Austin Homeless Free for All Ordinance

[Nicole44 22,027]

Homeless advocates in some ways are part of the problem. To wit: government fails bc it doesn’t listen enough to what the homeless say that they need. They say Outreach workers should canvass the city, freely distributing access to housing units on an “as-requested basis” without having to prove need/ eligibility nor compliance with the rules. They say, “Keep the shelters safe while giving absolute respect to everyone’s personal freedom.”

Permanent housing is always going to be somewhat scarce. Just a fact. It has to be based on NEED and ELIGIBILITY and COMPLIANCE with the rules. not just an “as-requested” basis.
 

And i would personally rather it be a long-term disabled vet or a single mother with children who is working or a person receiving help for a physical or mental illness than I would some shithead from Missouri who moved here when the 23 year ban was lifted by Asshat Adler in 2019.

The Coalition for Homeless (NY stats) showed that last year in NY shelters, 924 arrests were made. 260 of those were for felonies. NY has a shelter security budget of $200 million. Access to shelters is strictly controlled. So who else could be robbing and assaulting the homeless but other homeless? So many opt for the streets for two reasons: personal security and rules. Personal security is being sacrificed because many advocates can’t understand that rules must be followed or your ass is gone. No shelter living for you!

Shelters have curfews and other restrictions. Follow those rules and you will have at some point have access to housing benefits. You don’t follow the rules and you won’t. This pisses advocates and the homeless who refuse to follow said rules off. 

Bottom line: those who don’t want to follow the rules of the shelters (although some do leave bc of personal safety) choose the streets. Those who choose the streets because they fear for their safety in shelters SHOULD NOT have to leave. The fuckers putting their lives at risk should have to leave. And keep moving and not be allowed to camp wherever they want downtown. 
 

Yes we should help the mentally ill in the above scenario. 100% help them as much as humanly and humanely possible.

but if you just want to drink and drug and not get help, keep your ass moving. Out of Austin!

Adler and his dipshits compounded the problem to the tune of a 45% increase by lifting the camping ban. Making it 100% easier to camp in front of every business and overpass etc. 

We can’t house everyone right now with their own abode. We should have built a center much like what San Antonio has (Haven for Hope) a long while back. It’s been instrumental in an 83% decrease in  the homeless population downtown there. But they have rules. It is policed. They have curfew. They also have mental health help, help for veterans, medical help, food, water, beds, electricity, vocational training, addiction help and so on...

Advocates can’t have it both ways. You can’t allow people in shelters to do whatever the fuck they want (drink and do drugs) and keep others just trying to survive who need a bed safe. And you can’t then allow those same people who won’t follow the GD rules to camp in public downtown wherever the fuck they want.
 

No one solution should ever be a one size fits all approach but to me it’s simple. Follow the examples of cities who have been successful and NEVER follow any approach from SF, Seattle or Portland on this issue ever. They may have people with great research and case studies andinsight and ideas but they have failed and should NEVER be a blue print for any city/municipality/ state.

 

[Deej 76,542]

Whether you think there should or shouldn't be a camping ban, the only reason it was lifted was to make the homeless situation an even bigger shit show, in hopes of getting the voters to agree to throw even more money at the problem. More money for them to grift. 

[Armybrat 40,725]

9 minutes ago, Deej said:

Whether you think there should or shouldn't be a camping ban, the only reason it was lifted was to make the homeless situation an even bigger shit show, in hopes of getting the voters to agree to throw even more money at the problem. More money for them to grift. 

Like $500,000,000 more to start.

The grift skim from that would buy a lot of private jet flights to Cabo & Europe.

[washparkhorn 9,935]

3 hours ago, Armybrat said:

They aren’t outliers. They are liars, junkies & alkies who have chosen that lifestyle.

Thanks Mr. Potter.  

 

 

 

 

j/k - of course.

[We’reTexas 1,468]

2 hours ago, Cajun said:

Yep, majority are this.  There are those who didn't bring their consequences upon themselves, but they are the outliers.

