Latest news with #WashingtonLegalClinicfortheHomeless
The Herald Scotland
5 days ago
- Politics
- The Herald Scotland
Homeless encampments removed on Trump's Kennedy Center route
Amber Harding, executive director of the Washington Legal Clinic for the Homeless, said officials cleared at least two tents on a patch of green space near the Kennedy Center as Trump spoke at the performing arts center. Members of the city's Department of Human Services pinned notices to at least nine other tents in the area, notifying residents that the camps would be broken down and closed if not removed by the following morning. George Morgan, a lifelong D.C. resident who has lived in the encampment for two months, said he's not sure where he will go. He won't go to a shelter because they wouldn't allow him to bring his American pit bull terrier. "I'm very concerned," said Morgan, a Trump supporter, about the president's takeover of the city's police force and his mobilization of the National Guard. "I try not to take offense." He said while he doesn't know where he will go, he's "hopeful God will make a way." Where are they being taken? Advocates for the city's homeless population say they're still unclear where the Trump administration expects people living outside to move. At an Aug. 12 news conference, White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt told reporters homeless people would be "given the option to leave their encampment, to be taken to a homeless shelter, to be offered addiction or mental-health services, and if they refuse, they will be susceptible to fines or to jail time." She said U.S. Park Police have removed 70 homeless encampments from federal parks since March and are set to clear the remaining two encampments in the city later this week. Andrew Wassenich, director of policy at Miriam's Kitchen, a local nonprofit that assists the homeless, said Trump's rhetoric and the notices being put on tents appear targeted at scaring homeless people to leave. "The more people who do that on their own, the easier for them," he said. So far, Wassenich said the clearing of encampments mirrors past efforts by city officials to move people away from high-traffic areas of the city. In 2023, officials removed a large site of tents at a park near the White House despite pushback from some local officials and homeless advocacy groups. "They're not solving the homeless problem. It's not going away," Wassenich added. "They're just moving it." 'Minimize the disruption' Over the weekend, the city's human services department added about 70 beds to homeless shelters to make room for an expected influx of residents, said Rachel Pierre, the agency's acting director. She said that the city's shelters were at capacity when the order took effect, but that additional room could be made. Wayne Turnage, the deputy mayor of the DC Department of Health and Human Services, said the number of homeless encampments in the city is way down from their pandemic levels. Turnage said about 100 people are living in encampments today - down from around 300 in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. But advocates said those numbers likely do not include all of the people living outside in D.C. The city counted 900 people living on the streets during a one-night survey in January. When the city conducts a cleanup or shuts down an encampment, they typically provide residents with a week's notice, Turnage said. But with the new federal order in place, they're telling residents that they should pack up now. "Our objective is to see that the encampments are closed in an orderly fashion and to extend homeless services to those who are impacted," Turnage said. "These people are human beings, they're not chess pieces. Their lives are being disrupted, so we have to make sure that we do as much as we can to minimize the disruption."
USA Today
5 days ago
- Politics
- USA Today
Trump's route to Kennedy Center cleared of homeless camps amid DC crackdown
The number of homeless in D.C. is down from pandemic levels. The White House said those who remain in encampments will be jailed if they refuse to move. WASHINGTON ‒ Blocks away from where President Donald Trump announced the latest slate of Kennedy Center honorees, workers began to sweep away homeless encampments along his route to the White House as part of his broader crackdown in the capital city. The Aug. 13 move comes days after Trump seized control of Washington, D.C.'s local law enforcement, deployed National Guard troops, and ordered people living outside to "immediately" move, suggesting, as the president put it, that they be relocated "FAR from the Capital." Amber Harding, executive director of the Washington Legal Clinic for the Homeless, said officials cleared at least two tents on a patch of green space near the Kennedy Center as Trump spoke at the performing arts center. Members of the city's Department of Human Services pinned notices to at least nine other tents in the area, notifying residents that the camps would be broken down and closed if not removed by the following morning. George Morgan, a lifelong D.C. resident who has lived in the encampment for two months, said he's not sure where he will go. He won't go to a shelter because they wouldn't allow him to bring his American pit bull terrier. "I'm very concerned," said Morgan, a Trump supporter, about the president's takeover of the city's police force and his mobilization of the National Guard. "I try not to take offense." He said while he doesn't know where he will go, he's "hopeful God will make a way." Where are they being taken? Advocates for the city's homeless population say they're still unclear where the Trump administration expects people living outside to move. At an Aug. 12 news conference, White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt told reporters homeless people would be "given the option to leave their encampment, to be taken to a homeless shelter, to be offered addiction or mental-health services, and if they refuse, they will be susceptible to fines or to jail time." She said U.S. Park Police have removed 70 homeless encampments from federal parks since March and are set to clear the remaining two encampments in the city later this week. Andrew Wassenich, director of policy at Miriam's Kitchen, a local nonprofit that assists the homeless, said Trump's rhetoric and the notices being put on tents appear targeted at scaring homeless people to leave. "The more people who do that on their own, the easier for them," he said. So far, Wassenich said the clearing of encampments mirrors past efforts by city officials to move people away from high-traffic areas of the city. In 2023, officials removed a large site of tents at a park near the White House despite pushback from some local officials and homeless advocacy groups. "They're not solving the homeless problem. It's not going away," Wassenich added. "They're just moving it." 'Minimize the disruption' Over the weekend, the city's human services department added about 70 beds to homeless shelters to make room for an expected influx of residents, said Rachel Pierre, the agency's acting director. She said that the city's shelters were at capacity when the order took effect, but that additional room could be made. Wayne Turnage, the deputy mayor of the DC Department of Health and Human Services, said the number of homeless encampments in the city is way down from their pandemic levels. Turnage said about 100 people are living in encampments today – down from around 300 in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. But advocates said those numbers likely do not include all of the people living outside in D.C. The city counted 900 people living on the streets during a one-night survey in January. When the city conducts a cleanup or shuts down an encampment, they typically provide residents with a week's notice, Turnage said. But with the new federal order in place, they're telling residents that they should pack up now. "Our objective is to see that the encampments are closed in an orderly fashion and to extend homeless services to those who are impacted," Turnage said. 'These people are human beings, they're not chess pieces. Their lives are being disrupted, so we have to make sure that we do as much as we can to minimize the disruption."
