SUNDAY, DECEMBER 26, 2010


KLMNO


EZ RE Local OPINIONS 6


washingtonpost.com/localopinions localopinions@washingtonpost.com


CLOSETOHOME THEDISTRICT


Something found in the ashes Late one afternoon in November,my apartment building


caught fire. A friend ofmine calledme with the news. At the time, I was a few blocks away, having a drink. I was


about to go to an election night party. I didn’t believemy friend, and the District seems to send out fire engines for ev- erything. I had seen fire trucks inmy Northwest neighbor- hood before, responding to false alarms andminor acci- dents. I was stunned when I returned home. Ladder trucks sur-


rounded the building. It had been a three-alarmfire. There was a black hole on the ninth floor, where an unattended candle had touched off the fire. TV crews were doing reports. News of the dramatic downtown conflagration was on every channel. My neighbors were sheltering in the lobby of the building


next door—all the people I saw on a daily basis but rarely talked to.We compared notes and speculated. None of us would get back home that night. A neighborhood hotel put us all up. Things were worse in themorning. There’s a perverse


thrill you get with disaster, and it quickly ends when the sun comes up. I loitered behind police tape with other residents, all of us concerned about the state of our homes. Two of the units on the ninth floor were destroyed, just windowless shells looking out at the dawn. The rest of the floor had been condemned, damaged by smoke and fire. Eventually, we were allowed inside, to a building reeking


of ashes, the carpets still damp. I opened the door onmy seventh-floor apartment to see it


exactly as I had left it the day before. Relief filledme. Not everyone was so lucky. Units down the hallway from


me were damaged by the water used to put out the fire. It had poured down fromthe ninth floor and into their apart- ments. I heard one ofmy neighbors crying in the hall. A fire is somethingmost people don’t want to think


about. I was fortunate to have renter’s insurance, just in case the worst happened, but somuch of whatmatters, such as personal photos, can never be replaced. Also, fire doesn’t care if you’re good or conscientious. One


person and amoment of carelessness was all it took to ren- der a dozen people homeless. I realized that I had no real emergency plan. Upon seeing


the disaster that night,my response was to go to the neigh- borhood hotel. All I had were the clothes onmy back. I could’ve stayed with friends except for onemajor prob-


lem—the battery inmy cellphone had died.My last Twitter update was aboutmy building being on fire. Friends and family got worried when they didn’t hear anything else from me. Another lesson learned—keep the phone charged. Socialmedia are no substitute for real people. I was fortu-


nate that a friend in the neighborhood alertedme to the fire. Later, I commiserated and shared information withmy neighbors, people with whomI had only shared small-talk in the elevator. Friends offeredme a place to stay. People called to check in onme. I was fortunate. The fire was just aminor inconvenience


forme. Others’ lives were overturned. I come away fromthe experience with one essential truth—all the stuff you own, the things that seemto define you, can disappear in amo- ment. Whatmattersmost are the relationships you have with other people, whether they be friends, family or neigh- bors.


Joe Flood,Washington


Freedom in a nursing home I was shocked to read the article detailing the treatment


of the elderly and disabled in D.C. nursing homes [“Suit set on D.C.’s care of disabled,”Metro, Dec. 23]. While the article did notmention residents being harmed


or intentionally abused, the lack of freedomand dignity they face is just as appalling. Nursing home life doesn’t have to be that way. My grandmother lived in a South Texas nursing home for


several years before her passing, and her experience was far more pleasant. She was allowed to wake and sleep when she wished, and she could freelymove about the lovely fenced-in yard.Meals were at set times, but she could eat in her room if she chose. She could leave the home in the company of a friend or relative any time she wished, as long as someone signed her out, so the nursing staff would know where she was and that she hadn’t wandered off (she suffered fromAl- zheimer’s disease). Residents who were notmentally im- paired could sign themselves in and out whenever they chose. The D.C. nursing homes described in the article should at


least take immediatemeasures to allowmentally able resi- dents to come and go when they wish. To do anything less is to strip themof their basic human dignity. Karen Thornton, Springfield


WRITE FOR US Local Opinions, a place for commentary about where we live, is looking for submissions of 300 to 500 words on timely local topics. Submissions must include name, e-mail address, street address and phone number, and they will be edited for brevity and clarity. To submit your article, please go to washingtonpost.com/localopinions. NEXT WEEK’S TOPIC Vincent Gray’s cabinet: What do you think of the choices he’s made?


