tenfortytwopm OP t1_j71tkk1 wrote on February 3, 2023 at 1:49 PM

Reply to comment by norezervations in Take action and tell DC and NPS to stop the sweeps by tenfortytwopm

Most people who live there have tents with their possessions inside. Tents provide shelter and warmth, and people’s clothes, blankets, etc are inside. When encampments are swept, their stuff is bulldozed (at worst) and just thrown away (at best). “Why don’t people take their stuff with them before they sweep the encampment?” How do you feasibly transport all of your belongings like that? And where would they go? Additionally, McPherson is a place where a ton of non profits distribute supplies, including warm clothes, hot meals, and hand warmers. People who don’t even live in McPherson will come there for services. Removal of the encampment will disrupt this crucial supply of resources.
That’s true, yeah. Don’t get me wrong, I love parks. But if that’s people’s only - or best - option as a place to live, that’s significantly more important than DC residents or visitors enjoyment of a park.

norezervations t1_j71upzr wrote on February 3, 2023 at 1:58 PM

Your point about McPherson Square’s concentration of unhoused folks, such that it makes it more efficient for nonprofits to distributed aid/supplies, actually makes a lot of sense — appreciate the reaponse here.

In terms of the timeline, if they moved the “sweep” back by 3 days (will be 50+ degrees for at least the next week), would that solve the largest problem here? (Assuming that the weather this weekends presents the most pressing danger concerning the sweep)

And idk, I absolutely still disagree that residents should be denied public spaces due to homelessness. I understand the issues with shelters (though…during hypothermia season, i think the city has a compelling interest to force unhoused folks to temporarily go to shelters, honestly), but think there needs to be a better solution.

^ Perhaps a dedicated plot of land somewhere in the district thats not currently being used as a park/public space where homeless folks are allowed to set up tents subject to common sense rules?

lady_marmalade24 t1_j73qprf wrote on February 3, 2023 at 9:18 PM

I gently urge you to consider a counterpoint as to why it is against public interest to have unhoused folks concentrated in one area: it's a public health hazard. I remember NoMa during the height of the pandemic and there were concentrated tent populations during the various underpasses. The (1) close contact between folks and (2) the fact that these underpasses had no running water or garbage collection functions made for very unsanitary conditions. I would purposefully walk around these underpasses, versus going straight through, because of how unsanitary they were AND because I feared for my own safety. I am not without sympathy for these folks. But beyond public safety, we have to weigh the public health risks that come with allowing this concentrated population to stay in place.

tenfortytwopm OP t1_j71w6sr wrote on February 3, 2023 at 2:09 PM

Thank you for being willing to have an open mind and intelligent conversation about this! Apparently that’s uncommon around here.

You’re right - Moving the sweep back wouldn’t resolve the issue at all. There’s been protests and petitioning for them to stop the sweep altogether since it was announced, but now the focus has shifted to at least giving them the original timeline promised.

I can’t imagine the DC govt, businesses, or residents would ever go for a solution like that. The cost of land is so high, and I imagine there would be a lot of businesses/residents upset that people are being “unfairly given” a place like that. I’d love to be wrong about that!

What this petition is for is by no means a perfect solution. It’s just asking for bare minimum fairness.

SchokoKipferl t1_j72m50g wrote on February 3, 2023 at 5:01 PM

“Unfairly given”? As of now the homeless are being “unfairly given” complete use of public parks, with the privilege to harrass and assault passersby as much as they like. I think most people would be thrilled to have their community park back in exchange, and it’s honestly not a bad solution seeing as it could keep the people together and provide a distribution point for food/supplies. Maybe somewhere further out where there is more space for them and isn’t so cramped. Obviously providing them with housing is the better option but if some people refuse it then it’s better than the exisiting approach.