DC Permanently Removing NoMA Underpass Encampments

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would like them to also move encampments in parks and wooded areas. And libraries. TY.

I have a feeling that slowly but surely the city will be quietly returning a lot of the COVID ‘anything goes’ stuff back to normal as we move into the fall and winter. I doubt that few, if any, COVID changes will stick.

Good! Let's clean up this mess already.

A big part of it is that the business community and particularly real estate owners will probably start applying increasing levels of pressure on Bowser and we know where her priorities lie. Office vacancies are at a record high and there are too many shuttered retail storefronts. Traffic is bad everywhere except downtown, which is really not a good sign.

Thank god for small business.

[Anonymous]

So did it happen?

ANC 6C sent a letter to the mayor urging that the encampments *not* be removed. "We request that the 'no tent' policy be delayed until the public has been given an adequate opportunity to be briefed on the matter and to share input."

https://anc6c.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/ANC-6C-homeless-encampments-L-and-M-Streets-NE.pdf

This is absurd. They *know* that everyone in the community wants those tents GONE, and as recently as June the same ANC6C was urging the mayor to expedite a solution.

https://anc6c.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/ANC-6C-homeless-encampments1.pdf

[Anonymous]

Yes, lots like they were mostly cleared with one incident (hope the guy hit is ok!) and a ton of handwringing by advocates on twitter

https://www.fox5dc.com/news/dc-pauses-plans-to-clear-noma-homeless-encampment-after-bulldozer-strikes-tent-with-man-in-it

Apparently giving people housing vouchers and then clearing thier tents after many many warnings is criminalizing homelessness

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yes, lots like they were mostly cleared with one incident (hope the guy hit is ok!) and a ton of handwringing by advocates on twitter

https://www.fox5dc.com/news/dc-pauses-plans-to-clear-noma-homeless-encampment-after-bulldozer-strikes-tent-with-man-in-it

Apparently giving people housing vouchers and then clearing thier tents after many many warnings is criminalizing homelessness

Apparently it's ok to block the walkway with jersey walls, just not with tents.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There's an encampment in my NW neighborhood.

There’s one in my NW neighborhood too. Directly across the street from our Police staton 4D.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There's an encampment in my NW neighborhood.

There’s one in my NW neighborhood too. Directly across the street from our Police staton 4D.

That's not an encampment, thats a mentally ill homeless veteran.

A bit of a hard pill for some to swallow:

- Many of our homeless in DC are disabled military veterans.
- Many homeless women and men living on the streets who have been victims of years of repeated sexual abuse and trafficking, with little to no supports regarding multiple co-occurring mental health issues.
- Many homeless are LGBTQ youth and former sexworkers
- Many homeless in DC experienced homelessness as children
- Many homeless are under-medicated for conditions that could be stabilized with affordable treatment
- Many young homeless aged out of the foster care system.

Compassion and appropriate supports are necessary. Oversimplified assessments are not.

[Anonymous]

Many homeless are under-medicated for conditions that could be stabilized with affordable treatment

My DH used to work with the homeless population, first in DC and then MoCo. He was a true do-gooder who believed in the ability to help everyone -- but eventually came to the conclusion that most of the homeless men he dealt with would not ever be medication compliant, even if the medication was provided for free. I don't know what you do about a homeless person who has severe mental illness (and possibly also addiction that started as a way to self-medicate) who simply will not respond to attempts to help him. He also got seriously ill on several occasions from viruses he caught at work.

I'm glad the encampments are being removed. Pre-COVID I worked near the encampment in the M Street underpass and did not feel safe walking there. It wasn't necessarily just a physical safety issue, but also a public health one. There frequently were human feces and vomit on the sidewalk.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Many homeless are under-medicated for conditions that could be stabilized with affordable treatment

My DH used to work with the homeless population, first in DC and then MoCo. He was a true do-gooder who believed in the ability to help everyone -- but eventually came to the conclusion that most of the homeless men he dealt with would not ever be medication compliant, even if the medication was provided for free. I don't know what you do about a homeless person who has severe mental illness (and possibly also addiction that started as a way to self-medicate) who simply will not respond to attempts to help him. He also got seriously ill on several occasions from viruses he caught at work.

I'm glad the encampments are being removed. Pre-COVID I worked near the encampment in the M Street underpass and did not feel safe walking there. It wasn't necessarily just a physical safety issue, but also a public health one. There frequently were human feces and vomit on the sidewalk.

Maybe a program like this would work: https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2021/05/19/porta-potty-homeless-salt-lake-city/

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Did anyone read OP's article? The guy they interviewed is actually from Florida but he picked DC because it's more comfortable for him. So this is not just about "home grown" homelessness but also other states dumping on us.

Other states did not “dump” people like the guy from Florida. He chose to live in DC because it was a better option. He is exercising his free will.

I hope we pump the brakes on criminalizing and stigmatizing the unhoused. Being without a home is not a crime.

[Anonymous]

Were the encampments ever removed?