Newsweek
11-08-2025
- Politics
- Newsweek
Washington DC Homeless Nonprofit Responds to Trump's 'Various Threats'
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. A nonprofit in Washington, D.C., has responded to President Donald Trump's "various threats" after he pledged to evict homeless people from the nation's capital. "No one has authority in this country to decide who has a right to live in a jurisdiction and who doesn't," the Washington Legal Clinic for the Homeless, which provides pro bono legal services, wrote in a series of posts on X. "No one can be banished from a jurisdiction. We will not stand by if the federal government attempts to abuse its power against our community in this way," it continued. Newsweek has contacted the White House, the Washington Legal Clinic for the Homeless and D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser for comment via emails sent on Monday outside regular business hours. President Donald Trump at the White House in Washington, D.C., on August 8. President Donald Trump at the White House in Washington, D.C., on August It Matters Trump has promised new steps to tackle crime and homelessness in the District of Columbia following an attack on a young administration staffer earlier in August. However, it remains unclear what legal authority he plans to use to remove homeless people since the president controls only federal land and buildings in the capital. While Trump has repeatedly suggested that authority over Washington could be returned to federal authorities, doing so would require Congress to repeal the Home Rule Act of 1973—a move the president said lawyers were examining, which could face significant pushback. Trump's pledge, if enacted, could lead to the forced removals of homeless people in the capital. According to the Community Partnership, an organization working to reduce homelessness in D.C., 3,782 single persons as well as 1,356 adults and children in 440 households experience homelessness on any given night in Washington, D.C., but most are in emergency shelters or transitional housing rather than on the street. What To Know On Sunday, Trump wrote on Truth Social, "The Homeless have to move out, IMMEDIATELY," adding that they would receive "places to stay" far from the capital and that criminals would be jailed. Last week, the president directed federal law enforcement agencies to increase their presence in Washington for seven days, and reports have emerged that Trump is considering deploying hundreds of members of the National Guard. "We are watching closely as the federal government broadcasts various threats to folks without homes in D.C.," the Washington Legal Clinic for the Homeless wrote on X. "We want to be clear about a few things." The nonprofit said the federal government did not have the legal authority to "disappear large groups of people because they cannot afford housing or are visibly homeless. They do not have the authority to force people to move out of the state/city they live in." While Trump has cited rising crime to justify his moves, police data for Washington shows that homicides, assaults and robberies are all down this year compared to last year. Overall, violent crime is down 26 percent in the district from the same time last year. What People Are Saying The Washington Legal Clinic for the Homeless wrote on X on Sunday: "People are not criminals or dangerous, by virtue of their unhoused status. People are struggling to afford rent and food in an expensive city. We should not have homelessness in our nation's capital. But the path to ending homelessness is housing, not displacement." President Donald Trump wrote on Truth Social on Sunday: "The Homeless have to move out, IMMEDIATELY. We will give you places to stay, but FAR from the Capital. The Criminals, you don't have to move out. We're going to put you in jail where you belong. It's all going to happen very fast, just like the Border." D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser said on MSNBC's The Weekend on Sunday: "I have believed for a long time that Trump had a view that when he left the White House the last time at the height of COVID, he had a lot of concerns about homelessness as did we. Those conditions simply don't exist now." She added: "If the priority is to show force in an American city, we know he can do that here. But it won't be because there's a spike in crime." What Happens Next Trump wrote on social media that he would discuss his plans "on crime and 'beautification'" at a White House news conference at 10 a.m. on Monday. The Associated Press contributed reporting to this article.
