Street Sense Media

08/08/2026

Just a few days left to get your paper! Find a vendor to read the original article on library sleeping ban in print 🗞️

08/07/2026

For months, around 60 people experiencing homelessness slept beneath the overhang of D.C.’s Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library. Now they could face arrest for staying there overnight.

Read the full story at the link in our bio.

Article by Chih-Rong Kuo and Catherine Keightley
Photos and Video Footage by Chih-Rong Kuo

08/06/2026

"In life, surely we are not always guaranteed second chances. I guess I’m just lucky, or as someone once said, 'hard work creates opportunities which some might misread as being lucky,'" writes vendor Wendell Williams.

Wendell Williams writes a story about addiction, recovery, and the random acts of kindness that gave him a second chance at life.

08/05/2026

Hundreds of thousands of commuters utilize D.C.'s rail and bus systems every day. Some of those riders are unhoused or go through mental health episodes. Instead of Metro Transit Police responding, WMATA’s Crisis Intervention Team steps in.

Metro's Crisis Intervention Team offers assistance to riders experiencing homelessness, addiction, and mental health episodes.

08/04/2026

Employment is often viewed as a pathway out of homelessness, but keeping a job is only part of the challenge. Transportation barriers, affordability, and other challenges can make it difficult to turn a job into a home.

Though employment is viewed as a path out of homelessness, challenges like transportation barriers can make it hard to turn a job into a home.

08/03/2026

Rapid Rehousing (RRH) provides short-term housing for those exiting the shelter system, with the goal of developing a stable income to eventually become independent. Advocates argue RRH has been failing participants, and now the District seems prepared to make changes.

D.C. is scaling back Rapid Rehousing. Advocates argue the program leaves families without stable housing or enough income to stay housed.

08/02/2026

“[Morrow’s] laughter, kindness, and wisdom filled my life with joy.”

Remembering Leonard “Slim” Morrow.

Leonard Pleasant Morrow, known to his Street Sense community of two decades as L. Morrow, Slim, and The Morrow, died on April 3.

08/01/2026

"As I reflect on my three days at the National Alliance to End Homelessness Conference in the District. I’m reminded how the American homelessness crisis is not a static tragedy; it is a dynamic 'underworld,'" writes Street Sense vendor Erica Downing.

Erica Downing offers a firsthand reflection on the issues and policies covered at the 2026 National Alliance to End Homelessness Conference.

07/31/2026

"The 2026 National Alliance to End Homelessness (NAEH) Conference marked my sixteenth year in attendance," writes Street Sense vendor Robert Warren.

Read Warren's full reflection on the conference:

At the National Alliance to End Homelessness Conference, advocates called for housing solutions over the criminalization of homelessness.

07/30/2026

The Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library began enforcement of rules banning people from sleeping outside the building in July. Homelessness outreach organizations worry it will simply move people elsewhere, doing little to address homelessness.

As D.C.'s MLK Library is enforcing a ban on sleeping under its loggia, advocates warn the policy will only move homelessness elsewhere.