Downtown | Street Sense Media

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.

Candlelight vigil for missing and murdered women

The National Museum of the American Indian hosted a candlelight vigil in honor of the Native American women who have been murdered or are currently missing.

Long sought-after downtown day center to open for homeless community

$1.7 million grant from Bowser to pilot a center homeless advocates have been requesting for a decade

Photo of Franklin Square Park pathway and benches. Snow covers the ground and people's things are sitting on benches.

House passes bill allowing the District to renovate Franklin Square Park

Bill that allows the District to work with the National Park Service to maintain and operate Franklin Square Park passes in the House of Representatives

Picture of the church where the drop in center is

Homeless youth are finding community at a downtown drop-in center

Every Monday, homeless youth flock to a drop-in center formed by First Congregational United Church of Christ, Sasha Bruce Youthwork, and the Downtown D.C. Business Improvement District. Staff supplies youth with food, activities, HIV testing, and other services, as well as connects them to other resources.

Eric Holder and a young job seeker shake hands

Coalition of employers seeks to hire hundreds of D.C. youth

On September 20th, approximately 6,800 out-of-school and unemployed D.C. youth attended the Opportunity Fair & Forum. Special resources were provided for homeless and at-risk youth.

Officials and journalists watch as the Martin Luther King Jr. mural is lowered from the wall at the downtown DC library.

The MLK Mural Will Return. Will The Homeless?

On June 8, 2017 D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser and, former mayor Anthony Williams spoke about the 3-year renovation of D.C.’s downtown library branch while the historic 56 ft x 7 ft mural of Martin Luther King Jr. and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference was removed.

A photo of Dennis Schulze in the oval office at the White House.

PEOPLE IN THE PARK:
The Man Who Wheeled His Way into The Oval Office

Wisconsin man Dennis Schulze brings a personal touch to his fundraising efforts for police and military. After spending a month traveling from Delaware to the White House by wheelchair, Schulze finds himself so touched by the stories in Franklin Park that he spends a week sleeping there.

Content categorized as Downtown