Gov. Greg Abbott, AG Ken Paxton Say Cities Better Ban Camping. But Dallas Already Cracked Down on Homeless Population.
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As the pastor and founder of the local nonprofit OurCalling, Wayne Walker transported supplies to homeless camps in the Dallas area in hopes of providing as much as possible to those resting in town. But over the years it became clear to him that it was more important to get people off the streets and to bring them to safe shelter.
On September 1, a new law, House Bill 1925, banned camping in public places and went into effect in Texas. The ban joins a growing list of measures that proponents say criminalize homelessness across the country.
Although Walker would rather see the homeless population of Dallas come back inside, he knows there isn’t enough shelter or affordable housing in the city, and he says banning camping won’t do anything to alleviate homelessness in the city General fix.
“In practical terms, I don’t think it’s much more than gaslighting, but it’s unfortunate that they passed a few more laws without the power to do anything,” said Walker. “Passing laws like this just goes by. It doesn’t really help fight homelessness or help people off the streets.”
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HB 1925 made it illegal to be in public in a “tent, tarpaulin, shelter, sleeping bag, bedding, blanket, or any other type of protection other than clothing designed to protect a person from the elements” to be protected.
The law provides that homeless campers will be charged with class C offenses. Homeless lawyers fought the law before it was passed, but Governor Greg Abbott signed it on June 15.
Now that the state is fighting with local authorities over new laws like the illegal carrying of guns and abortion restrictions, Texas officials are threatening to withdraw funds from cities that do not enforce the camping ban.
Abbott and Attorney General Ken Paxton sent a joint letter to the Texas Association of Counties, the Texas Municipal League and cities across the state on September 9, reminding everyone that the ban must be enforced. The same letter went to Austin, Dallas, San Antonio, Houston, Fort Worth, El Paso, Arlington, Corpus Christi, and Plano.
“Governor and Attorney General Paxton suggest that failure to enforce the law by local officials could result in costly litigation and loss of government grants,” the letter said.
The two also said that several successful homelessness service providers testified in support of the ban, stating that it is “almost impossible” to provide resources to the homeless when they are in camps. “In addition, these vendors testified to the inhumane conditions in these camps, which were often littered with garbage and human waste and served as breeding grounds for human trafficking, property crime and drug use,” the letter said.
They argue that an unprecedented amount of federal funding of $ 358 million has been given to local agencies to help the homeless. An additional $ 52.9 million in government funding was made available to service providers in August, with an additional $ 100 million on the way. The state also received more than $ 92 million in CARES Act dollars to fund service providers for the homeless, the letter said.
“In the coming months, we will be monitoring local facilities across Texas to ensure compliance with the 1925 House Bill,” the letter warns. “We trust that you will enforce the public camping ban in good faith. This will achieve our common goal of “improving services for the homeless and providing safer communities for all.”
“… Why don’t we punish the cities that don’t create places for [the homeless] sleep? “- Wayne Walker, OurCalling
tweet that But Catherine Cuellar, a city spokeswoman, said in an email that the ban doesn’t really affect Dallas. “The state ban should be activated when the local law weakens,” said Cuellar. “Dallas already bans unauthorized camping, so it doesn’t currently apply.”
She said the only way HB 1925 would risk government funding for Dallas is if there was suddenly a sanctioned camp and the city didn’t work to dissolve it.
Ryan Ahmadian, co-founder of the Dallas Houseless Committee and member of Dallas Stops Evictions, said homeless camps are a symptom of housing and housing shortages and it is important for people to see them. Ahmadian fears the camping ban will marginalize the homeless population even further.
The county recently granted final approval for the new Dallas Real Time Rapid Rehousing initiative. It’s a $ 70 million plan to move more than 2,700 residents into supportive homes over the next several years. The money comes from private and federal dollars.
The Metro Dallas Homeless Alliance raises $ 10 million in private donations, while the Dallas Housing Authority is distributing $ 10 million in vouchers. The city and county are also each throwing in $ 25 million in federal funding for the initiative. But the relocation program doesn’t address the shortage of affordable housing in Dallas.
Councilor Cara Mendelsohn criticized the initiative for it before reluctantly voting in favor at City Hall last month. “We’re going to have nothing to show for this plan in three years, five or ten years from now, because we’ve spent it all on rent instead of spending it and investing in structures that could last for decades,” she said.
Despite the lack of affordable housing in the initiative, Walker, Ahmadian, and several other proponents supporting the area’s homeless people spoke out in favor. As part of this initiative, the city has updated its approach to homeless camps, according to a September 10 memo from Chief of Staff Kimberly Bizor Tolbert.
The Dallas outreach teams are trying to include every unsecured homeless person in their system and identify local needs so they can secure shelter. The city plans to do this before permanently closing camps.
Meanwhile, more and more people are showing up at the Austin Street Center shelter in Dallas, hoping to find somewhere to stay. The “timing of the ban is tough,” said Daniel Roby of Austin Street. “There is already insufficient accommodation capacity, especially due to COVID-19, the eviction moratorium is over and the rapid relocation is not operational.”
OurCalling’s Wayne Walker says there are better ways than banning camping. “Instead of punishing people who try to sleep outside and have nowhere to sleep,” he said, “why don’t we punish the cities that fail to sleep?”
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