Physical Address
304 North Cardinal St.
Dorchester Center, MA 02124
About 70 homeless camps in the national capital have been removed in recent months, but these efforts have intensified this week after President Donald Trump deployed members of the National Guard To tackle what he said, a city “overwhelmed by violent gangs and criminals thirsty for blood, itinerant crowds of young savages, maniacs and homeless.”
THURSDAY, A homeless camp near Kennedy Center – for which Trump is president – was dismantled by city workers who have pushed people’s business in garbage trucks.
The president’s decision comes As crime and homeless are both reported to low or near or near or near To DC, so how terrible the homeless of the city’s homelessness is? Here is a ventilation of certain data.
The homeless has decreased in the long term, but it has fluctuated in recent years
The latest numbers of the city Show that in 2025, around 5,000 people are in shelters or in the streets of DC, a decrease of 9% compared to 2024.
The city is an aberrant value: most of the rest of the country has increased in their homeless population in recent years.
Compared to changes in the national population of homeless, DC is unusual. As the national number increased, the Columbia district fell.
The figures show a significant drop in the last decade of DC; In 2016, more than 8,000 people have not been incomparable, although there have been fluctuations in recent years, partly due to the Pandemic COVID-19.
DC’s homeless count reached a hollow in 2022 while the government has published rapid heating vouchers. This emergency funding from the Biden administration has provided housing to people, including in vacant hotels.
“The figures decreased in 2022 when there was real accommodation,” said Hilary Silver, professor of sociology, international affairs and public policy at George Washington University. “And then this money was exhausted.”
The population of the district homeless rose from 4,922 people in 2023 to 5,615 in 2024, according to the punctual statement of the US Department of Housing and Urban Development of the homeless. Most of Washington, the population of the homeless of DC, is concentrated in central and lively areas where tourists and residents cross, including the city center, Union Station, Georgetown and Foggy Bottom, said Silver.
At the national level, more than 770,000 people were homeless in 2024, according to HUD data.
What populations are the most affected by homelessness?
For a city whose population is black at 41%, the population of DC homeless is disproportionately black, at 82.5%. Compare this to the city’s white population: 39.6%, with 6.6% of homelessness, according to the US Census Bureau. Sixty percent of all the homeless are men.
Regarding age, 7.9% of Washington, the population of DC roaming is the elderly – compared to 5.5% of the national population. In addition, 18.6% of those who are homeless are under 18, according to an analysis of NBC new HUD data.
Experts attribute homelessness to DC to a lack of affordable housing, a shortage of jobs that pay habitable wages and the high lifestyle.
According to Apartments.com Data, the cost of living in Washington is 40% higher than the national average and housing costs are more than double the national average.
The specific challenges of the DC black homeless people include higher rates of disability, expulsion and poverty, as well as racial discrimination, said Silver.
“This is part of the difficulties that African-Americans are still faced on the housing market, but also on the job market,” said Silver. “They live in neighborhoods where the accommodation is not in very good condition.” People who become homeless are expelled or forced to get out of their homes, then stay with friends and family. But “after a while,” added Silver, “they survive their welcome”.
How did DC approach homelessness before Trump’s order?
Donald Whitehead Jr., Executive Director of the National Coalition for the Homeless, attributes the drop in homeless in the city this year to support housing and targeting young homeless people in the region.
“DC has an advantage over many communities with available resources,” said Whitehead. “DC had many more housing vouchers than other communities. There was a lot of work to make sure people were protected within the system. ”
Some programs include DC Flexwhich provides families of low -income workers with $ 8,400 per year for a maximum of five years. There is also the Tenant’s opportunity to buy an act that allows The tenants the right to buy their building if it is sold.
Given the effectiveness of these programs, Silver and Whitehead have declared that the dismantling of the district homeless camps would not be addressed to the deep causes of homelessness.
“I think it demonizes people,” said Whitehead. “It minimizes their humanity. We know that when there are a lot of conversations about people who experience roaming in a negative way, we see the increase in violence against this population. ”
While camp sweeps are not new to Washington, These efforts increased in March. Silver said the sweeping was difficult for awareness teams to follow and help the homeless. Instead of cleaning these camps, experts argue for more funding from the federal government, higher wages and more affordable housing. This includes the “Housing First” approach, a model This prioritizes permanent housing to the homeless so that they can go after their goals and have a better quality of life.
“We promote the accommodation first in the district, because when people have a place – a stable place to stay – then it is easier for them to receive the available services,” she said.
