The winter of 2009-10, with a record 55 inches of snow, was a harsh one for our nation's capital. Of DC's more than 700 homeless families, more than 200 were crammed into a shelter that can accommodate only 135. This amounts to gross overcrowding.

DC Councilman Tommy Wells admitted during a hearing in July 2009 that more family shelter was needed but has failed to create any additional capacity a whole 15 months later. A recent Washington Post article explained that DC still doesn't have enough family shelter as we prepare to go into another winter. Mothers with babies as young as six months have been turned away from shelter for lack of space. And all of this is happening in the capital of the wealthiest nation on Earth.

Tell DC's City Council to do what they have to in order to provide shelter for the city's most vulnerable populations.

Photo credit: Daniel Lobo