When will the city of Austin admit they have a homeless problem? (Early: apartment complex, city hall)

[cBach]

San Antonio has the right idea to address the homeless issue. They built an indoor/outdoor complex with areas for indoor showers yet areas that homeless can sleep in a partially sheltered area and then move on from there.

We need to do something similar.

[pop251808]

Originally Posted by 10scoachrick

Not sure we can correctly assume a panhandler is homeless...just sayin'

I think it is pretty easy to see that many of the corner regulars live somewhere, they're back day after day. They may not have a nice place to live, but they have a place. What they want is cash, not a meal and not a home, in many cases.

Originally Posted by Austin97

Reduce benefits and they will move to a town that is more receptive.

It would be just about impossible to reduce benefits to less than zero, which is what many surrounding Texas communities offer the poor, the addicted and the mentally disturbed.

[Trainwreck20]

The Austin Police Association prez

So not APD.

I wouldn't be surprised if there was legal action.

For giving someone a ride?

From the article quoting the lawyer:

his client was walking to Austin from Killeen along Interstate 35

So, the man in G'town who gave him a ride in no way changed his destination, just gave him a ride there.

[CptnRn]

Originally Posted by cBach

San Antonio has the right idea to address the homeless issue. They built an indoor/outdoor complex with areas for indoor showers yet areas that homeless can sleep in a partially sheltered area and then move on from there.

We need to do something similar.

Why would they move on and leave such nice accomodations behind?

[cBach]

Originally Posted by CptnRn

Why would they move on and leave such nice accomodations behind?

At least they aren't under the overpasses or along downtown streets...

[Danbo1957]

Move the Salvation Army shelter and the ARCH shelter out of downtown. Stop giving the homeless free bus passes, stop giving them free medical care from Central Health, and stop letting them completely take over the libraries.

I talked with a 62 year-old white male who was eating lunch in the UT Student Union, as many homeless do. He is completely sane and healthy. For the last six years he has lived homeless, sleeping every night along Shoal Creek in a sleeping bag, or at the Salvation Army shelter or ARCH shelter. He gets a free monthly bus pass, free medical care at Brackenridge, free medicine prescriptions, free eye glasses, free dental care, all from Central Health, and $194 a month from the Texas food stamps program (SNAP). Why?

[Austin97]

Originally Posted by Danbo1957

Move the Salvation Army shelter and the ARCH shelter out of downtown. Stop giving the homeless free bus passes, stop giving them free medical care from Central Health, and stop letting them completely take over the libraries.

I talked with a 62 year-old white male who was eating lunch in the UT Student Union, as many homeless do. He is completely sane and healthy. For the last six years he has lived homeless, sleeping every night along Shoal Creek in a sleeping bag, or at the Salvation Army shelter or ARCH shelter. He gets a free monthly bus pass, free medical care at Brackenridge, free medicine prescriptions, free eye glasses, free dental care, all from Central Health, and $194 a month from the Texas food stamps program (SNAP). Why?

Im not saying we should stop any programs, just if we do, people will move on.

I laugh at the hypocrisy of san francisco liberals. They want to be liberal but they are fed up with the homeless.

Many are frustrated at the lack of affordable housing, but dont want to destroy the "character" of neighborhoods so nothing new or larger can be built.

[ashbeeigh]

Originally Posted by cBach

San Antonio has the right idea to address the homeless issue. They built an indoor/outdoor complex with areas for indoor showers yet areas that homeless can sleep in a partially sheltered area and then move on from there.

We need to do something similar.

Do some research on Haven. It's a business model, get them in and out. It's made homeless services more barrow because it's all focused in one place. It closed several shelters and agencies. That is not the answer. There are lengthy threads in the SA forum regarding H4H.

When I think homeless in Austin I think of families priced out of their homes due to gentrification and affordability. Yes, single mentally ill people make up a chunk, but if homelessness us really going to be addressed here we need to get the families out of extended stay hotels throughout the city and into apartments that they can afford. It's a very complicated thing.

[wheatpenny]

Originally Posted by Antny12

As the title states.. When? I mean its every week on the news about sexual and non sexual assaults happening.. And low and behold a solid majority are being done by Austins homeless population- which by the way seems to stretch to all of Austins boundaries. I noticed this years ago when we arrived here how many there where- and how uncomfortable of a vibe it was walking downtown at times.


Driskill Hotel employee assaulted walking to work | KXAN.com

Homeless people have always been in Austin as far back as I can remember (the 80s). They are a part of what "keeps Austin weird". But, it wouldn't surprise me if the rich transplants kick them to the suburbs some day. Every major city has a homeless population. It's far from unique to the Austin area. To me. it's shocking that they built the Salvation Army in the Downtown area.

[TexasHorseLady]

Originally Posted by ashbeeigh

Do some research on Haven. It's a business model, get them in and out. It's made homeless services more barrow because it's all focused in one place. It closed several shelters and agencies. That is not the answer. There are lengthy threads in the SA forum regarding H4H.

When I think homeless in Austin I think of families priced out of their homes due to gentrification and affordability. Yes, single mentally ill people make up a chunk, but if homelessness us really going to be addressed here we need to get the families out of extended stay hotels throughout the city and into apartments that they can afford. It's a very complicated thing.

A few decades ago there was a great program for dealing with homeless families and singles. An old apartment complex was set up where the homeless, either families or singles, could live for six months while getting on their feet. Everything to help them do that was provided, from job training to business clothing (I taught a class on word processing, very big at the time, and donated and collected from fellow businesswomen clothing for women to wear to interviews and on the job). The goal was that at the end of six months they would be employed and able to move into housing on their own (assistance in finding affordable housing was given) and someone else would move into their apartment in the program and start working on getting back on their feet. If there were children in the family, they attended school and had something besides a car to return to after school. It was a great program - don't know if it's still going on or if it fell by the wayside, but it's an example of how to help the homeless help themselves.