D.C. Homeless Hide in Plain Sight, Getting Sicker And Costing Taxpayers More
“Every night, Abdullah Ibrahim retreats from the streets into a wooded stretch along the Potomac River.
As night falls and temperatures drop, he erects a tent and builds a fire beneath a canopy of pine, hemlock, and cedar trees.
He evades authorities by rotating use of three tents of different colors at three campsites. As day breaks, he dismantles his shelter, rolls up his belongings, and hides them for the next night. “They don’t see you if you’re in the woods,” the 32-year-old said. “But make sure it’s broken down by morning or they’ll find you.”
During the day, he wanders, stopping at a public library to warm up or a soup kitchen to eat. What’s important is to not draw attention to himself for being homeless.
“Police want us out of the way,” he said, dressed in a gray jacket and carrying none of his possessions. “Out of sight, out of mind.”
Ibrahim has been deliberate about blending in since August, when President Donald Trump placed the district’s police under federal control and ordered National Guard soldiers to patrol its streets. The president also ordered homeless people to leave immediately. “There will be no ‘MR. NICE GUY,’” he posted.
The Trump administration says encampment sweeps have reduced the visibility of homelessness, thereby enhancing the city. “There is no disputing that Washington, DC is a safer, cleaner, and more beautiful city thanks to President Trump’s historic actions to restore the nation’s capital,” White House spokesperson Taylor Rogers said.
While there may appear to be fewer homeless people in the nation’s capital now, they have not disappeared.
In interviews, homeless people said they are in a constant shuffle, hiding in plain sight. During the day, they stay on the move, grabbing meals at soup kitchens and resting on occasion in public libraries, on park benches, or at bus stops. At night, many unsheltered people bed down in business doorways, on park sidewalks, and on church stoops. Some ride the bus all night, while a few shelter in emergency rooms. Others find respite in the woods or flee to suburbs in Virginia or Maryland.”
Read more at Kaiser Health News.