Austin Seeks To Tackle Homelessness Issue

AUSTIN, TX — City officials are working on ways to decriminalize the homeless population, with council votes planned to repeal or amend draconian measures meant to dissuade homelessness, study of ways of mitigating the trend and allocation of funds to directly address the problem.

The initiatives were laid out by city officials in a Wednesday press advisory. The heightened attention to the issue comes as city council continues setting goals designed to tackle homelessness. Council members representing the city's Eastern Crescent are poised to bring forward several key items to address the cycle of criminalization of people experiencing homelessness, city officials said.

Moreover, city council members Greg Casar, Natasha Harper-Madison, Pio Renteria and Mayor Pro Tem Delia Garza on June 6 plan to repeal or amend municipal policies written to deter solicitation, camping and a crackdown known as "no sit/no lie" that penalizes homeless people at rest on city streets.

The pièce de résistance will be unveiled the same day as that council vote-casting with the unveiling of a fund of some $8 million to directly address lack of housing and support services for the homeless, officials said.

“Austin’s service providers, housing advocates, legal advocates, and our public safety officials all agree: We won’t be able to arrest away our City’s homelessness problem,” council Member Greg Casar said in a prepared statement. “Asking for money, sitting or lying down in public, and sleeping in tents are basic requirements of survival, especially while homeless. Criminalizing this behavior is unjust and unconstitutional, and can prevent people from getting into housing or support services – the very thing they need to get off the streets. I ask the rest of Council to join with these experts, and respond to the growing call to end these discriminatory policies.”

Ann Howard, the Executive Director of the Ending Community Homelessness Coalition (ECHO), added: "The Austin Action Plan to End Homelessness identifies the need to address systemic barriers to housing and racial disparities, and to align policies, practices and resources. This action removes some of the discrimination aimed at people living on the street and signals a commitment to further build capacity to quickly connect people to housing and services, which is imperative for Austin to make progress on ending homelessness. Now is the time for all of us to strengthen our resolve to end homelessness and ensure that our streets are safe for everyone."

Council member Garza noted the methodical nature of the efforts while highlighting the measures' inherent aim at equity: “This initiative is another great example of how this Council is addressing homelessness as well as making our criminal justice system more fair and equitable,” she said. “For example, this Council has improved the way municipal court judges determine indigency and brought real progress toward ending discretionary arrests. These reforms work together to get rid of some of the barriers people experiencing homelessness and other hardships face to finding stable housing, jobs, and support services.”

Allan Graham, MLF’s Founder and CEO, lauded the ongoing efforts while critiquing the tactics of criminalizing the population segment: “Mobile Loaves & Fishes operates from a core belief that homelessness is tied to a catastrophic disconnection from community,” he said . “Criminalizing behaviors associated with homelessness further that disconnection. Changing these ordinances is one step in the direction of reconnection and palliative relief for our brothers and sisters on the streets of Austin.”

Council Member Harper-Madison echoed the sentiment: “This city is spending too much money reacting to the consequences of homelessness,” she said. “By trapping people in a cycle of poverty through the criminalization of homelessness, we’re only putting more stress on our taxpayers. I’m excited to join my colleagues in opting for a more compassionate and comprehensive approach that addresses the housing-driven economic roots of homelessness.”

Renteria agreed: "Criminalizing homelessness makes it harder for people to break free of the cycle. It makes it harder for those experiencing homelessness to find jobs, secure housing, and access needed services,” the council member said. “When we prevent people, who have no other options, from being able to sit down to rest or protect themselves from the elements, we put their lives at risk. It doesn't make our community any safer. I'll continue to work with my colleagues on the Council to prioritize and provide shelter, housing, and services to address our city's homelessness challenges."

City Council will discuss this initiative for the first time in public on June 4, 2019 at their regularly scheduled work session. The discussion begins at 9 a.m. at the Boards and Commissions Room, City Hall, 301 W. 2nd St.