The Austin City Council has made homelessness a top priority year after year. More than $30-million is being spent this year alone to address the growing crisis, yet, amid it all, many of the people actually living out on Austin’s streets say they’re not seeing the benefit of all of that spending.
Temporary shelters have long been a discussion at City Hall, and the council recently approved the creation of a new facility in South Austin to address the needs of the homeless beyond downtown, where the Austin Resource Center for the Homeless, also known as the ARCH, has helped facilitate an incredibly dense population. The ARCH has also been no stranger to controversy, with downtown businesses claiming it has led to a rise in filth and debris around their storefronts, tourists reporting concerns over their own safety and security, and police saying there has been a noticeable increase in violent crime and drug use over the years.
“Downtown officers worked another shooting this morning at the ARCH” says Austin Police Association President Ken Casaday in a Monday morning tweet. Though, other Austin Police Department officials note the shooting while near the ARCH, they have no indication homeless people were involved.
Downtown officers worked another shooting this morning at the ARCH. The 6 Block area around the ARCH and dirty 6th could be one of the most violent places in the State of Texas. @needmoreofficers.@KVUE @KXAN_News @cbsaustin @fox7austin @crgrpr @safehorns @AustinCityMgr
— Kenneth Casaday (@KennethCasaday) July 21, 2019
Because of issues like that, many within the homeless community feel additional temporary shelters are not the answer. Tanya Bowlman is one of those people. She says people get kicked out of shelters all of the time for various reasons, and when it comes to the ARCH, space is already limited, and it’s restricted to men-only at night. Instead, she wants what many others want: a permanent roof over her head, but getting it hasn’t been easy for her, nor for the hundreds of others hoping for assistance from the City of Austin.
“I’ve been on a waiting list since 2007 for housing and it’s just fixing to come up — I’m, like, number 135. It took since 2007 until now for me to get my apartment. I can’t wait to get in my place,” she says.
Wanda Sauls has lived on the street since 2013, and currently resides under an I-35 overpass. Her sentiments are similar to Bowlman’s.
“We’re trying to just stay on track and just survive day by day, and keep on trusting in the system that they’ll come on and give us our housing,” Sauls says.
Both permanent housing and temporary shelter are intertwined with a change to Austin homeless ordinance that, since July 1, 2019, allows people to camp in most public spaces. The decision by the Austin City Council has prompted an incredible amount of pushback from residents, small businesses, political groups, and even first responders. Last week, a petition was launched on Change.org calling on the council to rescind the changes to the ordinance regarding camping in public, and since then it has collected thousands of signatures.
I have created a petition to rescind the Homeless Camping Ordinance in Austin and will present the petition at the August 8 city council meeting.
Please sign and share!https://t.co/S4eu3gU5AQ
— Matt Mackowiak (@MattMackowiak) July 18, 2019
Launched by Travis County Republican Party Chairman Matt Mackowiak, the petition states that “It is time to rescind this policy which is bad for tourism, the Austin economy, public safety and public health.” On Friday morning, the petition has garnered around 4000 signatures, but over the weekend the number swelled to more than 11,000.
Back on the street, Bowlman says she has an idea.
“I think they should — the ones that have been out in the street long enough — come down here and give us vouchers and put us somewhere,” she says.
On August 8, the Austin City Council will meet for its first meeting following its summer break. Council members are expected to discuss the next steps in addressing the growing homeless crisis. The petition against Austin’s lax rules for camping in public will also be presented, although because it is not a legal petition, and considering the city council’s strong stance in support of its decision, it’s not clear if the petition will be given any real consideration.
