Downtown | Street Sense Media

A photo of a group of protestors holding umbrellas

DC Circulator employees protest for equal pay

A small crowd of employees from WMATA and DC Circulator gathered in downtown D.C. on March 17 to demand equal pay and benefits for the city’s transit workers.

Thank you

Julienne Kengnie writes a thank you to her clients and sends best wishes to everyone.

A housed resident speaks with Chandra Brown, a homeless woman that interrupted Mayor Bowser's Franklin Park press conference.

“Black lives are going to hell,” says resident flipping off DC’s Mayor

D.C. opened a renovated Franklin Park in September. An unhoused resident pushed out of a nearby encampment interrupted the ceremony & was quickly whisked away.

Franklin Park green space and trees in front of tall buildings

Franklin Park opening in September with public bathrooms and improved accessibility

Franklin Park, long a gathering place for homeless residents, will open in September with new public bathrooms, improved accessibility, and overhauled greenspaces.

Phtoto of the church building. A sign in front of it says "The Church of the Epiphany, Episcopal/Anglican, All are welcome!"

Church of the Epiphany is opening its doors for shelter space through July

The Church of the Epiphany will be opening its parish hall and mission center as shelter spaces, which will be able to host up to 35 individuals from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m., at least through the end of July.

A rendering of the outside of the library and new cafe patio.

DC Central Kitchen to run new cafe in MLK Library

The nonprofit has trained people with high barriers to employment for the past 30 years and will now expand to run a new cafe in the renovated Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library in downtown D.C.

What reopening the Martin-Luther King Jr. Memorial Library means for the homeless community

The Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial library reopens after a three-year renovation. COVID-19 has affected it, but the library is still trying to help the homeless community.

A white building sits at an intersection in downtown D.C.

The coronavirus has gutted downtown DC

Artist and vendor Sybil Taylor shares her experience dealing with the effects of COVID-19 in downtown D.C.

Franklin Park renovations begin, leaving some homeless residents unsure where to go

The redevelopment of Franklin Park has been planned for years. Due to past starts and stops, some residents thought it was only a rumor. But people were forced to leave on June 30 and a fence is being erected on July 1.

2-day sit-in across from the Wilson Building protests DC police budget expansion

Members of the racial justice collective Freedom Fighters D.C. began to sit in at the plaza in protest of the mayor’s proposed police budget. Hundred joined them over the course of two days.

Black and white photo, both officers are wearing PPE also. One is staring straight at the camera.

A home gone to ruins

A formerly homeless man writes about how the federal response to Black Lives Matter demonstrations in DC has cut some homeless people off from a place sleep and receive help from others.

Response to protests upends daily life for homeless people downtown

The influx of people into downtown DC and the aggressive police response has put people experiencing homelessness in DC on edge.

An African-American male speaks behind a podium as congregants listen from the pews.

Interfaith service held for those who died without a home

About 50 people gathered at New York Avenue Presbyterian Church in honor of Homeless Person’s Memorial Day. An service was held by local religious leaders.

The door leading into the office of D.C. Council Chairman Phil Mendelson; in the background are some people.

Housing activists hand-deliver 2020 budget priorities to Wilson Building and Bowser Administration

Local housing activists visited the Wilson Building to deliver budget priorities to their councilmembers.

A man wearing a baseball cap and a Street Sense vendor shirt looks at the camera.

Bernard “Chino” Dean Jr, Navy veteran and cartoonist, dies at 46

Remembering Bernard “Chino” Dean Jr.

A white church building in front of a blue sky

We rise together

A reflection of gratitude for Church of the Epiphany by Street Sense Media artist/vendor Anthony Carney.

Photo taken outside on New York Avenue showing a cone with caution tape and a sign that says no camping.

Street Sense vendors react to downtown bench removal

Multiple Street Sense vendors give their opinions on bench removal in the downtown area.

Franklin Square Park will close for renovations this fall

Street Sense Media artist and vendor Reginald Black writes about a D.C. park closing.

Photo of a display at the vigil: two cut-out figures of people, surrounding by traffic cones and flowers, with a sign that says "2 people were killed here by a driver"

Vigil held for presumably homeless men struck by an SUV

Two men were struck and killed on July 10 in James Monroe Park when an SUV barreled off of Pennsylvania Avenue and into the park bench where they had been sitting.

Activists petition community to support a D.C. Council vote on public bathrooms in 2018

For the last four years, a small group of community activists has pushed for access to public restrooms in downtown Washington, D.C. They managed to influence the introduction of legislation to pursue this goal, but are worried it will not receive a vote.

Content categorized as Downtown