No. This is not accurate. Categorization of the homeless experience is complex, but this is a simplistic view with a moralistic bent that is largely irrelevant to the problem. I strongly agree with you’ve expressed in this thread, but viewing homelessness like this precludes any sophisticated policy discussion. 
 

[Cajun 11,675]

Show your work if you wanna convince me.

[washparkhorn 9,935]

Serious post.

The grift in Denver government (strong mayor):

1. Mayor proclaims a crisis
2. Obtain funding from taxpayers
3. Use the public money on "friends of the mayor" developers
4. The developers would then fund the mayor's war chest.
5. Rinse and repeat.

 

Is that the grift in Austin?

[We’reTexas 1,468]

On 5/6/2021 at 1:10 PM, Cajun said:

Show your work if you wanna convince me.

You, and many others on this thread, need to read about homelessness. Like, from square one. You are arguing about conceptions of homelessness without trying to understand it as a policy issue.  A very comprehensive yet digestible source for this is the San Francisco Chronicle’s SF Homeless Project. 
 

To wit, someone posted the below today on Nextdoor, in a very nice neighborhood:

I can’t stand that this is allowed to happen in this city. This guy is, in all likelihood, a pretty shitty person. But I don’t really care, because I’m more concerned about how to stop this. Simply writing this off as some bum who needs to lift himself up by his own bootstraps does not help that discussion. 

Edited May 8, 2021 by We’reTexas

[Incredulity 11,559]

11 minutes ago, We’reTexas said:

Simply writing this off as some bum who needs to lift himself up by his own bootstraps does not help that discussion. 

Zero people here are saying that.

They are saying the homeless person has to want to be helped.  Otherwise we are just spinning our wheels.

 

 Kids gloving homeless with no interest in being helped does more harm than good.

[Armybrat 40,725]

So, you read a book about homeless people. Ok.

[Blotto 23,427]

19 minutes ago, We’reTexas said:

You, and many others on this thread, need to read about homelessness. Like, from square one. You are arguing about conceptions of homelessness without trying to understand it as a policy issue.  A very comprehensive yet digestible source for this is the San Francisco Chronicle’s SF Homeless Project. 
 

To wit, someone posted the below today on Nextdoor, in a very nice neighborhood:

I can’t stand that this is allowed to happen in this city. This guy is, in all likelihood, a pretty shitty person. But I don’t really care, because I’m more concerned about how to stop this. Simply writing this off as some bum who needs to lift himself up by his own bootstraps does not help that discussion. 

rock out with your cock out isnt just a saying, its a lifestyle. 

[gsoda3 3,236]

26 minutes ago, We’reTexas said:

You, and many others on this thread, need to read about homelessness. Like, from square one. You are arguing about conceptions of homelessness without trying to understand it as a policy issue.  A very comprehensive yet digestible source for this is the San Francisco Chronicle’s SF Homeless Project. 
 

To wit, someone posted the below today on Nextdoor, in a very nice neighborhood:

I can’t stand that this is allowed to happen in this city. This guy is, in all likelihood, a pretty shitty person. But I don’t really care, because I’m more concerned about how to stop this. Simply writing this off as some bum who needs to lift himself up by his own bootstraps does not help that discussion. 

no offense, but have you read this thread?  you're telling cajun to read a book about homelessness but it really sounds like you haven't even read this thread.  you have no idea what he's said.  and to be honest it's pretty consistent with what's happening to austin:  a californian shows up, tells us what's wrong, tells us how to fix it, but comes from a place where the problem is worse and isn't being fixed, and completely fails to understand the situation.  

Edited May 6, 2021 by gsoda3

[We’reTexas 1,468]

28 minutes ago, gsoda3 said:

no offense, but have you read this thread?  you're telling cajun to read a book about homelessness but it really sounds like you haven't even read this thread.  you have no idea what he's said.  and to be honest it's pretty consistent with what's happening to austin:  a californian shows up, tells us what's wrong, tells us how to fix it, but comes from a place where the problem is worse and isn't being fixed, and completely fails to understand the situation.  

