South Austin Residents Complain Of Growing Homeless Camp At Greenbelt

SOUTH AUSTIN, TX — South Austin residents reached out to a news station to air their concerns about a homeless camp that has gradually been growing in their backyard in South Austin.

The residents provided KXAN with video of the camp, complete with mattresses, tents and accumulated debris located at the Williamson Creek Greenbelt between Stassney Lane and William Cannon.

One homeowner told the station he and his neighbors heard voices coming from the area on a regular basis. He and a neighbor decided to follow the voices and said they were shocked with what they found.

The transient site had grown from a single tent to what residents say now resembles a dump site in the woods. Residents are concerned about safety hazards and crime emerging from the growing makeshift camping site.

“It’s scary to have this right in your backyard,” one resident, who once spotted a machete wedged into the cushions of a couch at the site, told the news station. “There’s a moped down here that’s most likely stolen, I’ve seen needles on the ground — it’s a tragedy that this is happening in Austin.”

Confronted with the evidence, the news station compiled the top areas from which reports are made related to homelessness. Of the top five areas, five are in Austin. The top ZIP codes from which calls are made to the city about the issue and the number of complaints made last year are:

• 78701: 119 (downtown)
• 78702: 78 (east Austin)
• 78745: 75 (south Austin)
• 78704: 64 (south Austin)
• 78741: 56 (southeast Austin)

>>> Read the full story at KXAN

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