YOURYEARINREVIEW


What went wrong, what went right and what was worth singing about


What works in D.C. Complaining is one of our favor-


ite pastimes in the D.C. area. We complain about crime, construc- tion, corruption, traffic,badweath- er, lousy sports teams and bad cof- fee at the office. But in 2010 I noticed three things in our area thatworked great. With all our kvetching about


Dulles Airport construction, the newlyrenovatedairport is fantastic. More efficient security, wonderful little trains,undergroundwalkways to parking and a beautiful new ter- minal.Cool.Also, amid thewhining during Snowmageddon, inmy neck of the exurbs I experienced neigh- bors helping neighbors to shovel, plow operators helping to clear driveways and overall round-the- clock efficiency. Bravo, Loudoun County. And anyone who has not visited the new National Harbor is missing out. It’s easy to get there, parking is a snap and the view of Virginiaout thegiantGaylordHotel picture window is worth the trip alone. So perhaps in 2011, more of us


can take a brief respite from com- plaining to consider a radical no- tion: There are things that actually work in the region! JimFowler, Ashburn


JOHN MCDONNELL/THE WASHINGTON POST


A year of grief—and grace A year in which one loses a par-


ent stands out as the absolute pits. Inmy case, though, losingDadwas mitigatedbyseeinghis legacy, right here, in the cityscape of Washing- ton. My father, Roger Morris, de- signed the volleyball courts near the LincolnMemorial, a play space still bursting with life and activity aftermore than 30 years. As he lay dying, touching letters of gratitude poured in from Washingtonians whose lives had been uplifted by D.C. Doubles (or just an afternoon of spiking in the sun). To spend a year learning how my father shaped the lives of total strangers wasnot lossbut adaughter-histori- an’spleasure:We livedhereanddid good. Frankly, I knew 2010 would be a


challenge well before Dad began his final weeks.My New Year rang in with all the charm of a hooded cobra: I awakened last Jan. 1 with food poisoning and no heat in the building, and it went downhill from there, especially when some hacker used my e-mail account to send spam in my name (and I en- duredweeksofhatemail inreturn). Tryingtodistractmyself fromfami- ly grief by opening up The Post, I found I had few reasons to com- plain: Elsewhere, volcanic ash was blinding European cities; Haitians battled earthquake destruction and disease; gay kids were being bullied to the point of suicide; oil gushed into Gulf ofMexico waters. (This land was made for you and me.) But then I’d drive past Dad’s


courts and they’d be packed with players. My students dropped by, saying, “Your class has changedmy life.” When Alice Walker came to town to read from her new book,


Redskins head coachMike Shanahan.


finally traded this month. Nation- als pitching phenom Stephen Strasburg’sexcitingbeginningend- ed abruptly with reconstructive surgery.Totopall thisoff,Maryland fired football coach and College Park institutionRalph Friedgen af- ter he had a comeback season and was namedACCcoach of the year. The good news for area sports


fans is that theredoesn’t seemtobe anywhere to go but up. Next year could not possibly be as bleak, could it? Maybesomequestionsarebetter


GERALD MARTINEAU FOR TWP/THE WASHINGTON POST The newAeroTrain at Dulles airport.


Metro sliding backward As a transplant from Texas,


where highways dominate the landscape, I was unaccustomed to an efficient mass transit system when Imoved to the region. Imar- veled at how someone could get across the District, Maryland and Virginia inminutes.Metro certain- ly opened the doors ofD.C. forme. But eight years later, D.C. has


come to stand for “dysfunctional commuting.” Commuters are pris- oners ofMetro’s problems.The dai- ly trek consists of delays, confusion and lack of communication. Once the crownjewelofAmericanpublic transit, Metro has become the op- posite, and 2010 will be remem- bered as the year Metro’s decline picked up speed. Afewof the lowlights: l The year starts with John Ca-


toe’s resignation as generalmanag- er after a series ofdeadly accidents. Metro has yet to hire a permanent replacement. l During the multiple snow-


storms, we get a taste of what life wouldbelikewithoutafunctioning Metro system. Not an appealing prospect. l A Red Line train derails in


ANDREW HARRER/BLOOMBERG Snow falls at Capitol SouthMetro station.


she danced withme. I watchedmy GeorgeWashingtonUniversity stu- dent ElanaMeyerswin anOlympic medal in bobsledding during the WinterGames.Andjust lastmonth I sat in the front row for “Hair” at the Kennedy Center. Pulled up on- stage to dance with the cast at the very end, I foundmyselfbelting out “Let the Sun Shine In” and found that Imeant it, too.What 2011 will mean, for me, is carrying on the noble name of Morris with good cheer.


Bonnie J.Morris,Washington


Sporting seasons to forget Some questions have easy an-


swers. For instance, what state is colder than South Dakota? North Dakota, of course. Now, name an American city whose major sports scenewasasunlucky,mismanaged, confused, bungled and even down- right cursedaswasWashington’s in 2010.That’s right, there isn’t one. The year started off with the WashingtonRedskins replacing the


supposedly in-over-his-head coach JimZorn with proven winnerMike Shanahan and the installation of a “real” generalmanager in Bruce Al- len. Add six-time Pro Bowl quarter- back Donovan McNabb, and the teamappeared to be on the road to football redemption. Yet, instead of getting serious about pursuing Su- perBowl rings, theRedskinscontin- ued the three-ring circus that has beenthe ruleunderownerDanSny- der. TheworstRedskinsmoment in decades was the 59-28 shellacking administered by Michael Vick and the Philadelphia Eagles at home in November. As the season ground toward a miserable halt, the team suspendedinsanelyoverpaiddefen- sive lineman Albert Haynesworth andbenchedMcNabb. But 2010 brought more, much


more: The Capitals, with the best regular season record in the NHL, wereshutdowninthefirst roundof the playoffs.Wizards guardGilbert Arenas, once the team’s brightest star, was suspended for bringing guns to Verizon Center and was


