The cleanup of Kensington is a start. We must now move toward an end.

Last week, the city did what Kensington residents have been seeking for years: It began the desperately needed cleanup of that community.

In the midst of an open-air drug market, where those experiencing addiction and homelessness lived in tents along a once-thriving Kensington Avenue commercial corridor, the police and city agencies moved in to restore some semblance of order. They cleared out people who were living on two blocks, but that was just the beginning. We must now move toward an end.

Last week’s move is part of a larger strategy by Mayor Cherelle L. Parker’s administration, one that pushes local law enforcement to work with state and federal agencies to address drug dealing and violent crime in the area. Her plan also provides social services, shelter, and rehabilitation for drug users who choose to accept such help. For those who choose to openly use drugs on the streets of Kensington, Parker has pledged to enforce the law — and in my view, that’s as it should be.

For years, I have advocated for the city to take that kind of comprehensive approach. However, change in Kensington will not come easy, because, in my experience, there are too many people who benefit from the chaos we see there.

I don’t base that point of view on conjecture. It’s drawn from what I’ve lived. Years ago, when I was battling my own demons while living on the streets near Broad and Erie, I got into a conversation with a guy on the corner during one of my more lucid moments. He was trying to convince me to stop using, and I told him I’d already been to a number of detoxes and rehabs. I’ll never forget his answer.

“You need to stop going to those places,” he said. “They get paid every time you come.”

He was right, of course, and today, with nearly 27 years clean, I wonder if that bit of street wisdom is at play in Kensington. After all, you can’t run a multimillion-dollar nonprofit that distributes needles if there is no one using them. You can’t run a shelter designed to accommodate drug users if the people you serve get clean. You can’t run a revolving door rehabilitation center if your target audience stops using.

This is not to say that everyone who opposes change in Kensington is driven by money. Some have lost loved ones to overdoses, and they are committed to making sure it doesn’t happen to anyone else. Others strongly believe in academic studies on the topic that frame the drug crisis primarily as a health issue rather than as a matter of public safety. Still others think that the comfort of neighborhood residents should take a back seat to saving the lives of the addicted. Collectively, these people are the main proponents of harm reduction — an approach designed to reduce the negative consequences of drug use.

If we are going to reduce harm, we must do so with whole communities in mind.

But, as Police Commissioner Kevin Bethel told me in a WURD radio interview, when people talk about harm reduction, the question is, “Reduce the harm for who?”

Indeed, that is the question, and I believe the answer must be multifaceted. We cannot, as a city, allow those who harm themselves to take others along with them. If we are going to reduce harm, we must do so with whole communities in mind, and not just a select few.

No one in their right mind would allow a drug trade to operate in the shadow of their home, and yet that’s what the city allowed to take place in Kensington.

It appears things are about to change, and I think it’s about time. Those who live in Kensington should get the same level of service as those who live in other communities.

Meanwhile, those who are engaged in drug use should also have opportunities, and if Parker’s plan is carried through to completion, they will. With multiple triage centers planned, substance users will be able to receive shelter, drug treatment, and hope.

Ultimately, if even a portion of this approach succeeds, residents who’ve lived through the misery in Kensington will gain something they haven’t had in years. They will have the chance to live in peace.