Can the homeless find homes?

       There is a new development in the controversial repeal of the Austin camping ban. On July 1st 2019 the city of Austin experimented with a new policy allowing Austin's homeless population to sit, lie down or camp without fear of being ticketed or jailed (Norwood). This new repeal gave the homeless a new opportunity to avoid tickets or jail time that was normally associated with finding a place to sleep. It also potentially allowed officers to give less tickets and find different ways to police and aid the homeless populace. While the repeal had support from Mayer Adler and Chief of Police Manly, Governor Abbott had strongly opposed the repeal (Norwood). Despite municipal unity moving forward on a less penalizing approach to the homeless population, Republican Greg Abbott argued against the repeal of any penalizing legislation. Typically a champion of small government, Governor Abbott was frequently vocal against Austin's municipal decisions, tweeting about his dissatisfaction.

If Austin— or any other Texas city—permits camping on city streets it will be yet another local ordinance the State of Texas will override.

At some point cities must start putting public safety & common sense first.

There are far better solutions for the homeless & citizens. https://t.co/xYezoovVCg

— Greg Abbott (@GregAbbott_TX) June 24, 2019

     Governor Abbott soon became the most prominent figure amongst advocates for the homeless ban citing concerns about cleanliness and safety (Wilson). Governor Abbott would often seek to rally others to disgust, often talking about homeless "poop and needles" (Wilson).  Evidenced by the amount of tweets and public interviews Governor Abbott has given on this subject, he considers public perception to be key in his campaign for the camping ban. In the past few months Governor Abbott has decided to highlight the lack of dignity the homeless have and is petitioning Texans to enact policy based on that disgust.

       The public is not Governor's only weapon however. In a letter to the mayor of Austin, Governor Abbott declared they he would not hesitate to use state resources including state troopers to "clean up Austin" (Wilson). Positioning himself as a decisive leader, Governor Abbott's threat of force is sure to earn him praise amongst his following. An official letter also demonstrates that Governor Abbott is willing to use force to override municipal matters he disagrees with. Faced with Governor Abbott's letter, the Austin city council went back to rework the issue (Reding).

       This past Thursday, Oct 17th, the Austin city council voted to reinstate parts of the ban with particular new stipulations (Reding). Reding reports for KVUE ABC Austin about this new ban detailing "The changes mean camping on all city sidewalks will be banned, but sitting and lying down will not – unless it is 15 feet from an operating business. Camping, sitting or lying downtown around the ARCH will be banned, within a quarter mile of the area. That rule will eventually apply to the South Austin homeless shelter when it is built" (Reding). The new ban is more lenient than the initial camping ban and more specific in problem areas. Since the new camping ban, Governor Abbott has been silent on the new resolution. While the public conversation between Governor Abbott and Mayor Adler has seemingly stopped, local churches are discussing how to step in and aid the poor through their housing crises.

      While facing strong opposition online and from select neighbors around them, Sunrise Community Church has been making an impact providing showers and guidance to social services and more stability (Sanders). Those in opposition against the Church have focused on the victim hood of those who have to deal with the homeless, in a very similar fashion to the tweets by Governor Abbott mentioned earlier. Still the Church values the suffering of these homeless men and women and persists in aiding them. Other interfaith organizations, such as Casa Marianella are aiding the city of Austin in rebuilding the lives of Austin homeless population as well as provided interim housing (Eubank). Casa Marianella will give hundreds of homeless solace within the new camping ban and instate real change for their lives. Organizations like Casa Marianella make it more possible for municipal governments to handle homeless populations by administering housing and case loads. Normally that burden would default to city governments.

      The plight of Austin's homeless population still is on a long way from over. Mayor Adler is optimistic however, giving a statement of hope to the citizens of Austin last Thursday saying

The council has directed the manager and city staff to address general safety and the needs of people in the area around the ARCH, including as part of council’s work last June. The Guided Path program is a partnership with local service providers to do just that. The initiative will test a concentrated campaign of targeted services for people in one of our most challenging areas to get – and keep – them housed. We are grateful to Austin’s Homeless Services Office for acting quickly and with intention on this critical priority. A similar plan worked with our vets and it should work here too (Eubank).

Looking at his victory with veterans, Mayor Adler has faith that the services of the city can be strong enough to support it's homeless population through their troubles. Perhaps we all can have faith that the attitudes of disgust and forces of power will not undermine the convictions of the servants and staff within these organizations.

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Works Cited

Eubank, Britny. “'Guided Path' Pilot Program Aims to End Homeless Camping Outside ARCH.” KVUE, 16 Oct. 2019, www.kvue.com/article/news/local/homeless/guided-path-city-of-austin-homeless-pilot/269-a410be86-9e9e-44b6-bf8a-79784ea95840.

Norwood, Kayln. “It's Now Legal for Homeless to Camp on Austin Streets.” KVUE, 1 July 2019, www.kvue.com/article/news/local/homeless/its-now-legal-for-homeless-to-camp-on-austin-streets/269-04fbfe58-7a28-4410-89a0-b876e9afda93.

Reding, Shawna. “Austin City Council Approves New Homeless Camping Bans on Sidewalks, near the ARCH.” KVUE, 18 Oct. 2019, www.kvue.com/article/news/local/homeless/austin-news-homeless-problem-ordinance-camps-city-council/269-572a1696-86fe-4e91-86b9-3eb30465235e.

Sanders, Austin. “How Austin Is Tackling Homelessness on the Street and at City Hall.” More Shelters, More Beds, and More Fights about Ordinances Ahead - News - The Austin Chronicle, 2019, www.austinchronicle.com/news/2019-08-02/how-austin-is-tackling-homelessness-on-the-street-and-at-city-hall/.

Wilson, Mark D. “Governor Tells Austin to Reinstate Camping Ban.” Statesman, Austin American-Statesman, 10 Oct. 2019, www.statesman.com/news/20191010/governor-tells-austin-to-reinstate-camping-ban.