Editor’s Note: This article was originally produced by Street Sense and the Voice is republishing it as part of our 2025 contribution to the D.C. Homeless Crisis Reporting Project in collaboration with other local newsrooms. The collective works will be published throughout the week here.
The cacophony of car horns and screeching brakes at the cross of Missouri and Georgia Avenues doesn’t distract Alan as he makes his way through traffic. Equipped with two bottles of water in his hands, he weaves expertly among the cars, making sure to stop and tell a passerby if their headlight is out or their gas tank door is open. Some notice his tall frame clad in a bright green shirt; others don’t, or pretend not to.
Occasionally, someone rolls a window down and Alan hands them a water. Other times, he hears the familiar lock of a car door as he walks by…