Content categorized as Downtown

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

Remembering Bernard “Chino” Dean Jr.

We rise together

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

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.

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

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