Encampment Updates: Continued clearings at MLK Library, downtown

The District closed 19 homeless encampments in October. In 2026, the city has cleared about 160 encampments.

On Oct. 20, the District cleared its largest encampment of the month, impacting at least five residents at the Martin Luther King Jr. (MLK) Memorial Library. The area outside the library has long been a popular spot for people experiencing homelessness looking to sleep in a covered space, but both the city and the library have targeted it in recent years through clearings and policies against sleeping in the area. In 2026 alone, the District has cleared the area at least seven times.

In July, MLK Library began more strictly enforcing its sleeping ban, placing rope barriers in front of the library and stationing police beside the ropes overnight, blocking the dozens of people who often slept in the area. Many people who chose to stay moved to the public area of the sidewalk along the tree boxes, with some setting up tents but others taking their belongings with them when they left each morning.

On the day of the clearing, most people were packed by 10 a.m. However, one resident resisted pressure from outreach workers and staff from the Office of the Deputy Mayor for Health and Human Services (DMHHS) to leave and pack up. The resident, who did not share their name to protect their privacy while living outside, expressed significant distress, saying they wanted to move to an overnight shelter, but didn’t know the intake hours.

As staff from DMHHS cleared the encampment, another resident in a wheelchair came back to retrieve some of his things and get new blankets. Outreach workers from Pathways to Housing provided large plastic bags for him. An hour after the encampment clearing began, the resident who had initially resisted left with two bags of belongings, and DMHHS began clearing what they left behind.

People living outside the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library pack up during the encampment closure on Oct. 20. Photo by Chih-Rong Kuo Later in the month, during another contentious encampment closure, one resident was involuntarily hospitalized.

On Oct. 30, DMHHS cleared an encampment on 10th and K Street. The resident, who declined to give their name to protect their privacy while living outside, moved their tent up the street by dragging it on a tarp through the bike lane because they were worried parts of the tent would get caught on the sidewalk. Since they were in the street, DMHHS staff warned them they were endangering themselves and impeding traffic. The resident refused to talk with the officers, saying they were focused on moving their tent before the 10 a.m. deadline.

“I’ve not been violent, I’ve not been outlandish, I’ve not been disrespectful to anybody,” they said.

At 10:04 a.m., the resident began moving their second tent, located a block away at 11th and K Street, which was also scheduled to be cleared. At 10:40, officers from the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) told the resident the D.C. Department of Behavioral Health filed an FD-12, requiring them to be involuntarily admitted to a hospital for psychiatric evaluation. An outreach worker from Pathways to Housing said they could store some but not all of the resident’s belongings as they went through the evaluation process.

According to a DMHHS spokesperson, “The onsite assessment of the resident and identified safety concerns by the [DBH] warranted their decision to issue an FD-12.”

As in September, most encampments closed in October were small. The city closed several encampments downtown, near Dupont and Logan Circles, and in Brightwood.

On Oct. 7, the District cleared three encampments, impacting three people. The first clearing displaced Jamal, a Marine Corps veteran who had been living there for a month after experiencing family problems that forced him to move out. He has had subsequent difficulty securing a job. He said he wanted to stay peaceful during the clearing to avoid legal issues he has seen others face.

The second clearing took place at Franklin Park, where one woman had been living. The third clearing moved a tent on New Jersey Avenue, where a neighbor, Demalia Pitts, said an elderly man had been living. He was not present at the time of the clearing, but Pitts was concerned for him. She remembered seeing him frequently on her way to work, describing him as friendly and peaceful.

“I seen the tent go into the back of the dumpster,” said Pitts. “And then when I seen them gathering his things and throwing it in the truck too. I wonder if he was there, and if he will come back around [to see] it is gone…But just to see it going in the back of the dumpster truck, you know, like it’s really sad.”

Jake Mittleman contributed reporting.

This article originally appeared in Street Sense’s November 4, 2026 edition.

Encampment Updates: Continued clearings at MLK Library, downtown

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