I have actually tried to keep up with it over the last two years, but I don’t live in Austin anymore and I certainly could be off course.  But I’ve told him I agree with everything I’ve read him post, except for a specific characterization of homeless demographics. And I suspect I would strongly agree with you as well, because barb aside Austin is certainly perpetuating the disastrous policies of California. 

[Cajun 11,675]

1 hour ago, Incredulity said:

Zero people here are saying that.

They are saying the homeless person has to want to be helped.  Otherwise we are just spinning our wheels.

 

 Kids gloving homeless with no interest in being helped does more harm than good.

You beat me to it.

Spot on.  

As some are fond of saying in Alcoholics Anonymous, "I can't want your recovery more than you for this to work".

[StruggleBus 3,922]

Dear bums: 

 

[MissingInAction 24,810]

Definite drop in tent count around here. Just huge piles of shit left behind. Fucking losers. 

[Biff Tannen 45,491]

6 hours ago, Cajun said:

Same shit at my condo complex here the other night.   Dog woke me up at 3am and I figured she needed to hit the grass for a squatchy.  As I'm stepping outside I see a dude in a hoodie and cargo shorts just roaming through the carports.  When he sees me he makes a bee line for crossing the street, so I decide to do a little Crazy Ivan on him.  Put the dog up at my place and then quietly go to my car parked by the front door (this guy was in the back) and start it in battery mode (it's a hybrid) so I can creep to the back w/o being heard.  I get around the corner and then hit the lights on high beam.  There he was, hiding behind one of my neighbor's cars.  I gassed it right at him and mf'er took off like Daffey Duck walking on water.

Fuck these cunts.

rep for Crazy Ivan

[Guest Lobo]

Mr. Adler, call Chief Casar to the encampment with his sidearm.  

[dcar00 14,030]

2 hours ago, MissingInAction said:

Definite drop in tent count around here. Just huge piles of shit left behind. Fucking losers. 

still under all the 183 underpasses NW.  I'm hoping to see some movement this weekend.

[Cajun 11,675]

2 hours ago, Lobo said:

Mr. Adler, call Chief Casar to the encampment with his sidearm.  

I don't think Gregorio could operate a Red Rider correctly.

"Some things in here don't react well to BBs"

Edited May 6, 2021 by Cajun

[ballrific 215]

Saw a couple walk into the academy off oak knoll. And not the friendly, laid back type. Must really suck to work at that academy over the last year, they have to deal with alot of shit.

[Biff Tannen 45,491]

1 hour ago, ballrific said:

Saw a couple walk into the academy off oak knoll. And not the friendly, laid back type. Must really suck to work at that academy over the last year, they have to deal with alot of shit.

I may or may not have pulled some shenanigans at that Academy in college.  So it's not new for them.

[Deej 76,542]

15 minutes ago, ballrific said:

Saw a couple walk into the academy off oak knoll. And not the friendly, laid back type. Must really suck to work at that academy over the last year, they have to deal with alot of shit.

Go to the fishing tackle department and deal with them like this...

 

[Wally Pryor 5,243]

49 minutes ago, ballrific said:

Saw a couple walk into the academy off oak knoll. And not the friendly, laid back type. Must really suck to work at that academy over the last year, they have to deal with alot of shit.

Is the same Academy where the homeless animal stabbed a guy a couple weeks back? Some guy who had the nerve to be in the store minding his own business looking for fishing tackle?  And who's lucky to be alive having had the knife inserted about 4 inches from his neck.

[washparkhorn 9,935]

4 minutes ago, Wally Pryor said:

knife inserted about 4 inches from his neck.

Brain or Heart/lungs?

[Cajun 11,675]

22 minutes ago, Wally Pryor said:

Is the same Academy where the homeless animal stabbed a guy a couple weeks back? Some guy who had the nerve to be in the store minding his own business looking for fishing tackle?  And who's lucky to be alive having had the knife inserted about 4 inches from his neck.

