MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:
After President Trump used his authority to take over command of police in Washington, D.C., homeless encampments throughout the city disappeared. The White House says its intervention cleared dozens in less than a month, but many people are still homeless and living without stable shelter in the nation's capital. Sarah Y. Kim of member station WAMU has this report.
SARAH Y KIM, BYLINE: David Beatty (ph) says it's important to keep his neighborhood clean.
DAVID BEATTY: This is my room and dustpan, and I use it a lot to sweep up the trash - the cigarette butts.
KIM: Beatty is homeless. He's been sleeping outside in D.C. since 2023. But as of this fall, he's sleeping without a tent. The last homeless encampment Beatty lived in was near the Lincoln Memorial. It was one of at least 50 encampments the White House says was cleared when Trump began his federal takeover of the district in August.
BEATTY: He didn't like the way it looked, OK? He wasn't worried about us.
KIM: Despite Trump's orders, the tents aren't gone. People are still sleeping outside. Scott Schenkelberg, with the local homeless services nonprofit Miriam's Kitchen, says they're serving about the same number of people as they did before the clearings.
SCOTT SCHENKELBERG: The truth is, they are still here. They are still persisting and living and surviving and receiving services.
KIM: City data shows that before the federal takeover, there were 74 encampments with approximately 128 residents. The latest city data from the end of September shows that there were about 73 encampments, with just under 100 residents after the takeover. Jesse Rabinowitz of the National Homelessness Law Center says Trump's takeover did not bring what people need to actually get off the streets - housing.
JESSE RABINOWITZ: People are still sleeping outside, but they're doing so in places that are more removed, that are more isolated and that are harder for service providers to find and connect with services.
KIM: White House spokeswoman Taylor Rogers tells NPR that D.C. is a, quote, "safer, cleaner and more beautiful city thanks to President Trump's historic actions." But Donald Whitehead, from the National Coalition for the Homeless, says the president is exacerbating homelessness and crime by criminalizing homelessness. Trump described encampments as a threat to public safety, and he wants to force homeless people elsewhere into, quote, "institutional treatment" for mental health and addiction.
DONALD WHITEHEAD: We don't condone encampments, but we also know that moving people into forced institutionalization is not the answer. The answer is adequate, safe and affordable housing.
KIM: The federal takeover officially ended last month, but White House spokeswoman Rogers says that federal law enforcement will continue to work with local police and the National Guard. Claire Wilson is with homeless services organization Georgetown Ministry Center. She says many of the center's guests were impacted by the encampment clearings.
CLAIRE WILSON: We've just seen an increased need. I mean, people are coming in, I think, both for basic services, but also for community. Now there is no place to be. There's no place to be.
KIM: The city has not funded any new vouchers for permanent supportive housing this fiscal year for unhoused people. Jeffrey Padgett (ph) stops by the Ministry Center to pick up his lunch. He's saving it for the evening. Padgett says he almost got a housing voucher but got bumped down the waiting list.
JEFFREY PADGETT: I'm not really staying anywhere. I have my sleeping bag. I have my tent.
KIM: He moved to Virginia during the clearings, but he still goes regularly to the Ministry Center. Padgett has cancer. He's 60 and has had three surgeries.
PADGETT: I'm a pretty resilient person. I don't give up on nothing or nobody.
KIM: Later, his friend and former encampment neighbor, Edward (ph), comes to say hi. Edward recently got housed. He keeps telling Padgett he's welcome to come stay with him. But Padgett says he doesn't want to impose.
For NPR News, I'm Sarah Y. Kim in Washington.
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