McPherson Square Has Been Cleared, What Now?
On February 15th, 2023, McPherson Square encampments were removed and left many unhoused residents who were living there with no place to go. D.C National Park services and Deputy Mayor for Human and Health Services Wayne Turnage, decided to clear the square because of “imminent health issues”. Rather than try and provide resources or help reduce the “imminent health issues”, Human and Health services decided to clear the encampment. Residents were warned in October 2022 that the encampment would be cleared but according to Umi, a resident from McPherson, the residents were assured social services but no one appeared until 14 days before eviction. [1] These practices may seem highly unconstitutional, but they are actually legal under the law. To understand how this can occur, one must begin with landmark cases on homelessness.
In 2019, the Supreme court rejected the request to review the petition for Martin vs. City of Boise, which upheld the 9th circuit ruling that the Boise ordinance violated the Eighth Amendment. The ordinance in question was Boise City Code § 9-10-02 (Camping Ordinance), “…makes it a misdemeanor to use ‘any of the streets, sidewalks, parks, or public places as a camping place at any time’. [2] The second ordinance under review was Boise City Code § 6-01-05 (the “Disorderly Conduct Ordinance”), which banned “[o]ccupying, lodging, or sleeping in any building, structure, or public place, whether public or private . . . without the permission of the owner or person entitled to possession or in control thereof.” [2] The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals held that under the doctrine established in Heck v. Humphrey (1994), the Boise ordinance was unconstitutional. Heck v. Humphrey established the doctrine, “An individual bringing a claim under 42 U.S.C. 1983 must base the pursuit of damages for an unconstitutional conviction on the reversal or invalidation of the conviction”. [3] Martin v. The City of Boise is one of the only landmark cases for unhoused folks. To connect this back to McPherson Square, one must combine this fact with D.C’s official rules and regulations on homelessness.
According to D.C’s official government website, “The District of Columbia is focused on making homelessness rare, brief and non-recurring”. Their official definition of encampments are, “…an abode such as a tent or unmovable structure, of one or more persons on public property or an accumulation of unmovable personal belongings that are present even when the individual is not.” [4] So, the District is not allowed to criminally prosecute those who are unhoused because of Martin v. City of Boise but they can clear encampments under the guise of promoting “health and wellness”. It is inhumane to leave unhoused residents without resources or any social services to redress their loss of McPherson Square. Homelessness is a systemic issue that requires much more policy and societal change to fully become “rare, brief, and non-recurring”. While D.C has taken this stance, it is far from achieving its goal. The Office of the Deputy Mayor for Health and Human Services failed those at McPherson Square and to prevent this from happening again, what legal avenues can be taken?
There are many non-profit organizations and community groups in D.C that provide legal assistance to unhoused people. The Washington Legal Clinic for the Homeless provides free legal assistance and resources for unhoused folks. Their goal is to make sure that everyone knows their rights and connect unhoused folks with mutual aid. Unfortunately, most legal avenues to help unhoused people are just a matter of advocacy and free legal assistance. There are no current cases on the Supreme Court docket that would create monumental change for unhoused people. Mutual aid is the most important thing one can do right now to help unhouse folks. Get involved in your community and pressure officials for change!
In D.C right now here are some organizations to get involved in: D.C Coalition for Homelessness, Non-profit that provides temporary housing for those at risk of homelessness or are already unhoused, Thrive D.C, Offers emergency assistance to 250 unhoused people everyday and provides women with essentials such as period products and bras, House of Ruth: Helps women and children who are suffering from homelessness, mental illness, or other behavioral problems, help is personalized based on their needs!
