ABSTRACT
Felicia Dorsey, 33, mother of two children aged four and five, worked as an assistant manager at a convenience store in Waldorf, Maryland, a bedroom community most of whose residents commute to work in Washington, DCI She had lived in an apartment for about four years and walked to work each day. Her supervisor at the convenience store described her as a dependable employee, always on time. She was evicted from the apartment, however, after falling behind on the rent. She had a job to keep and nowhere to live. Her options were few: She was priced out of most apartments. There was no space in the local homeless shelter. Housing vouchers, which would subsidize rent, were unavailable; the waiting list held more than 2,500 people. Ms. Dorsey's solution was to rent a six-by-twelve foot self-storage shed at a cost of $75 per month, which included a 24-hour access card. She and her children lived there for about a week before the manager of the storage facility heard the children talking inside the unit. Ms. Dorsey had locked the children within it while she was at work. The police came, broke the lock, and found the children-who were clean and in good health. Ms. Dorsey was arrested and charged with child endangerment and leaving a child unattended. The children were placed in foster care.
