In his 10 years living in a tent along the L Street NE underpass in NoMa, Mike has been forced to move his stuff plenty of times, usually when D.C. crews would come through to clean up the sidewalks.
But the 51-year-old is far less concerned with a permanent clearing of the longstanding encampment that D.C. has scheduled for the end of September. Normally he’d have to find somewhere else to post up and return to the site a few days later. This time is different.
“There’s something better coming,” says Mike, who asked that we not use his last name to protect his privacy. “It’s an apartment, a place to live.”
Mike and his unhoused neighbors are part of a new pilot program D.C. launched late last month to permanently close down homeless encampments at three sites: the M and L street underpasses in NoMa; New Jersey Avenue and O Street NW; and E and 20th streets NW. But instead of clearing out residents, many of whom might simply shift to other encampments, city officials say they will intensively engage with them to offer housing and other services.