Libraries become the last refuge for Washington’s homeless; EL PAÍS, November 28, 2025

 CRISTÓBAL VÁSQUEZ,  EL PAÍS; Libraries become the last refuge for Washington’s homeless

"Librarians as social workers

Even before the destruction of encampments ordered by Trump, libraries were shelters for the homeless, but they are playing an even more central role. “Since day shelters can only accommodate less than 5% of the homeless population, libraries become the only indoor public space they can access without being evicted during the day,” explains Francesca Emanuele, a doctoral candidate in anthropology at American University and an urban researcher.

At the city’s 26 public libraries, people experiencing homelessness can use computers to apply for jobs, communicate, find entertainment, access training, and find resources to address homelessness. In fact, the library system offers a program called We Care that provides emotional support, housing referrals, assistance with obtaining identification documents, and clothing donations, among other services.

The homeless community’s growing reliance on libraries has led librarians to expand their roles, with many taking on social work tasks to better serve this population, explains researcher Emanuele. “The government treats them as if they were social service personnel, trying to hide the city’s structural problems and distortions, such as high rental costs, the limited number of public housing units, and inflation, among others.”

Several librarians anonymously told Emanuele that “there are so many fights, drug overdoses, and unusual behavior in libraries” that they need to call on the DC Library Police to handle these situations. “There are more and more opioid overdoses on the premises, and we’ve received invitations to be trained in the use of Narcan,” one librarian shared, referring to the medication that reverses the effects of an opioid overdose. “I don’t see any problem with being trained, but I’m not sure if I want the library to become a safe place for drug use.”

Equipping libraries with overdose medication has been attempted elsewhere in the United States. In October, a New York City borough passed a law requiring public libraries to have naloxone [the generic name for Narcan] rescue kits mounted on the walls. “Libraries are more than book repositories — they’re community centers, classrooms, senior hubs, youth spaces, workforce training sites, and now, lifesaving access points,” said State Senator Steve Rhoads, who signed the legislation into law.

“We’ve been implementing what they have in New York for some time now. In fact, our Health Department has been providing Narcan for a while. Also, through the library, we have specialists who work specifically with homeless people,” says Reginald Black, who as a homeless person frequently visited libraries and now works as a housing liaison for the nonprofit organization Serve Your City/Ward 6 Mutual Aid, which connects homeless Washington residents with support and services.

The Washington, D.C. Department of Human Services maintains that a peer mentoring program operates in the city’s public libraries. Certified professionals, trained by the Department of Mental Health, connect homeless individuals and other citizens with services offered by the district.

For Emanuele, the new roles librarians are taking on are side effects and symptoms of a structural economic problem that, if not addressed by offering a decent housing option, will continue to push more people onto the streets and condemn the few public spaces and libraries to be the daytime refuge for those who are becoming homeless."

Newsom Rips New Catholic Vance for Denying Food to Poor; The Daily Beast, November 9, 2025

Katie Francis , The Daily Beast; Newsom Rips New Catholic Vance for Denying Food to Poor

"Gavin Newsom called out Catholic convert JD Vance for failing to uphold one of the major tenets of his adopted faith.

The California governor asked how the vice president could “square the circle” of being Catholic while resisting all efforts to restore Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits, reminding the Vance that feeding the poor is “fundamental to advancing God’s will.”

Speaking to Jake Tapper on State of the Union Sunday, lifelong Irish Catholic Newsom, 58, lectured on Vance, 41, on the foundational lessons of their shared faith, suggesting that the latter’s religion and actions didn’t quite add up.

“I mean, Old Testament, New Testament,” Newsom said. “What‘s the fundamental thing that connects every—I mean, from John to Matthew to Proverbs? It‘s this notion of hunger, feeding the poor, the sick, the tired, this... it‘s not an option, it‘s central to advancing God‘s will.”"

Episcopal churches, food pantries prepare to aid 42 million Americans on food assistance; Episcopal News Service (ENS), October 30, 2025

Melodie Woerman, Episcopal News Service (ENS); Episcopal churches, food pantries prepare to aid 42 million Americans on food assistance

 "Food ministries across The Episcopal Church have been offering aid to federal workers furloughed or working without pay since the Oct. 1 start of the government shutdown, and they are also gearing up to help even more people if food assistance benefits for an estimated 42 million Americans run out on Nov. 1.

Nourishing Bethesda, a nonprofit that began five years ago as an outreach ministry of St. John’s Norwoodin Chevy Chase, Maryland, already has seen an increase in the number of people seeking food help, executive director John Ross told Episcopal News Service. That largely is because many furloughed and unpaid federal workers are in metro-Washington, D.C...

Here are ways other churches are working to provide food to those who need it, based on replies to ENS queries across various platforms:

• St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church in Richmond, Virginia, is asking members to contribute more items to its food pantry, which is open weekly. It also provides bags of groceries to people who can’t get to the pantry and to people served by Virginia Supportive Housing, a local nonprofit. It also offers a weekly farmer’s market.
• St. Luke’s Episcopal Church in Jamestown, New York, is partnering with the Jamestown Farmers Market to provide $15 in market vouchers, up to $60 per family, for SNAP recipients and unpaid and furloughed federal workers. The effort has provided more than $7,000 in assistance so far. The church also is providing space in its building this winter for the market, beginning Nov. 1.
• St. Columba’s Episcopal Church in Kent, Washington, is gearing up to double the amount of food in its food bank, while awaiting word on whether the state will extend benefits beginning Nov. 1. If needed, Good Shepherd Episcopal Church in Federal Way, Washington, will provide additional volunteers for St. Columba’s food minstry.
• St. Francis Episcopal Church, Stamford, Connecticut, is setting up a financial “virtual food drive” to support Connecticut Foodshare, the local affiliate of Feeding America.
• St. John’s Cathedral in Jacksonville, Florida, already asks parishioners to bring a bag of groceries to church each week but is encouraging them to increase the amount of food they bring.
• St. John’s Episcopal Church in New Braunfels, Texas, is providing parishioners with an Amazon Wish List of items needed by the local food bank. Items will be shipped to the church for delivery in bulk, taking a load off food bank workers.
• Emmanuel Episcopal Church in Hastings, Michigan, is planning to buy gift cards for the Thanksgiving meal the supermarket chain Aldi is offering. They also are hoping to provide a sack of groceries to guests at their Saturday community breakfast.
• Christ Church in Bloomfield & Glen Ridge, New Jersey, is providing special donation boxes made by parish children to help people who are food insecure. It also has added “SNAP Aid” to its online giving options.
• St. Peter’s Episcopal Church, Arlington, Virginia, is asking everyone attending the parish annual meeting Nov. 2 to bring food for the local food pantry. In addition, undesignated offerings that day will benefit the pantry. The church also will be launching a “food and fund” drive to run through January, which the pantry reports is its hardest month.
• Church of the Holy Communion in Memphis, Tennessee, is hoping to expand its annual Advent canned-ham drive to a ham-plus effort to collect hearty soups, canned meals and more.
• St. Philip’s Episcopal Church, Durham, North Carolina, is asking members to bring more food than usual for donation to Urban Ministries of Durham, the local shelter and food pantry the church helped found years ago.
• St. Mary’s Episcopal Church in Barnstable, Massachusetts, is continuing its food efforts – preparing and serving meals at local sites and helping to provide 300 Thanksgiving meals – as the rector, the Rev. Michael Horvath, encouraged all parishioners to explore how they could do more in light of the expected loss of SNAP benefits, asking “What can we offer that makes love tangible?”"