February as it is leaving the Far- ragutNorth station. l In September, workers experi-


ence a “nearmiss” on the Red Line when they aren’t told that trains havebeenroutedontothesectionof trackthey are inspecting. l In October, a crowded escala-


tor at L’Enfant Plaza speeds up without warning. Four riders are hurt. l This month, a light fixture


catches fire at Metro Center, caus- ing major delays on the morning commute. Meanwhile,Metro’s board of di-


rectors is undergoing amajor shift, as thetenureofeightof 14members is inquestion.Experts contendthat the structure of the board hampers accountability while also allowing members to become overly in- volved in day-to-day operations. The National Transportation


Safety Board’s report in July called for significant structural reforms, and the region’s leadership has beengettingonboard.Butanyplan will take time to implement and change the daily commute. Until then, I guess I’mstuckwith


my Red Line commute into purga- tory.


DonavanM.Wilson,Germantown


left unasked. WilliamByron, Takoma Park


C5


RICHARDWEXLERALEXANDRIA Sacred cows in D.C.’s child services budget Ideally, a budget crisis would


bring out the best in our public officials — a search for creative solutionsandawillingness totake on even the most sacred cows to spare those who will suffer most as belts tighten and axes fall. Not in the District, where, as


part of a battle over closing a gap in the current budget, public offi- cialspittedoneof thegroupsmost in need, impoverished children at risk of being placed in foster care, against another, children already infostercare.Meanwhile,alterna- tive cuts that might advance the public good even as they save money were never even dis- cussed. First came Roque Gerald, who


runs the D.C. Child and Family Services Agency (CFSA). He pro- posed cutting in half a program that provides basic help to grand- parents and other relatives who have custody of children. These


are childrenwhohavenot come to the attention of the CFSA — yet. The idea is that with a little basic help, it can stay that way. The grandparents won’t be forced to surrender the children because they can’t afford to care for them andwon’tbeplungedintopoverty so severe that the CFSA would confuse itwith “neglect” and take the children away. Gerald also proposed deep cuts


in the Healthy Families Thriving Communities Collaboratives, which provide help to families that otherwise might lose their childrentofoster care.The collab- oratives are a key component of the District’s decades-long effort to turn around its child welfare system. Then came D.C. Council mem-


ber Tommy Wells, who amended Gerald’s proposal to restore some, but not all, of these cuts. But he did it in part by making deeper


cuts toprograms toserve children already in foster care. That upsetGerald. In a letter to


the D.C. Council, Gerald wrote that “the widespread belief that grandparent subsidies prevent entry into the child welfare sys- temdoesnotholdupunder scruti- ny. As you know, the mandate of the childwelfare systemis to pro- tect and serve children who have been maltreated, and this is sim- ply not the situation of the over- whelmingmajorityof childrenbe- ing raised by their grandparents.” If torturing logic were a war


crime, that statement would get Gerald hauled before an interna- tional tribunal. Every prevention program


serveschildrenwhohavenotbeen maltreated.Maltreatment iswhat the prevention programs are cre- atedtoprevent.That’swhythey’re called prevention programs. Ger- ald’s logic is like saying a rent


subsidy program doesn’t prevent homelessness because all of the people getting the subsidies are living in apartments. Of coursenot every childwhose


grandparents lost their help would wind up in foster care — most grandparents will move heaven and earth to avoid that. But given how much more foster care costs, by one estimate five times more than the typical grandparent subsidy, it wouldn’t take all thatmany touseupall the “savings” fromthis cut. ButGerald is right to complain


that Wells’s alternative deepens cuts for programs to help foster children. All of these cuts could be re-


stored if D.C. stopped relying so heavily on both the worst formof substitute and the most expen- sive: group homes and institu- tions. The independent court monitor overseeing the District’s


child welfare consent decree has found that “a substantial and un- acceptably high” number of chil- dren are placed in such facilities, in violation of the decree. It’s not just the CFSA that over-


uses this formof care. In 2009, University Legal Ser-


vices reported that, at any given time, various D.C. government agencies warehouse proportion- ately more children in so-called “residential treatment centers” thanany state except SouthDako- ta.ULS notes that the institutions “tend to be far from the District, expensive, abusive, and most im- portantly, generally ineffective”— and they cost $250 per day per child. The waste doesn’t stop there. The group suing the CFSA, an


organization that calls itself Chil- dren’s Rights, crusades all over the country for fat pay raises for the foster parents who take in


poor people’s children. It argues that foster parents should be re- imbursed not only for the basics butalsofor every toy,game,movie ticket and amusement park ride they buy for a foster child. Only two places in America


already lavish this much money on foster parents — and one of them is the District. In fact, the Districtpays fosterparents signif- icantly more than they need to provide all of this. Yet somehow, Tommy Wells


and Roque Gerald can’t think of anything better to do than to pit one group of poor children against another to fight over the leftovers — after the residential treatment centers, the group homesandthemiddle-class foster parents getmore than they need.


Thewriter is executive director of the National Coalition for Child Protection Reform.


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