AUSTIN, Texas — According to the Ending Community Homelessness Coalition's point in time count from January, there are 2,255 people living without a home — up 5 percent the year before.
- Proposed site is at 1112 West Ben White Boulevard
- Property costs $8.6 million
- The site is 1.66 acres
City of Austin officials have made addressing the rise in homelessness a priority and they are turning to solutions outside of the downtown area. But they are getting some push back. The Austin City Council is set to vote on Thursday on a new homeless shelter in South Austin.
The city's Office of Real Estate Services has identified 1112 West Ben White Boulevard near Bannister Lane, as the designated site. Council members will vote on a resolution to decide whether or not to spend $8.6 million to purchase the 1.66-acre property. City leaders plan to renovate it to provide shelter and support services to those experiencing homelessness.
A city document states the following:
"The Housing Center will be managed as a good neighbor and restrictions will be placed on the property, including but not limited to securing the property, not allowing camping, limits of no more than 100 beds, and services only for people living there."
"When people are unsheltered, they cycle in and out of emergency room and jail. They spend a lot of time with EMS and Austin Police. All of those services are expensive. Then when you think about the lost revenue to businesses, that's a cost to this community, and the biggest cost is human suffering," said executive director, Ann Howard.
The proposed shelter site, near St. David's South Austin Medical Center, is about a mile away from two elementary schools, and is right next to Skyline Terrace Apartments, which is affordable housing the non-profit Foundation Communities manages. Many of the 100 people who live there are formerly homeless, including Larry Collins. About a decade ago, Collins was living in a shelter and got connected to resources, which eventually led him to getting help from Foundation Communities.
"It was such a scary situation, but in the process I began to reach out and go out into the community to find jobs, to seek help with my addiction and my mental health situation. Foundation Communities was one of the stepping stones that gave the opportunity for change," Collins said.
Collins believes others living without a home should have access to those opportunities, too. He is welcoming the possible homeless shelter coming next door.
"A hand up is a true blessing that even those individuals that are moving next door to us, that’s what they also need," he said.
But, some of his neighbors, including Foundation Communities's leadership have their concerns.
"We’ve had such a success at Skyline Terrace for the last 13 years and it’s a really wonderful community and stable. Residents have been successful here," said Walter Moreau, executive director of Foundation Communities. "That first worry was, ‘Will the shelter be well run?'”
City staff said the shelter will not be operated the same way the Austin Resource Center for the Homeless (ARCH) has been historically. The new shelter would not be a drop-in center. Instead, people would stay short-term and have a housing plan. According to the city document, "It will be equipped and resourced to help people make a plan for permanent housing as soon as they enter. The focus is on providing housing, social services and other resources to get people housed and not simply offering a temporary bed. "
“I've been to shelters in other communities that have been really well-managed. If the shelter is run like that we’ll never know it’s there and it could be fantastic. Unfortunately the city’s track record at running a shelter in downtown, in the ARCH is abysmal and it’s a bad place for people to be, so we’re worried and we want to make sure the city does this right,” Moreau said. "The city has really made a promise and commitment that this is going to be different that it’s going to be a different kind of shelter. What we want is that we want that in writing."
Moreau said he is trying to work with city staff to develop a restrictive covenant, which would impose those restrictions on the use of the land.
There is also an online petition opposing the location of the new homeless shelter. The petition, which was posted Sunday, describes how homelessness has increased in the area and expresses fears of more crime with a new facility. As of Wednesday morning, more than 1,600 people have signed the petition, which reads, "Residents fear that the new plan will serve to permanently attract and concentrate the problem. It is noted that there is no proposal to install a permanent police substation in the area which would give comfort to residents. The city has provided unsatisfactory insight into the services planned at this shelter and safeguards for nearby residents and businesses."
Collins now volunteers for Foundation Communities and other local food pantries. He said he remembers when South Austin residents were, at first, also skeptical of the non-profit's housing moving in and understands that change can be uncomfortable.
"All these individuals need is a chance," he said.