He was just experience murderous impulse.

Don't be so judgemental!

Geez

[Deej 76,542]

23 minutes ago, Wally Pryor said:

Is the same Academy where the homeless animal stabbed a guy a couple weeks back? Some guy who had the nerve to be in the store minding his own business looking for fishing tackle?  And who's lucky to be alive having had the knife inserted about 4 inches from his neck.

That uncaring bastard. How dare he shop for fishing tackle when people are in need.

[phdhorn 6,224]

27 minutes ago, Wally Pryor said:

Is the same Academy where the homeless animal stabbed a guy a couple weeks back? Some guy who had the nerve to be in the store minding his own business looking for fishing tackle?  And who's lucky to be alive having had the knife inserted about 4 inches from his neck.

Sorry, that was me. The guy parked over the line and took up two spaces. I simply won't stand for that, not Academy or anywhere.

[4th&Five 41,457]

1 hour ago, dcar00 said:

still under all the 183 underpasses NW.  I'm hoping to see some movement this weekend.

It doesn’t start until 5/11. 

[Hate 20,103]

32 minutes ago, Wally Pryor said:

Is the same Academy where the homeless animal stabbed a guy a couple weeks back? Some guy who had the nerve to be in the store minding his own business looking for fishing tackle?  And who's lucky to be alive having had the knife inserted about 4 inches from his neck.

So, how are you recovering?

[CooterBrown 17,904]

Sorry, that was me. The guy parked over the line and took up two spaces. I simply won't stand for that, not Academy or anywhere.

[dcar00 14,030]

41 minutes ago, 4th&Five said:

It doesn’t start until 5/11. 

I was talking about general movement not forced by authorities.

[ABSR 5,289]

48 minutes ago, phdhorn said:

Sorry, that was me. The guy parked over the line and took up two spaces. I simply won't stand for that, not Academy or anywhere.

Stern, but fair.

[Wally Pryor 5,243]

1 hour ago, phdhorn said:

Sorry, that was me. The guy parked over the line and took up two spaces. I simply won't stand for that, not Academy or anywhere.

The stripe-challenged guy was actually 2 aisles over and had a RUF/NECKS hat on.  If you're going to carve someone up, carve the right one up.  

Bastard.

[TKthunder2 4,980]

https://abc13.com/politics/tx-house-oks-bill-that-would-ban-homeless-encampments-in-public/10589930/
 

Quote

AUSTIN, Texas -- The Texas House on Wednesday moved to advance a bill that would ban homeless encampments in public places statewide, a move that comes less than a week after voters in Austin reinstated a similar ban that was removed two years ago.

Critics say that removing the ban in Austin triggered the proliferation of tent cities there, sparking a fierce and divisive debate over how to handle homelessness in the state capital, where some 10,000 people are estimated to have experienced homelessness in the last year.

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The bill initially passed by the House on Wednesday would make camping in an unapproved public place a Class C misdemeanor, punishable by a fine of up to $500. It still needs final approval by the House - usually a formality after it's passed in the first vote - and then will head to the Senate.

The statewide ban was approved by a vote of 85-56, with most of the opposition to it coming from Democrats, although the legislation has sponsors from both parties.

"There's still no one, literally no one, that believes that people living outside without shelters is right. This is a humanitarian issue, plain and simple." said state Rep. Giovanni Capriglione, R-Southlake, the author of House Bill 1925. "This bill helps individuals, families and business owners across the state who are unduly subjected to violent or hazardous activity linked to the rise in public camping."

Before the chamber voted, Capriglione added an amendment to the bill allowing public camps only if local authorities provide law enforcement officers, mental health services and healthcare provisions for those residing in the camp. Other adopted amendments to the legislation will require an officer to advise a homeless person on housing options and also allow unhoused people to remove their own property from the encampment before leaving.

