The Committee to Save the Franklin Shelter and the Mobilization for Global Justice took to the streets today to speak out against Mayor Williams plan to convert the Franklin School Building, currently a homeless shelter serving 250 Washington DC men, into a luxury hotel. The march began at the World Bank, wound through downtown DC during the evening rush hour, and ended at the Franklin School Building at 925 13th Street, NW.
Organizers handed out flyers linking the World Bank to the Franklin Shelter
A sign on the march from the World Bank to the Franklin Shelter
Luci Murphy, representing the Grey Panthers, stays dry as she marches
A homeless man watches the march while resting on a city bench
The organizers of today’s march, which was attended by about 50 DC residents, said that in addition to drawing attention to the shelter, they hoped to show the link between the policies that promote gentrification in DC and the policies used by the World Bank that displace the poor in under-developed countries in the name of development.
The World Banks Policies were compared to the policies affecting the homeless in DC
Basav Sen, a member of the Mobilization for Global Justice, an organization built around opposition to World Bank policies, said that ‘gentrification and displacement are worldwide issues and the World Bank / IMF (International Monetary Fund) play a major role in this all over the world.’ Mr. Sen said that the procecss by which the Franklin Shelter is being converted to a luxury hotel is the ‘same corporate welfare that giant banks receive from the World Bank in order to develop at the expense of displacement of poorer residents.’
The Mobilization for Global Justice has been working for years to bring attention to the World Bank's policies
According to Mr. Sen, the market rate for space in the neighborhood of the Franklin Shelter is $45 per sq. foot and the mayor wants to rent out the space for only $9 per sq. foot. He argues that this is displacing poor residents in the name of development, subsidized by tax dollars, just like the World Bank’s development projects.
Neither the mayor nor the developer (Western Development Corporation) returned calls as of the publishing of this article.
Eric Sheptock read chants into the megaphone during the march
Eric Sheptock, the Field Marshal for the Committee to Save Franklin Shelter, was more concerned about exposing the danger to the shelter than the link to the World Bank. Mr. Sheptock is a one year resident of the shelter and he hopes that the march today will ‘help make homeless issues known to the community.’ Mr. Sheptock said that he doesn’t believe the shelter will be closed, now that Mr. Fenty is the democratic nominee for mayor, but believes that getting information out is important.
Mr. Sheptock believes that keeping the shelter open is only the first step, and that the shelter needs more services, such as health and job programs, to help its residents get back on their feet. Jesse Smith, the elected president of the Committee to Save Franklin Shelter, agrees. He has been a resident of the Franklin Shelter for six months and said that the shelter needs to offer more than just beds.
Jesse Smith, president of The Committee to Save the Franklin Shelter, speaks to the crowd in front of the shelter
Resistance Media attended the entire march, while other media joined for the speeches at the end
The Franklin School Building, over which the battle is being fought
