Helter-Skelter Shelter

It was the Pentagon's own idea: empty military buildings could be transformed into shelters for the homeless. Congress happily budgeted $8 million. But even the best-laid plans can get caught in red tape. At a House hearing on the homeless last week, Paul Wright of the General Accounting Office, Congress's audit agency, said most of the money had been spent on routine base maintenance. "What the Defense Department did was to rob the poor box," said Democratic Congressman Ted Weiss of New York.

The Army, Air Force and Coast Guard had offered the use of vacant defense facilities to more than 600 communities. But many military bases were too remote for the inner-city homeless. One base commander would not permit food at a shelter; others would not let the poor walk beyond the buildings' grounds. As a result, there were only two takers for the funds, Philadelphia and California's Alameda County. Total amount: $900,000. In August, Defense Department officials realized that the remaining $7.1 million would be lost if it was not spent soon. A House committee went along with their plan to use the money for maintenance. Said Weiss: "We have a more efficient system in the U.S. to deal with stray pets than we have for homeless human beings."