Critics of the legislation argued Wednesday that banning public encampments would do little to solve homelessness in Texas. During Wednesday's floor debate, some Democratic legislators criticized the bills, saying that they would criminalize unhoused people.

"We need more state dollars going to substance use disorder programs, job training programs and rental assistance," said Rep. Vikki Goodwin, D-Austin. "If we truly want to end homelessness, we need to address the root causes, not just sweep the homeless population back into the woods."

The bill is expected to get final passage on Thursday and move to the Senate. If it gets to Gov. Greg Abbott's desk and he signs it or declines to veto, the bill would become the latest instance of the Republican-led state government big-footing local ordinances - and Austin, where the 2019 decision to remove the ban was driven by its politically liberal City Council, has been a favorite target of GOP state lawmakers.

State lawmakers also are trying to stop cities from decreasing police funding after the "defund the police" movement sparked by last year's national protests against police brutality, another issue in which Austin was out front.

Although the visibility of homeless encampments has increased in Austin in recent years, both the Dallas and Houston areas have more people living in the streets, according to 2020 data.

Regulations and enforcement related to camping in public places vary greatly among cities.

Some don't have a universal ban, but camping is not allowed in places like public parks. Others, like Dallas, don't have a ban but will remove encampments if there are safety concerns.

In Houston, a city that has been touted as a national model for how to handle the homelessness crisis, tents and makeshift structures are banned, but the city does removals only when there is available housing for the people involved.

The removal of Austin's camping ban in 2019 was quickly criticized by Abbott, who promised to take action against Austin and in his budget priority list asked the Legislature to withhold state grant money from cities that don't ban such encampments.

The bill was filed before the Saturday election, in which 57% of Austinites voted to reinstate the ban - an initiative added to the ballot through a petition signed by at least 24,000 people.

The Austin vote reinstates not only the city's camping ban, but also penalties for panhandling, sitting and lying in public areas under certain circumstances. It goes into effect on May 11, although city officials said they are still contemplating how to enforce it.

Most advocates for people experiencing homelessness say lifting the ban on the Austin encampments has made it easier to offer services to people experiencing homelessness and helped them avoid fines that they frequently can't pay.

But some Austin residents have complained that allowing the encampments on public property - including sprawling tent cities beneath overpasses, along medians, or next to major roads - has created health and safety risks.

Camping bans have led to court battles across the country. In February, the city of Boise, Idaho, had to commit $1.3 million for homelessness as part of a settlement in a decadelong case that six people experiencing homelessness filed against the city. The American Civil Liberties Union of Texas sued the city of Houston in 2017 for its encampment ban, but the lawsuit was withdrawn in 2019.

Nick Hudson, policy and advocacy strategist with the ACLU of Texas, said the group is "closely watching" what happens with the legislation.

"Criminalizing Texans who are trying to meet their basic needs is unconstitutional," Hudson said. "Courts have found that it is unconstitutional to criminalize someone for sleeping or camping outside when they have no place else to go."

 

[Guest Lobo]

Good luck telling them to move along when they’re openly packing 

[dcar00 14,030]

Oh good the ACLU will be watching closely...fuck those guys.

We need to stop advertising that if you come here we will take care of you.  its fine to do it but quit advertising it.

[lmao 178]

Siap

"Every time I have to pick up human shit, my liberalness goes down one more notch"

"As your safety declines, so does your compassion"

Edited May 7, 2021 by lmao

[BurntOrange&White 39,612]

7 hours ago, lmao said:

"Every time I have to pick up human shit, my liberalness goes down one more notch"

"As your safety declines, so does your compassion"

Truer words have never been spoken in a documentary....

 

Also how many more days until....

 

[StruggleBus 3,922]

7 hours ago, lmao said:

Siap

"Every time I have to pick up human shit, my liberalness goes down one more notch"

"As your safety declines, so does your compassion"

I’m gonna vote against it so I can feel good about it. But I really hope all of my friends vote for it.

Typical Austin dipshit.

[Armybrat 40,725]

Hudson said. "Courts have found that it is unconstitutional to criminalize someone for sleeping or camping outside when they have no place else to go."
 

