Advocates Call For Repeal Of Anti-Homeless Austin Ordinances

AUSTIN, TEXAS — Homeless people and advocates on their behalf have scheduled a press conference outside City Hall on Thursday to call on city council members to repeal local ordinances they view as criminalizing homelessness, officials said.

The press conference is scheduled at 6 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 13, outside of Austin City Hall at 301 W 2nd St. The gathering is intended to call on council to "...immediately repeal the local ordinances that criminalize homelessness," organizer wrote in a press advisory.

The city has three ordinances in the books designed to deter homelessness: One against panhandling (9.4.13), another for camping infractions (9.4.11), and a third dubbed "No Sit, No Lie" that dissuades people from those titular activities (9.4.14).

Related story: Report Sheds Light On Austin's 'Criminalization' Of The Homeless

Advocates were buoyed by an October accountability session staged by Austin Interfaith, during which Mayor Steve Adler, Mayor Pro Tem Kathie Tovo, and District 3 council member Sabino "Pio" Renteria pledged they would support repeal of at least the bans on sitting, lying down and solicitation (panhandling), and potentially end the camping prohibition as well.

"The position of these city leaders is backed by a growing coalition of local advocates and a trio of recently released reports which have highlighted the injustice and ineffectiveness of homeless criminalization," organizers wrote. They cited examples:

• The Austin City Auditor’s report from November 2017 detailed how the ordinances created barriers to escaping homelessness and how being ticketed didn’t result in receiving services as intended.
• A report released by Gathering Ground Theatre and Grassroots Leadership in October illustrated the devastating personal effects of criminalization on people experiencing homelessness locally.
• A third report from May on extreme poverty in the United States specifically addressed local laws criminalizing homelessness, proclaiming that “Homelessness on this scale is far from inevitable and reflects political choices to see the solution as law enforcement rather than adequate and accessible low-cost housing, medical treatment, psychological counselling and job training.

Sign seen in downtown Austin street by Tony Cantó/Patch staff

“Due to the lack of available shelter in our city, compliance with these ordinances is literally impossible for thousands of people every day," Roni Chelben of Gathering Ground Theater said in a prepared staement. "Enforcement of these ordinances is therefore not only cruel, it wastes vital resources that could be used instead to provide the housing and support services people experiencing homelessness really need."

Scene outside Austin Resource Center for the Homeless (ARCH) at 500 E. 7th St. on Dec. 4, 2018.

Added Marina Roberts, Austin DSA Housing Committee Co-Chair: “The cruelty of these ordinances lies in their targeted application against people experiencing homelessness, some of our city’s most vulnerable members and among those who have been most profoundly harmed by capitalism. The effectiveness of these measures is dubious at best, as the activity they are designed to curtail has clearly not been prevented, particularly downtown. We demand a new approach, as the people being victimized by these ordinances deserve housing as a basic right.”

Emily Gerrick of the Texas Fair Defense Project appealed to lawmakers' sense of morality in repealing the ordinances: “In addition to the moral and practical reasons to repeal these ordinances, as the city auditor noted in a report last November, these ordinances create legal risk for the city. Similar ordinances are currently being challenged in Houston, and Boise’s anti-camping legislation was recently found unconstitutional by the Ninth Circuit. The city would be smart to avoid the considerable costs of defending against these lawsuits and potentially having to hastily respond to a court order rather than acting deliberately.”

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>>> Top photo: Police descend on the Austin Resource Center for the Homeless (ARCH) at 500 E. 7th St. on Dec. 4, 2018. A homeless woman was heard quietly reminding officers of their responsibility in protecting the community by virtue of wearing a police uniform. Photo by Tony Cantú/Patch staff