WASHINGTON — Just before mid-day Thursday, crews here moved into a grassy park near the Lincoln Monument in the nation's capital, dismantling one of the small homeless encampments that's drawn the ire of President Trump.
David Beatty, age 65, looked on as a bulldozer scooped up tents and other belongings and shoveled them into a garbage truck.
"It just feels wrong to me. The idea that we're poor makes them uncomfortable. They don't want to be reminded that poor people exist," he said. Asked where he expects to sleep, Beatty shook his head and said quietly, "I don't know. I don't know."
During a press conference this week at the White House, Trump lumped unhoused Americans like Beatty, together with criminals, people experiencing drug addiction and mental illness and said they all must leave the streets or vacate D.C. immediately.
"We're going to be removing homeless encampments from all over our parks, our beautiful, beautiful parks, which a lot of people can't walk on, they're very dirty," Trump said. "There are many places they can go, we're going to help them as much as you can help. But they're not going to be allowed to turn our capital into a wasteland," he added.
Activists and experts on homelessness generally agree that roughly 800-900 people sleep on Washington's streets on any given night in the summer. Many of them, like Beatty, say they don't have safe, affordable options as camps like this one are uprooted.
As Jessy Wall packed his belongings into plastic garbage bags, he told NPR he doesn't feel comfortable in D.C.'s shelters. "No, I don't want to be there. Shelters are not the best option because they cram people in there and you don't always sure of who is who," Wall said.
Dana White is with a group called Miriam's Kitchen that works to end chronic homelessness in Washington. He said Trump's purge of people without housing doesn't address the underlying lack of affordable housing.
"We're simply moving the problem around, we're not really providing a solution to folks homelessness," White said. "D.C. shelter capacity is often very limited. Ultimately these people often have no permanent, stable place to go."
Activists from Miriam's Kitchen and other groups showed up on Thursday to help people break down their tents. They also offered people guidance on healthcare, drug treatment and other services, and tried to move as many of the displaced as possible into shelters.
Christian Watkins, a Methodist minister from a local church, held a sign that quoted Scripture from the Bible. "What does it profit a man to gain the whole world but to lose his soul," Watkins said, reading aloud. "The soul of America is lost because of the fact this is allowed to happen."
Asked what he thought of Trump's argument that homeless camps are eroding Washington's quality of life, making it less safe and less beautiful, Watkins said, "We do have a beautiful city. But to turn a blind eye to the systemic problems that not only this District but the country have, not caring for the least of these, that's the real problem."
As this ragged, fragile tent community was dismantled, many people who've called this place home appeared frightened and confused. George Morgan, age 65, lives with his dog Blue. He described himself as a devout Christian and said he prays regularly for President Trump.
Asked where he and Blue will sleep now, Morgan said he hoped Trump would help answer that question. "There are some hotels that are pet friendly. Maybe the President will put me up in a hotel. That's our President, correct?"
But White House officials say they've already purged roughly 70 tent encampments from the Washington area and they've made it clear that Morgan and others living on the streets must leave D.C. or find their way into shelters immediately. According to White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt, those who don't do so will face punishment in the form of fines and jail time.
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