They do have a place to go. It just doesn’t have to be in Austin.

[Armybrat 40,725]

14 minutes ago, StruggleBus said:

I’m gonna vote against it so I can feel good about it. But I really hope all of my friends vote for it.

Typical Austin dipshit.

Virtue signaling panderer trying to get laid by a Karen.

[Cajun 11,675]

YESSSSSS!!!

[Deej 76,542]

19 minutes ago, Armybrat said:

Hudson said. "Courts have found that it is unconstitutional to criminalize someone for sleeping or camping outside when they have no place else to go."
 

They do have a place to go. It just doesn’t have to be in Austin.

The problem is nothing was being done about the actual crimes they were committing. 

[Hagbard Celine 10,751]

10 rant on

20 title REMOVE THE CHOICE

+++

the move away from the new deal and the great society really got going when the soviet union collapsed and the right needed an opponent, so they pivoted to waging war on their citizens by disassembling the entire social safety net beyond individual entitlements, while simultaneously accelerating the widening wealth disparity that now sees 1% own everything,.  end result: bottom dwellers are flushed out of the system.

the homeless are the bottom dwellers.  this is a structural, macroeconomic program of american society that will never be solved unless the 1% choose to solve it, and the only thing for the rest of us to do is kick the can down the road.  per cajun et.al. any enablement whatsoever for both the innocent and the scumbags only extends the eventual day of reckoning for the 1%.  this problem does not exist in the rest of the western world because there is a social safety net.  the 1% are going to have to decide to have their media reprogram the drones and sheeple to believe that compassion is not communist, and then choose to divert 1 tenth of 1 percent of their hoard to the good of humanity.  that's enough money to put EVERYONE that needs it in to 4 walls with 3 square meals, hot water, a shower and access to basic hygiene (clean clothes) per the dude in the vice video.  the biggest truth in the video spoken by said dude was "they will only go where they have access to what they want and therefore will only go where they want to go.   That is the biggest problem with the grifterticians who can't solve it, but are happy to exploit it.  The use of the word "experiencing" implies no choice.  The consensus in this thread is that somewhere between 40% & 60% are CHOOSING to shit on sidewalks.  Wheels on down to Adler can fund the basics in the middle of nowhere, and REMOVE THE CHOICE, even if they can't cure the disease.  Camp Mabry.

adler can go fuck himself.  "not a mistake when you're trying to be disruptive".  he needs to be forcibly interned in a camp for a week and tasked with cleaning human shit from sidewalks.

+++

30 /rant off

[Incredulity 11,559]

9 hours ago, lmao said:

"Every time I have to pick up human shit, my liberalness goes down one more notch"

motto worthy

[We’reTexas 1,468]

31 minutes ago, Hagbard Celine said:

The use of the word "experiencing" implies no choice.  The consensus in this thread is that somewhere between 40% & 60% are CHOOSING to shit on sidewalks. 

25% of Austin’s homeless are chronic, meaning they’ve been homeless for over a year (which is much higher than the national average of 15%). So the vast majority get out within a year, using shelters less than six months. The chronic are of course the most visible, but I don’t really know what “choice” means. Homeless will decline services at points in time for a variety of reasons. But in the Housing First initiatives that have had successful federal/state collaboration (Utah, Houston, the national VA program) chronic homelessness has almost been eliminated.  So yeah, there’s definitely evidence that chronic homelessness is not intractable, but I don’t know if Austin has shown so far it has the initiative Houston did. 

[Cajun 11,675]

2017 probably helped things along in Houston -

https://abc13.com/homeless-tents-judge-houston/2839783/

[Johnny Sack 8,397]

19 minutes ago, Cajun said:

2017 probably helped things along in Houston -

https://abc13.com/homeless-tents-judge-houston/2839783/

Good old Judge Hoyt.  He probably went out there and supervised.

[Cajun 11,675]

Don't know a thing about him except that he shows "initiative".