As a tenant in a building bordering McPherson Square and a community organization that protects civil rights and civil liberties, the ACLU of the District of Columbia joins our unhoused neighbors and advocates to condemn Mayor Bowser and the National Park Service’s decision to evict people from McPherson Square on February 15.
The following statement can be attributed to ACLU-D.C. Organizing Director Maxine Davis:
“Evictions never solve homelessness and always traumatize residents who simply need a place to live. By scattering our neighbors from a single location, evictions also make it much more difficult to connect people with the safe housing and dependable services they need. Evicting our neighbors at the height of hypothermia season with very little notice is an especially cruel decision.
The forced evictions that the Mayor and NPS have carried out in the past have pushed people from park to park, destroying their belongings, and disrupting their remaining support networks. By using police officers to assist with and enforce these evictions, the Mayor and NPS have put our neighbors at risk of arrest and harassment simply for trying to survive.
The long-term solution to homelessness is safe and dependable housing, not forced evictions with no plan.”