If gravity makes that impossible.

They can ignore gravity but it won't ignore them.

You probably have a gravity system and it is pretty simple. 

To get rid of ground water, you can either provide a gravity drain to daylight, if it is possible and will drain, or you put in a sump pump.

I just want a nice way to illustrate the gravity of the situation.

Of course they are (and Gravity is the leading cause of airplane crashes too).But adding a few days to the process isn't going to solve that.Homelessness is caused by people not having a "Safety Net" in their personal lives, and by having borderline or no income.And by Section 8 not taking care of them in a timely manner, or at all.

I have a 4 unit (all 1 BR) that has a 1940's era "gravity hot water" boiler.

I couple it with a standard AC condensate pump if I can’t put it in a shelf to gravity drain.

I'm very cautious with those since even if the current system is gravity fed you may not be able to keep it if you are pulling permits or it has an issue.

In the end, you can work around a lot of things, but a victim of life is not recommended because they will drag you down to your level more often than you raise them up to yours (stupid gravity ;- )Best wishes.