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ANC chair and advocates criticize encampment clearings; praise Aston shelter community oversight
Summary
Speakers raised constitutional and outreach concerns about DMHHS encampment clearings without individualized housing plans, urged suspension of some practices, and commended the community advisory team model used at the Aston shelter as an example to replicate.
At the Jan. 27 Committee on Health hearing, community leaders and advocates described mounting concerns about the District’s approach to encampment clearings and urged a move toward housing‑first strategies.
Trippi j Patel, ANC chair for Single Member District 2A03, said clearing encampments without individualized housing plans amounts to displacement and fails to solve homelessness. "Clearing encampments without a clear individualized housing plan is not housing first. It is displacement," Patel said, and requested citywide expansion of community advisory teams and lifting the cap on the Aston shelter.
Legal advocates warned that the use of "immediate dispositions" to clear encampments without notice can lead to the seizure and destruction of residents' belongings and may violate due process; they urged the Council to standardize definitions and create legislative protections that would limit arbitrary clearings and require meaningful outreach and storage of non‑trash items.
Witnesses urged stronger oversight, clear notice requirements, and legislative standards to prevent harm to unsheltered residents and to preserve community trust in outreach efforts.
