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President Donald Trump’s administration this week said they would crack down on homelessness in the District, leading many advocates and the homeless population to anticipate what would come next.
“How do we get to the point to where we are, to where we are homeless? It can happen to any American today or tomorrow, even if they just were to have a major house fire,” George Morgan, a man who lives in an encampment near the Lincoln Memorial told WTOP.
That encampment was photographed and posted by Trump this past weekend when he announced his federal takeover actions on Truth Social. At the time, the president wrote, “The homeless have to move out, IMMEDIATELY. We will give you places to stay, but FAR from the Capital.”
Morgan lives at the encampment among several other tents with his dog. He told WTOP that he holds empathy for the president.
“This is a very prestigious area … dignitaries ride through here on a regular basis, going to and from the White House … and I think it’s a bad reflection on him, mentally, that America is still struggling from the lack of finances, the lack of education, the lack of jobs,” said Morgan, adding that he prays regularly for whoever is in the White House because he knows the job is a demanding one.
But Morgan disagreed with the notion to move folks who are living on the streets.
“You don’t really want to push your problem on another city and another city is dealing with financial problems,” Morgan said.
Clearing the encampment
Today, D.C. crews cleared the encampment featured in the photo posted by President Trump.
At the site, a skid steer pulled plastic tables, mini fridges and queen-sized mattresses, and pounds and pounds of other items out of one tent site tucked away in the trees and piled them into dumpsters.
But most others at the encampment packed their own tents up and scrambled to find another place to stay.
“This is about the five or sixth time that I’ve been told that I have to move,” said Jess Wall, who has lived there for several months.
He called the moves a disruption, a sense of loss in community and bullying.
Wall said he will be staying in a hotel for the next few days but is not sure what will happen after that.
Meanwhile George Morgan is staying optimistic during this transition: “When it’s time to move, it’s time to move.”
Morgan, like Wall, was also removed from the spot and will be staying in a hotel for a few days.
“Some of the public has come out and gave us a few days at a hotel. I thank God for them,” he said.
Morgan said he will miss the folks he has been living around for the past few months.
“We’re family, a real community. I have compassion for every man.”
Is Trump’s strategy of moving homeless people legal?
Amber Harding, with the Washington Legal Clinic for the Homeless, questions the legality of forcing those experiencing homelessness into other areas. “We do not believe that any government entity has authority to mass remove U.S. citizens from the jurisdiction they call home,” she told WTOP.
She said advocates are trying to understand exactly what the plans from the federal government are.
While the exact number of homeless people in D.C. is unknown, Harding said they have estimates.
A point-in-time count is taken at the beginning of the year. The latest count found more than 5,100 people are living in shelters, transitional housing or on the streets. Harding said estimates for people who are actually living on the streets in encampments sits at roughly 800 people.
But, Harding said they expect the number to rise soon.
“We’re about to see a lot of people lose their housing subsidy next month and we’ll see some reduction in assistance to people. So we’re going to see additional people becoming homeless in the city,” said Harding.
DC has boosted shelter capacity
Meanwhile, advocates for the homeless community are now trying to get many of the several hundred people living on the streets into shelters.
“We’ve increased our shelter capacity so people can come in, and outreach workers are out there every day telling people there are some beds that are available, some resources that are available,” Harding said.
The Washington Legal Clinic for the Homeless estimates that only around 40 beds are available currently for the hundreds living on the street.
The White House on Tuesday said people living on the street would be taken to a shelter or offered addiction or mental health services. However, those that refuse could see jail time.
D.C.’s Department of Health and Human Services is expected to clear a homeless encampment in the District’s Foggy Bottom area on Thursday, and federal enforcement on encampments is expected this week.
The U.S. Park Police removed around 70 homeless encampments on federal land in D.C. at the beginning of the year after an executive order from the president.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said the remaining two encampments on federal land will be cleared this week.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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