"Houston abandons its neediest ahead of Hurricane Rita":
HOUSTON, United States (AFP) - As the first winds of Hurricane Rita whipped at the power lines across the street, Virginia Lewis Mansfield huddled in a doorway with all her earthly possessions within arm's reach.
Homeless for the past three years, Mansfield found herself on the streets of Houston Friday night as many of her usual shelters were closed ahead of the hurricane.
Police officers parked a few blocks away had few suggestions: there was one women's shelter that might be open, or else she could ask at the police station nearby if it would be okay to sit in the lobby until the storm subsided.
But Mansfield had already tried the Salvation Army shelter.
"It's full," she said as she brushed her hair in front a soup kitchen door painted with the words "no trespassing or sleeping in doorway" in red capital letters.
"There's nothing I can do," the 44-year-old schizophrenic said, adding that she hadn't eaten in two days.
OK, maybe not so much.
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