D.C. closed three encampments from Oct. 9 to Oct. 24 and did what the city refers to as “full clean-ups” at five others. Across the month, city staffers trimmed grass, picked up trash, threw away tents, and even involuntarily hospitalized an encampment resident.
On Oct. 9, a man silently stood by his belongings under a federal building on 3rd Street NW. D.C.’s Office of the Deputy Mayor for Health and Human Services (DMHHS) had scheduled a clean-up at his encampment for that morning. Normally, this would mean the resident had to temporarily move for the city to clean the area, but could move back after. But the man, who declined to speak to Street Sense or city officials, refused to leave, move his belongings, or speak with outreach workers for around 20 to 30 minutes.
Two Metropolitan Police officers, carrying out a request from the Department of Behavioral Health’s (DBH) Community Response Team to involuntarily hospitalize the resident, asked the man to step away from his belongings. They handcuffed him when he did not respond to repeated requests to move and just stood there with his hands in the air, and escorted him away in a police vehicle. Once the man was gone, city employees threw all of his belongings into a garbage truck and sprayed the area with a cleaner.
A DBH spokesperson declined to comment on why the man was involuntarily hospitalized, citing federal and D.C. health privacy laws.
“The CRT makes every effort to support an individual in crisis with compassionate, skilled de-escalation and offers transportation to emergency treatment. The law provides that when a clinical judgment is made that an individual is a danger to themselves or others for their own safety and care and for the wellbeing of the community, involuntary emergency psychiatric treatment takes place until they are stable” the spokesperson wrote.
According to one of the federal building’s security guards, there had been several complaints about the resident throwing bottles at the building’s glass and at parked cars, and for breaking into an ATM nearby.
During the engagement, the resident was peaceful and held his hands up without being asked.
The criteria for an involuntary hospitalization, or FD-12, is that a person has a mental illness and is likely to harm themselves or others. However, DBH staff on site have discretion about when this criteria is met.
Just over a week later, city workers nearly involuntarily hospitalized another resident during an encampment closure on Oct. 17 at Mt. Pleasant Street NW. The closure was originally scheduled for several months ago, but employees at Miriam’s Kitchen were able to push its postponement to give time for the resident, a voucher recipient, to sign a lease and secure housing. Just days before the closure, the resident’s application for housing had been denied due to issues with its rent reasonableness, one of D.C.’s Housing Authority’s (DCHA) guidelines for determining whether an apartment can be leased with a voucher, according to people on site.
“You don’t listen, and no one wants to listen,” the resident, who didn’t speak to Street Sense, told DMHHS and DBH staff on-site, after repeatedly telling them to leave her alone. At 10:05 a.m., she was given 25 minutes to gather her belongings and move. Four police officers arrived and the DBH team started drafting an FD-12 form for emergency involuntary hospitalization, telling the resident that if she did not move, they would take her to the hospital.
At 10:33, the resident walked away down the street alley and city employees began throwing her items in the garbage truck. City workers sprayed the area after it was cleared.
In addition to the encampment in Mount Pleasant, the city closed two more sites in mid-October.
There were no residents present at an Oct. 16 closure near the District Department of Transportation (DDOT) Tunnel at 1st and C Streets NW or a couple of blocks away at D Street and 2nd Street NW. City employees threw all items in the tunnel into the garbage truck and swept the sidewalk. By the end, there was only a toothbrush, a lighter, and cigarette butts on the ground.
Only the 1st and C closure was posted online, but a metal sign at the other location posted on August 14 showed the Oct. 16 date. Staff cleared away items and trash from both side alleys of the street, but left a stroller with hygiene items and clothes in the same place.
On Oct. 24, an encampment closure was scheduled at a site under the Whitehurst Freeway. The resident had already moved before the closure and before Street Sense arrived.
Workers from Miriam’s Kitchen were able to talk to him, and said the resident came from Whithurst Hill and had been living under the bridge for about five to six weeks before the city closed his encampment.
In addition to closures, the city conducted five full clean-ups, which ranged from picking up trash to mowing. At the largest one, on Oct. 10, over 10 people had to move their homes from Whitehurst Hill to the sidewalk so DMHHS could trim the grass and remove trash. DMHHS employees removed abandoned tents moldy from rain and full of spiders, at the residents’ request, and left the tent of the only resident not present intact, while the lawnmower cut the grass.
Outreach workers from Miriam’s Kitchen and advocates from Stop the Sweeps DC were on site helping residents move, giving out coffee, doughnuts, water, and trash bags, and advocating for DMHHS to give more time to move to residents who arrived later or had more belongings. They said they aim to reduce the disruption caused by these clean-ups by communicating with residents before and on the day scheduled.
“I think today, we were able to speak with most residents about the purpose of the cleanup and what’s happening,” Abigail McNaughton, an encampment case manager at Miriam’s Kitchen said. “And that doesn’t mean that it’s not stressful for them, but it does mean that people are prepared, and they understand that they’re not being kicked out permanently from where they’re living. And I think that’s why this morning was relatively uneventful.”
The main concern from outreach workers was the lack of communication with non-English speaking residents. While big metal signs were posted by DMHHS on Sep. 20 on the far ends of the hill, much smaller sticker signs in Spanish were only posted three days before the clean-up, after Miriam’s Kitchen advocated for the encampment’s Spanish-speaking residents, according to McNaughton.
Beyond language issues, McNaughton said the standard notice metal plaques the city posts before encampment clearings and closures don’t provide detailed information on DMHHS’s plans. She said the city should specify whether it’s city maintenance work or trash pickup, and if residents will be allowed to move back, so residents can have a clear understanding of what to expect and prepare for.
Currently, the standard sign only includes the date and time the District “will conduct a general clean-up of this public space,” a warning that any property within 200 feet of the sign is subject to disposal, instructions on how to request limited free storage of certain items, and contact information for further information.
“Would it not be in the best interest of that goal to have everyone that is living there understand as much as possible what is happening that day and why?” McNaughton said. “It just seems like an easy step that would improve communication.”
On Oct. 9, city employees were at another encampment on New York and Montana Avenues NE, in a grass patch and underpass area without much pedestrian traffic. They woke up a resident and allowed him to move his belongings before the trash pickup. City employees removed trash piled up in a corner of the grass by the street.
On Oct. 23, a “full clean-up” was scheduled for 1905 Brentwood Rd. NE, but only a Department of Public Works (DPW) truck stopped by to collect the trash bags placed in a corner. D.C. also scheduled a clean-up at an encampment in NoMa on Oct. 22, but Street Sense was not able to attend.
Upcoming encampment clearings: Nov. 6 at 900 Block of 26th St NW (I-66/Whitehurst Exit hill), Nov. 7 at 27th and K St NW (Water Pumping Station), Nov. 8 at 131 M St NE (NoMa MBT Trail), Nov. 13 at Souza Bridge/DDOT Underpass, and Nov. 19 at Anacostia River Walk Trail/M St. SE/Bridge Underpass.
