Another 52 Weeks: Year 3, No. 32

Walking the dog one night last fall, I saw a person in the distance who was doing a series of tai-chi moves under a tree in a local park. It seemed a little out of context given the late hour, but I didn’t say anything and kept walking.

The next morning, out with the dog, I passed by the person again and got a closer look in the daylight. The thin, weathered woman was wearing a bandana and a T-shirt over a pair of jeans, doing the same series of moves in a trance-like state. I realized then that she was likely homeless — a growing issue in our community just outside Washington, D.C.

In the eight years we’ve lived in Old Town Alexandria, my wife and I have become to accustomed to seeing people who are unhoused on the streets. I always wonder what left these men and women in these dire circumstances, and in instances when I’ve spoken with someone who is homeless, tried to assist in some small way.

Despite a 3.3 percent decrease from 2024 to 2025, the number of unhoused people in the U.S. remains at near historic highs, according to the National Alliance to End Homelessness. In Alexandria, the numbers increased 14 percent from 2025 to 2026 and now affect 1.2 of every 1,000 residents.

The reasons for the increase are mirrored in other cities across the U.S.: Lack of affordable housing, inflation and rising living expenses, stagnant wages, and the expiration of federal COVID-19 relief funds.

Over the following weeks, almost daily, I saw the woman in the park or standing in a small patch of grass next to a sidewalk close to our house. She always was wearing a T-shirt, the bandana, and either denim mid-length shorts or jeans. Most of the time she was doing some variation of those yoga-like moves. Weathered and tan, she appeared to be in her late 50s or early 60s, although I can’t be certain because of the head wrap.

On the rare occasions we made eye contact, I said hello, but we never spoke. When the weather turned cold, the start of one of our most brutal winters in history, she was no longer seen in the area. I hoped she had gotten some help.

According to the 2026 Point-in-Time survey by the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments, older adults like the woman in our neighborhood “face unique vulnerabilities due to health or mobility limitations. They may also have more significant health concerns not typically seen in homeless services systems, such as Alzheimer’s disease or cancer.”

After several months, the woman emerged again, seemingly out of nowhere. She appeared to be living out of a car, a massive Lincoln with Florida tags that expired around the time she first appeared in Alexandria in the fall of 2025. Throughout the summer, I’ve seen her in the park, sitting on a lawn chair between the statues.

She does the tai-chi moves less frequently, seemingly content to sit with her thoughts in the summer heat. We’ve made eye contact, but still have not spoken. Earlier this year, following the city’s protocols, I called the Alexandria 311 line with my observations.

Alexandria offers a “continuum of care” approach “designed to promote community wide commitment to the goal of ending homelessness.” We have several local and national nonprofits that work with the city to provide services, including Catholic Charities, Carpenter’s Shelter, Community Lodgings and ALIVE!

A few weeks ago, the car seemed to disappear from the neighborhood. Parking enforcement ramps up during the summers when tourists are in town, and it would not surprise me if it has been towed. The woman remains.

For how long is anyone’s guess.

Below are the rest of this week’s photos:

In case you missed it, Tuesday’s “Visual Story” focused on a series of small towns in rural Oklahoma that I photographed while working on a magazine story about Native American students. You can find it here:

Visual Stories, which combine photos and a short narrative centered around a place or theme, are published on Tuesdays.

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