Kelly Sweeney McShane, President and CEO of Community of Hope, joined WUSA9 to address the urgent and deeply concerning closures of encampments on National Park property in Washington, DC. With just 24 hours’ notice, residents have been forced to leave or face arrest — a move that Kelly warns is both devastating and ineffective.

At Community of Hope, we are very concerned about President Trump’s recent Executive Order, “Ending Crime and Disorder on America’s Streets,” which purports to focus on alleviating homelessness across the country. However, the cruel irony is that the steps it proposes would worsen homelessness and further traumatize those experiencing it. People living on the streets may be arrested and worse yet, forced into mental health or substance use institutions, which are already in short supply.