By the time I pushed Z, in her wheelchair, back to their encampment on April 10, city officials had already used a knife to slash their tent open, searched through their belongings, and thrown their furniture into garbage trucks. The couple, who asked to be identified by their initials for their safety while living outside, had just left the hospital to try to save their belongings.
But they were too late. After waiting an hour and 47 minutes for the couple to return, staff from D.C.’s Office of the Deputy Mayor for Health and Human Services (DMHHS) began removing the encampment at the 1000 block of Howard Road in Anacostia.
The couple was not present when the closure began because Z, who is seven months pregnant, had been in the hospital for the previous few days for a severe infection in a bone in her leg. Knowing the closure was that day, they left the hospital before the infection was fully treated.
The city closed three encampments since Street Sense’s last update was published on April 8, including the encampment where I and Z lived. These encampments were among the first closed under DMHHS’s new encampment protocol, which decreased the mandatory notice given to residents before a closure from 14 days to seven. In addition to the city-led closures, the National Park Service closed an encampment at Massachusetts Avenue and G Streets on April 14. As the city continues to consistently close encampments, clearings remain difficult and, at times, traumatic for residents.
At the closure near Howard Road, in addition to I and Z, the city displaced a third resident, Mikey. As DMHHS delayed the closure, he moved most of his belongings and saved anything he thought his friends might need, including a baby carrier. At the time of the closure, Mikey, who is a young adult, said he was not connected to homeless services, but outreach staff from Washington Legal Clinic for the Homeless helped him connect to a youth service provider. A spokesperson from DMHHS said he had been offered services before.
“The Community Connections and DHS outreach teams engaged this site several times before a DMHHS protocol engagement was initiated. Community Connections and DHS provided resources for youth services and Virginia Williams. Transportation was offered, along with other resources such as case management connection and harm reduction services,” a DMHHS spokesperson wrote to Street Sense. Community Connections, the service provider for the area, did not respond to a request for comment in time for publication.
ANC Commissioner Robin McKinney and her friend Mikey pose in front of his encampment before it was cleared on April 10. Photo by Madi Koesler
DMHHS also closed an encampment at 198 and Southeast Blvd SE on April 10 “due to scheduled DDOT and DPR maintenance and repairs” as well as “health and safety hazards,” according to an agency spokesperson. According to the spokesperson, three residents were identified at the encampment, and two tents were disposed of. Street Sense was not able to attend the closure.
The Howard Road closure was also conducted due to “health and safety hazards” which included “ongoing construction” and “fire hazards.”
On April 9, the day before, one resident, Charles, was displaced when the city closed his encampment at North Capitol Street and Massachusetts Avenue NW. After speaking at length with outreach workers before the clearing, Charles allowed the city to dispose of all his possessions. He said he had moved some of his things before the clearing and wasn’t attached to what was left. The site was closed for “health and safety” reasons, according to a DMHHS spokesperson, including blocking a sidewalk.
“He wasn’t hurting anyone,” Cecilia D’Arms told Street Sense, as she watched DMHHS officials close the encampment. D’Arms regularly passes Charles on her way to law school. They chat a bit every day, and D’Arms considers those interactions a “lovely part” of her day.
“ I think it’s evil and disgusting, and it’s not saving anyone any money,” D’Arms said.“ People are human beings, and I just think there are bigger concerns to be worried about.”
D’Arms is not alone in her concerns. As the city continues to close encampments, advocates worry closures are doing more harm than good.
“An encampment is like a community, really. And it’s safety in numbers,” Wesley Thomas, who spent nearly three decades homeless himself, and now serves as a Guest Advisory Board member at Miriam’s Kitchen, told Street Sense as he watched an April 8 clearing in Foggy Bottom. In his eyes, encampment clearings erode trust between residents and outreach workers and city staff.
The city was also scheduled to close an encampment on April 22 near the White House, but Street Sense did not see anyone at the site. In addition to closing three encampments, the city also sent its 16th encampment closure notice to Heather Bernard, who was profiled in the previous edition of Street Sense, at her encampment in Mount Pleasant.
But for the first time, no closure date was listed. Instead, “WARNING” was written on the sticker, a form of notice that does not fall under DMHHS protocol. Outreach workers have only seen this type of notice once before, ahead of an immediate disposition on March 14 at a District Department of Transportation lot. Bernard has previously told Street Sense closures leave her upset and frustrated.
After four more days, Bernard received her 17th notice, this time with a time and date for the next morning, April 16. But there was no closure that day. An outreach worker from Miriam’s Kitchen arrived about 20 minutes before the scheduled closure, with an email alerting outreach organizations the closure was rescheduled again, this time for April 30.
While city officials often say people whose encampments have been closed can move into shelters, men’s shelters have been full several nights in April, and women’s shelters regularly have between just five and 15 vacancies, according to recent daily shelter reports.
“In D.C., there’s nowhere to go. They’re going from camp to camp across the street here, park to park. Like I explained before, the shelters are overcrowded,” Thomas said. “What is the District going to do? What are the city workers going to do? What is the mayor going to do?”
The same day, Street Sense reporters asked Jamal Weldon, who leads the city’s encampments team, a similar question.
“We can’t force anyone into services,” Weldon said, when asked about DMHHS’s long-term plan as encampment closures increase, but seem to have little success convincing residents to move into housing or low-barrier shelters. “We’re going to keep going, hope we can turn ‘Nos’ into ‘Yeses.’”
Upcoming encampment closures include: April 23 at 3527 Connecticut Ave. NW and Cleveland Park Metro, April 24 at 300 Mass Ave. NE (Bus Stop), April 29 at 11th Street SE (DDOT Underpass), April 29 at 1000 Block of Howard Road SE, and April 30 at 3100 Mt. Pleasant St. NW.
Gabriel Zakaib, Katherine Wilkison, and Cara Halford contributed reporting.
