Which populations are most affected by homelessness?

For a city whose population is 41% Black, D.C.’s homeless population is disproportionately Black, at 82.5%. Compare that to the city’s white population: 39.6%, with 6.6% homeless, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Sixty percent of all homeless people are men.

When it comes to age, 7.9% of Washington, D.C.’s homelessness population are senior citizens — compared with 5.5% of the national population. Also, 18.6% of those who are homeless are under 18, according to an NBC News analysis of HUD data.

Experts attribute homelessness in D.C. to a lack of affordable housing, a shortage of jobs that pay livable wages and the high cost of living.

According to Apartments.com data, the cost of living in Washington is 40% higher than the national average and housing costs are more than double the national average.

Challenges particular to D.C.’s Black homeless population include higher rates of disability, eviction and poverty, along with experiencing racial discrimination, Silver said.

“Part of it is the difficulties that African Americans always face in the housing market, but also in the labor market,” Silver said. “They live in neighborhoods where the housing is not in very good condition.” People who become homeless are either evicted or forced out of their homes and then stay with friends and family. But “after a while,” Silver added, “they outlive their welcome.”

How was D.C. addressing homelessness before Trump’s order?

Donald Whitehead Jr., the executive director of the National Coalition for the Homeless, attributes the drop in homelessness in the city this year to supportive housing and targeting homeless youth in the region.

“D.C. has an advantage over many communities with the resources that are available,” Whitehead said. “D.C. had considerably more housing vouchers than other communities. There has been a lot of work around making sure people were protected within the system.”

Some programs include D.C. Flex, which provides low-income working families with $8,400 per year for up to five years. There’s also the Tenant Opportunity to Purchase Act that allows tenants the right to purchase their building if it is being sold.

Given how effective these programs have been, both Silver and Whitehead said that the dismantling of the district’s homeless encampments will not address the root causes of homelessness.

“I think it demonizes people,” Whitehead said. “It minimizes their humanity. We know that when there is a lot of conversation about people experiencing homelessness in a negative way, we see the increase of violence against that population.”

While encampment sweeps are nothing new to Washington, those efforts increased in March. Silver said the sweeps make it difficult for outreach teams to track and help homeless individuals. Instead of clearing such encampments, experts advocate for more funding from the federal government, higher wages and more affordable housing. This includes the “Housing First” approach, a model that prioritizes permanent housing to homeless individuals so they can go after their goals and have a better quality of life.

“We promote Housing First in the district, because when people have a place — a stable place to stay — then it’s easier for them to receive the services that are available,” she said.