D.C. closed nine encampments, did “full-clean ups” at six others, and postponed two scheduled closures due to bad weather between Aug. 27 and Oct. 8. This is an increase from the same period in 2023, during which D.C. closed two encampments and did five clean-ups.
On Oct. 2, Leon, the only resident of an encampment on the corner of 16th and New York Avenue NE, moved his belongings across the street before The Office of the Deputy Mayor for Health and Human Services (DMHHS) closed his encampment. That morning, Leon called the upcoming encampment closure “a form of oppression.”
Leon, who only gave his first name, said he had been living in the corner of the Exxon gas station since the city closed his encampment at the bridge down the street a couple of months ago. That area, he said, has “become dirtier” since he left.
By 10:20 a.m., there were 16 people at Leon’s encampment: city employees from organizations such as the Department of Human Services and the Department of Behavioral Health (DBH), government-contracted outreach workers from Community Connections, and a lawyer from the Washington Legal Clinic for the Homeless.
D.C.’s Department of Public Works first came in to clean up the trash. Then Community Bridge biohazard engineer Virgil Martin sprayed the area with Spic and Span. The area was not power-washed and remnants of food and small cardboard pieces remained.
According to the DMHHS website, the encampment was closed for biohazard removal and because the space has to be clear at all times. “Got to make it safe, that’s what I do,” Martin said. When asked about the encampment, a passerby told Street Sense Leon had always been nice and they would speak on occasion. A driver who knew Leon stopped to give him supplies.
Leon watched the closure from the street’s median island and said he planned to move his belongings back later. “It’s a shuffle game,” Martin said.
The next day, Oct. 3, DMHHS closed an encampment along a fenced-off hill in Eckington behind a high-rise apartment building with signs advertising it was “now leasing.” Andre, 43, was the only resident present and protested the clearing. He told Street Sense the city had closed the encampment once before in 2022, and he lost all his possessions, “lost everything.”
The city did not remove Andre’s belongings during this closure, however, as they were the furthest from the fence under the highway tunnel and fell beyond the perimeter of the engagement, according to DMHHS employees. City workers did remove the tent, mattress, and belongings of another resident, who Andre said worked from 6:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. and thus wasn’t present.
Andre, who only gave his first name, said he has a place to stay overnight but he can’t bring all his belongings there, so he relies on the encampment for storage. Andre shared videos with Street Sense of him collecting trash from the entire encampment and keeping it tidy.
According to the DMHHS website, the city closed the encampment for biohazard removal and because the space has to be clear.
Before the closure began, Andre told DMHHS and DBH personnel that he was not aware of the scheduled clearing, saying the required metal notice was on the outside of the fence, which he doesn’t see on his way in. A DMHHS spokesperson told Street Sense that both the standard metal signage on the fence and adhesive sticker notices on identified structures in both English and Spanish were placed in the encampment site. Street Sense reporters did not see any sticker notices within the encampment structures when they arrived.
By 12:30 p.m., the 80-yard stretch of the fence was bulldozed to the ground. A condom and rags remained on the exposed earth.
“The purpose of scheduled Encampment Protocol Engagements is to remove all identified bulk items along with hazardous materials as identified on public space,” a spokesperson for DMHHS wrote in an email to Street Sense. “Per DMHHS’ awareness, these tasks were completed accordingly.”
Additional cleaning by the Department of Public Works is usually a separately scheduled engagement, the spokesperson wrote.
During September, DMHHS also closed encampments in the West End, Foggy Bottom, Logan Circle, Waterfront, East End, Navy Yard, and Ivy City neighborhoods, though Street Sense was not able to attend the closures. The city also conducted clean-ups at encampments across downtown and U Street.
Upcoming encampment clearings include: Oct. 9 at New York and Montana Avenues NE, Oct. 9 at the 300 Block of 3rd Street NW, Oct. 10 at 27th and K Streets NW, Oct. 15 at 11th and G Streets NW, and Oct. 16 at 1st and C Streets NW.
This article is part of our 2024 contribution to the D.C. Homeless Crisis Reporting Project in collaboration with other local newsrooms. The collective works will be published throughout the week at bit.ly/DCHCRP.