happening to the homeless people of DC. There has been a sharp, sudden decline in the numbers of homeless people that frequent certain parks and other areas of town. The recent murders of homeless people in DC creates a definite cause for concern -- one man having had his head bashed in as he slept outdoors, the other having been beaten by 2 men as the result of a verbal altercation and left to die in front of a grocery store. (In the latter case, video footage shows people walking past the man as he lie incapacitated and dying for 20 minutes.) There have also been at least a half dozen non-fatal attacks on homeless DC residents as they slept outside over the past few months. Putting aside all sensationalism, I don't believe that the decreased number of homeless people in the parks is the result of foul play. If so, it's probably non-violent foul play on the part of Mayor Fenty and/or those acting on his behalf; but, don't quote me on that. A certain...

Below are a couple of e-mail messages that I sent about a man that was feared dead shortly after receiving Permanent Supportive Housing. HE TURNED OUT TO HAVE SURVIVED A BRUTAL ATTACK AND REMAINS IN THE HOSPITAL. However, if something isn't done quickly, the next person might not be so lucky. Read them and weep.......... **************************************** In the few minutes that I have I wanted to let you know that I received credible info from Pat Handy, the DHS Homeless Services Coordinator, that Tommy Overton was indeed badly beaten but is very much alive. He is in the hospital. DC Gov., take this as a warning. it could've been much worse. I will send a more detailed message later letting all who I told about Tommy Overton that he is still alive. Bear in mind that I received this news around 6:30 PM yesterday. It doesn't mean yet that he couldn't've taken a turn for the worse or that he won't die; but, as far as I know, he's alive. ********...

The following is a message that I received from a formerly homeless man about a comrade who might've been murdered shortly after moving into a Permanent supportive Housing unit. (I've done some slight editing.) The PSH program is the program that Mayor Fenty used to justify closing Franklin Shelter. Many people who've been offered housing through this program have turned it down due to, among other reasons, being placed in unsafe, drug-ridden neighborhoods. Now we have a possible murder of a formerly homeless man. As if murder isn't appalling enough in and of itself, this man lived more than 10 years on the street and less than 1 week in his apartment after being. It seems to be safer to live on the streets than in an apartment. That's sad. Mr. Barry, Ms. Alexander, Good Morning. I am e-mailing you both this morning in the fear that a man that I was homeless in the streets of downtown D.C. with (who himself had been homeless for about 10-15 years) was ...

On the night of October 9th, 2008, several homeless men including myself witnessed police brutality at the 801 East (MLK, Jr.) Homeless Shelter. It is quite possible that the staff and/or security exhibited gross negligence and dereliction of duties. I was able to gather information after everything was over that indicated that the incident could've been avoided. There had been an altercation between 2 residents at the shelter around 10 PM. One resident hit another. Having been alerted by the loud arguing, Hawk One Security arrived on the scene and was able to pull the men apart before a return blow could be thrown. They eventually had the victim who'd been attacked by the other resident to go to bed. He slept in my dorm. I couldn't see what became of his attacker. He slept in another dorm. I assume that he was allowed to return to his bed as well. I was told that the victim's name was Michael Williams and his attacker was named Rob. In accordance with prot...

From: Eric Sheptock Subject: A Dangerous, Illegal Mode of Transportation To and From the 801 East Shelter..... To: "Adrian Fenty" , "Adrian Fenty" , "Adrian Fenty" , "Adrian Fenty" mayor@dc.gov 3 of his e-mails disappear when I publish the post. Use the 1 that remains to contact him about the following situations. Also read the post below this one if you haven't already. It explains "Sheptock vs. Fenty", the court case around re-opening Franklin Shelter. I feel honored to have my name on a court case against a lying, insidious "mayor that doesn't care". Date: Saturday, October 4, 2008, 12:17 PM The men who reside at the 801 East shelter on the grounds of St. Elizabeth's Hospital are being transported in a manner that is both dangerous and illegal. I plan to contact the police about it if nothing is done and I mean like yesterday, Mayor Fenty. All, You are free to forward, post and publish the following ...