Experts warn Trump’s crackdown on DC homeless encampments could overwhelm shelters, soup kitchens, hospitals — do you agree with these clearings?

Advocates warn the move could backfire, forcing displaced residents into shelters, soup kitchens and hospitals that are already stretched thin.

At an August press conference, Trump said he intends to take control of Washington’s Metropolitan Police Department and give unhoused residents a choice: move into a shelter or face fines and possible jail time.

Outside Miriam’s Kitchen, WUSA9 met Jarrod Moore, who spent a year on the housing voucher waitlist. During that time, he found refuge on buses, in stairwells and wherever he could lay his hat until he was finally placed in transitional housing.

“It was worth the wait,” Moore said. “Even though I struggled.”

While Trump pledged his administration would help “as much as we can,” critics question whether the approach will address the root causes of homelessness or simply shift the burden onto already overtaxed social services.

Short on shelter

In 2024, an estimated 5,600 people experienced homelessness in Washington, according to the National Alliance to End Homelessness. The city offers about 3,200 emergency shelter beds, plus roughly 1,000 additional beds in transitional housing, data from the D.C.-based Community Partnership for the Prevention of Homelessness shows.

Against that backdrop, a new city initiative is stirring unease among advocates and unhoused residents. Kirsten Quinsland, chief program officer at Miriam’s Kitchen, told WUSA the change is fueling uncertainty and stress for both outreach workers and the people they serve.

“We’re seeing uncertainty and stress — staff wondering how to help with the little information we have, and folks in encampments wondering, ‘Am I going to be cleared out tonight? Can I go to sleep feeling safe? Where should I go?’” Quinsland said.

For people like Moore, who finally secured housing after a long wait, the concern is personal. Moore lost his job and, with it, his stable housing, falling into the same cycle that thousands of others are still trapped in.

“No matter how you fall down, hard times is hard times," he said, adding that even from the relative security of his current situation, he still worries for those still left outside.