[Anonymous]

I have lived in NoMa or close to NoMa for about 15 years and I am relieved they are doing this finally. I have worked directly with unhoused populations in DC off and on for a couple decades and have lots of empathy for the people living in these encampments. Having been in many such encampments under different circumstances for many years, it was clear the M Street encampment had hit a point of no return in terms of sanitation and public health and it needed to be removed not just for the good of the neighborhood and local businesses, but for the people living there. The steep decline in conditions over the last two years has been alarming. I used to walk through there frequently, sometimes to check on specific community members I've gotten to know over the years. I stopped last year due to conditions. It had gotten overcrowded, the drug use was rampant and obvious, I know Covid swept through that camp multiple times. I was surprised by the local ANC letter (which I did not sign) because while I view city removal of these camps a last resort, this particular camp is the best example I can think of for exercising that option. There are other camps in NoMa that do not pose these dangers and I would fight against removing them unless all residents had housing set up elsewhere. But this one had crossed a line.

I am honestly not sure what the answer is because I've fought against the criminalization of homelessness in DC for years. However, I have to admit that I think part of the decline at this specific camp was due to reduced enforcement by the city. It was also at least partly due to a growing unhoused population in DC thanks to Covid, and we shouldn't overlook that. But I also know that encampment existed for many years with few issues while the city was doing regular clean ups and sweeps (where they post signs and let residents know they are going to clean the sidewalks and clean up trash, and residents can move their belongings for the day while it happens before moving back). That clearly fell by the wayside in the last year. I also know of a number of violent incidents at the camp that resulted in harm to unhoused people either living there or passing through. That's not acceptable to me. Particularly because I have worked with trans and female unhoused persons in the past and know they are often most vulnerable to this kind of violence.

I don't know the answer to homelessness in DC beyond the fact that we need more housing, and specifically subsidized housing that is easier for people to access (the system is absolutely vile as it stands). But camps like this are NOT the answer. No one should have to live like that. I don't understand why any advocates are arguing against removal of this specific camp. It needed to go.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have lived in NoMa or close to NoMa for about 15 years and I am relieved they are doing this finally. I have worked directly with unhoused populations in DC off and on for a couple decades and have lots of empathy for the people living in these encampments. Having been in many such encampments under different circumstances for many years, it was clear the M Street encampment had hit a point of no return in terms of sanitation and public health and it needed to be removed not just for the good of the neighborhood and local businesses, but for the people living there. The steep decline in conditions over the last two years has been alarming. I used to walk through there frequently, sometimes to check on specific community members I've gotten to know over the years. I stopped last year due to conditions. It had gotten overcrowded, the drug use was rampant and obvious, I know Covid swept through that camp multiple times. I was surprised by the local ANC letter (which I did not sign) because while I view city removal of these camps a last resort, this particular camp is the best example I can think of for exercising that option. There are other camps in NoMa that do not pose these dangers and I would fight against removing them unless all residents had housing set up elsewhere. But this one had crossed a line.

I am honestly not sure what the answer is because I've fought against the criminalization of homelessness in DC for years. However, I have to admit that I think part of the decline at this specific camp was due to reduced enforcement by the city. It was also at least partly due to a growing unhoused population in DC thanks to Covid, and we shouldn't overlook that. But I also know that encampment existed for many years with few issues while the city was doing regular clean ups and sweeps (where they post signs and let residents know they are going to clean the sidewalks and clean up trash, and residents can move their belongings for the day while it happens before moving back). That clearly fell by the wayside in the last year. I also know of a number of violent incidents at the camp that resulted in harm to unhoused people either living there or passing through. That's not acceptable to me. Particularly because I have worked with trans and female unhoused persons in the past and know they are often most vulnerable to this kind of violence.

I don't know the answer to homelessness in DC beyond the fact that we need more housing, and specifically subsidized housing that is easier for people to access (the system is absolutely vile as it stands). But camps like this are NOT the answer. No one should have to live like that. I don't understand why any advocates are arguing against removal of this specific camp. It needed to go.

You enabled it and you aren’t sure where the problem is?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:https://www.hillrag.com/2021/09/10/dc-permanently-removing-noma-underpass-encampments/

By the end of the month, the NoMa underpass encampments will be disbanded with residents placed in permanent supportive housing. Thank goodness, this initiative is long overdue. Of course there are critics who are complaining that providing housing is "criminalizing" homelessness. Ridiculous. I look forward to feeling connected to the Metro station and businesses on the other side of the underpass that I've been avoiding because the walk through the encampments was so unpleasant. Hopefully this is the first of many successful steps in clearing out that tent cities that have sprouted up across the city.

They will be back in a month.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:https://www.hillrag.com/2021/09/10/dc-permanently-removing-noma-underpass-encampments/

By the end of the month, the NoMa underpass encampments will be disbanded with residents placed in permanent supportive housing. Thank goodness, this initiative is long overdue. Of course there are critics who are complaining that providing housing is "criminalizing" homelessness. Ridiculous. I look forward to feeling connected to the Metro station and businesses on the other side of the underpass that I've been avoiding because the walk through the encampments was so unpleasant. Hopefully this is the first of many successful steps in clearing out that tent cities that have sprouted up across the city.

They will be back in a month.

Of course. Maybe a different block.

[Anonymous]

They need to clear the encampment at Mass & 3rd NE. I just walked past there last night and felt really unsafe - lots of yelling and behaviors that are not fun to walk past as a lone woman.