Hi, I'm Naila Boodoo and welcome to Axios Recap, where we dig into one big story.

It's Friday, October 8th, and we're focused on new plans to tackle homelessness.

At least half a million people are known to be homeless in the U.S.

And the pandemic has complicated efforts around the country to try to keep people properly housed.

But cities are still trying to fix this problem.

L.A. is offering tiny home villages where case managers help residents navigate job applications

and provide three meals a day, while Atlanta's

mayor signed an executive order to put $3.5 million into housing and services for unhoused residents.

But Washington, D.C. is doing something different, a pilot program offering one-year leases to 100

unhoused residents in the city.

Could this be a solution the rest of the U.S. could follow?

After this, Axios' Chelsea Seruso on the Washington, D.C. pilot program to combat homelessness.

And we're joined now by Axios' DC reporter Chelsea Seruso, who's been reporting on how the pilot program has gone this week.

Hey, Chelsea.

Hi, thanks so much for having me.

Chelsea, can we start with what exactly is this program that D.C. is piloting?

It involves four different encampments across D.C.

And one part of the program is to offer housing to people within these encampments.

And the deputy mayor for Health and Human Services has said that this is just over 100 people across four encampments.

In this housing, according to service providers that are contracted by the city, they tell me it's 12-month leases.

And they'll be working with clients to ensure they can get into more permanent solutions before the end of those 12 months. But the program is also coupled with a clearing

of these four encampments. And this is sort of where the controversy has come in.

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