President Donald Trump is reportedly expected to issue an executive order calling for a crackdown on crime in D.C. The order would also reportedly call for clearing out homeless encampments.

On Wednesday, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser confirmed she had a briefing with the White House on the issue.

Homeless advocates in D.C. said they are aware of the possibility, but leaders at two organizations shared the opinion that clearing encampments won’t solve the problem of homelessness.

Demonstrators also gathered in D.C. on Friday to protest against other aspects of the reported order that they say attack the city’s autonomy.

Chris Rutledge, vice president of external affairs at Friendship Place, said actions that include sweeps of encampments “do not end homelessness.”

Donald Whitehead, executive director for the National Coalition for the Homeless, agreed, saying, “A strategy that moves people on without finding adequate resources for their placement is a failed, costly strategy.”

He also said the language that’s often used around the issue of clearing encampments is, in his opinion, dehumanizing.

“We don’t typically think of sweeping people. We think of sweeping trash. And these are human beings, and they deserve the same rights as every citizen,” Whitehead said.

According to D.C.’s Department of Health and Human Services website, the District’s “encampment response effort” includes a two-pronged approach — attempting to work with those who don’t have permanent shelter while clearing encampments.

“It can take time to build these relationships and make meaningful service connections,” the site reads.

At Friendship Place, a nonprofit that works on housing for veterans, families and youth, Rutledge said the flurry of executive orders from the White House won’t affect the mission of the organization.

“Panicking serves nobody. We have to identify what we need to do every day and do it. That’s the best way we can serve the people in our networks,” he said.

On Friday, Friendship Place posted a message on its blog page entitled, “Standing Firm.”

The blog restated Friendship Place’s “Commitment to LGBTQIA+ Inclusion and DEI.” Rutledge pointed out that “43% of unhoused youth identify as LGBTQ,” and added, “We need to serve that population and we will continue to serve that population.”

Asked what would solve the problem of homelessness, Whitehead said, without hesitation, “Housing production. We need to be able to bridge the gap of over 7 million units that are lacking in our housing stock in this country.”

Bowser’s push to provide more housing for the homeless resulted in the “New Communities Initiative,” aimed at revitalizing subsidized housing and redeveloping neighborhoods. D.C. has also opened new community shelters, including the Aston, Kennedy and Ethel shelters.

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