D.C. increases homeless encampment clearings

D.C. has increased its efforts against homeless encampments this year.

Why it matters: Homelessness has risen two years in a row, drawing questions around whether the city is being effective in reducing the unhoused population.

The big picture: A Supreme Court decision in June effectively allows cities to ban people from sleeping in public spaces — a ruling advocates argue criminalizes homelessness.

• The ruling most directly impacted cities in the West, but others have since been emboldened to enact more restrictive policies. Virginia Beach, for example, has recently picked up the pace of its encampment clearing.

Zoom in: D.C. says the ruling hasn't impacted its policy.

• The District "will always work to treat all people with dignity and respect," the deputy mayor's office told Axios. "Our policies are designed to protect the health and safety of our residents while connecting them to housing and other resources."
• "The Supreme Court's recent ruling does not change this," it added.

Yes, but: Encampment clearings have increased in D.C.

• There have been on average 8 "encampment engagements" — defined as city crews cleaning or disbanding encampments — per month since July, according to city data.
• That's up from 6.8 interventions per month on average in 2023.

What they're saying: "While we are glad that D.C. does not arrest people for sleeping outside, we believe that the current D.C. practice of clearing encampments, often with no notice, is harmful and destabilizing to D.C. residents," Amber Harding, the head of the Washington Legal Clinic for the Homeless , told Axios.

By the numbers: D.C. is tracking a total of 74 encampments, as of August, according to the deputy mayor for health and human services.

• They include 127 tents and structures, the office tells Axios.

In other ways, D.C. has expanded its efforts to clear people sleeping outdoors.

• The D.C. Public Library this year began more strictly preventing people from sleeping in and outside the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library, Washington City Paper reports .
• Library spokesperson told Axios that new protocols "are being implemented to address health and safety concerns on library grounds, including incidents of violence, medical emergencies, unsanitary conditions, and drug use."

D.C. says people can contact the Homeless Services Hotline at (202) 399-7093 or 311 for resources or help getting to a shelter.

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 .