WASHINGTON D.C., DC — The National Park Service is set to clear the unhoused encampment at McPherson Square near the White House on Wednesday.
As of Monday evening, 56 people lived in the federal park. The Deputy Mayor of Health and Human Services said nine people have been placed in homes, some through the Department of Veteran Affairs – two in brand new permanent supportive housing at the Ethel. But with just two days to go to house everyone else, District leaders have their work cut out for them.
Back in January, the Department of Interior sent Deputy Mayor Wayne Turnage a letter stating its intention to clear the park citing increased violence at the encampment. According to the letter, National Park Police made 30 arrests over the last 11 months including assaults and drug offenses and the past six months, 3 people have lost their lives due to exposure or drug overdoses.
“This site had at its peak – 75 people,” said Deputy Mayor Turnage. “When we read about the incidence of a woman being doused with urine, over her head – when we put the knowledge of the fact that three people died from either combination of exposure or drug overdoses, we knew it was it was getting out of hand, and we had to do something.”
The deputy director said the District is looking to place the remaining encampment residents in transitional or "bridge housing," but challenges remain despite the federal government giving D.C. a two-month extension.
“This is something that people forget,” explained the deputy mayor. "There are 1,500 people in the shelters. Some of those people have been waiting for housing for some years, certainly many months. [Department of Human Services] can't focus all their resources on persons who live in outside, because then that breaks sort of the commitment they have with the folks who are in shelters who they've told we're going to get you housing as soon as we can.”
“We want to connect our resident to shelter or housing so they can get the support that they need,” said Mayor Muriel Bowser.
But District leaders are having trouble making those connections because the Department of Human Services (DHS) is down case workers.
“There is a backlog,” said DHS Director Laura Zeilinger, “that has slowed down the pace in which people are moving into housing.”
Director Zeilinger and Mayor Bowser were at Monday’s opening of the new Ethel building near RFK. The 100 permanent supportive units are all but accounted for, including two for people from the McPherson encampment.
And here in lies the problem: Deputy Mayor Turnage says 50% of the city’s public housing stock is currently offline or in disrepair, forcing District leaders to rely on new developments for housing. But new buildings take time, so will cleaning up the public housing units, and fulfilling the promise of homes for 800 people waiting for housing vouchers.
“Solving that problem will go a long ways towards reducing future large scale encampments,” explained Deputy Mayor Turnage.
DC Councilmember At-Large Christina Henderson is chair of the Health Committee which oversees the Deputy Mayor of Health and Human Services. CM Henderson sent WUSA9 this statement:
“I have been engaged with Deputy Mayor Turnage and DHS Director Zeilinger regarding all of the encampment cleanups and closures that were scheduled for early February to understand the reasons for the actions, the number of residents impacted, and more importantly, how we are connecting individuals to services and housing options.
“In terms of McPherson Square, the encampment has grown to an unsustainable size. There were increasing concerns about public safety and public health at the site from a variety of stakeholders, including the organization contracted to conduct outreach and engagement there. Community-based organizations have been working tirelessly to help individuals at McPherson Square complete the necessary paperwork to match with transitional and permanent housing that best meets their needs. Just last week, five individuals were either approved for or moved to housing through the Department of Veterans Affairs.
“Last week, the Department of Human Services announced that any encamped resident at the McPherson Square site who is matched to a housing resource will be offered Bridge Housing until their lease process is complete. DHS will continue to work with all residents of this site who have completed the necessary assessment, and once they are matched with a housing resource will also be offered Bridge Housing. I understand that there has been a significant increase in the number of residents who have been responsive to DHS outreach efforts over the last week, meaning more individuals are on track to matching with housing, receive Bridge Housing, and get a permanent home of their own.
“I will continue to monitor the work of the Deputy Mayor for Health and Human Services and the Department of Human Services on encampments. My colleagues and I have been working with both agencies to figure out solutions for speeding up the housing match process, especially since we have a historic amount of housing vouchers available through a Council-led initiative, which I supported.”