One person living outside shares their concerns about how the Trump administration could impact people experiencing homelessness.

Street Sense has tried to map out how the federal government under Trump might change its approach to homelessness over the next four years.

Washington, D.C., is the epicenter of the United States government. Still, within the radius of Washington, there is a city within a city.

In November, DMHHS closed four encampment sites in D.C., displacing at least seven people experiencing homelessness. 

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.

This is about the “street war” as opposed to the courtroom battles, but this does reference a few of the connected court issues.

A few weeks ago, I was invited to attend a conference on housing strategies. To my surprise, many people showed up and were eager to engage in a healthy discussion about the problem of housing instability.

Homelessness began as consequence of the first census in 1790, when the government decided human beings were commodities.

The Office of the Deputy Mayor for Health and Human Services has already closed more encampments this year than it did in all of 2023. 

Advocacy groups and justice organizations have raised concerns about the disruption of community services resulting from drug-free zones.

Overall, the NAEH did an amazing job at this year’s conference. It rejuvenated my spirit and the advocate in me. 

In the Park View neighborhood, Bruce Monroe Park is one of the few places unhoused or housing-insecure people can spend extended time.

While you don’t need a permanent address, a number of barriers can prevent people experiencing homelessness from voting.

He proved that people experiencing homelessness are capable of anything anyone else can do, including being a hero.

A new story by Maurice Spears

Punishment has never reduced homelessness. Yet, the Supreme Court decided penalties for sleeping in public are neither cruel nor unusual.

The Supreme Court issued a landmark ruling on unsheltered homelessness in the case Johnson v. Grants Pass on June 28.

The Supreme Court will soon decide Grants Pass v. Johnson, determining if cities can punish people sleeping on public property when there is no shelter.

D.C. police temporarily detained a pregnant Black woman during an encampment closure on April 17, holding her in a police van for an hour.

Hundreds of people gathered outside the Supreme Court to protest the criminalization of homelessness during Grants Pass v. Johnson.