AUSTIN, Texas – The City of Austin Public Works Department conducted a cleanup of a homeless encampment on East Cesar Chavez near the Terrazas Branch of the Austin Public Library Tuesday.
- Encampment cleanup held on Tuesday
- One couple speaks about how it affects them
Two of the people impacted by the cleanup were Adam and Laura Kloninger, who are experiencing homelessness, and also coming up on their first wedding anniversary.
"We've been married about a year, May 19," said Adam Kloninger.
But they’re also celebrating another victory— they’re both now two months sober.
“Drugs and alcohol took everything away from me. Yeah, I’m an addict. But I work very hard at it," said Laura Kloninger.
They relocated from North Carolina to Texas in September to get clean and away from bad influences.
“When you want to escape, you gotta leave. 'cause that’s what’s keeping you down is all this people saying, ‘Come on, man, it’s a good time, let’s go.’ And you’ve got to get rid of it. You’re trying to get off it, so you separate yourself from it," said Adam Kloninger.
“This is like my second time, maybe my third time being homeless," said Laura Kloninger.
For the past two weeks, the Kloningers have been living in their tent near a public library in downtown Austin.
They’ve formed a community with the other people living near them.
“We all have a code out here— if you’re homeless we’re on each other’s team," said Laura Kloninger.
They say they’ve bonded with many of their neighbors over trauma from their pasts. Laura Kloninger says her childhood was full of mental, physical, and sexual abuse.
“Most of us out here had a bad childhood. And (were) abused growing up. We did bad things, we got on drugs early, we did reckless things because we didn’t know any better. That’s what we were taught at home. So now we get out here and it’s a repetitive cycle," she said.
“Never had a father, never had my mother there, at the age of 13 I was given too much freedom. My cousin started taking me to these rave parties where it was drug-fueled, up all night kind of thing, at 13 years old. So my mentality - I’m still 13 out here on the streets trying to wonder where the crap I’m at, you know, and it’s hard," said Adam Kloninger.
Right now, their focus is on getting jobs but there are more than a few barriers in their way. Adam Kloninger is waiting for the state of North Carolina to send over his birth certificate so he can get a Texas ID.
“Because I can’t work without identification, you know. I guess the system has kicked me completely out of it kind of," said Adam Kloninger.
It’s not the only way they feel unwelcome.
“We sit here and watch these people out here walk past us like, like we’re lepers, just like the Bible, you know? And it ain’t like that. We can’t get in there to take a shower every day, we can’t do our hair, we can’t get a haircut, we can’t get all that to make us presentable. Can't even get a job because we can't even get a bus ticket to go out and get the job," said Laura Kloninger.
They wait in line for bus tickets so they can make use out of the resources available to them, but it often feels futile.
“I can work but I can’t figure out how to get the job. And that’s the problem. I mean, I don’t even have the resources to get the job. So we’re kinda sitting here waiting on whatever we can do. All I can be is a decent human to other people out here and look out for people. That’s all I can do right now until I can figure out what to do more," said Adam Kloninger.
Both say their faith has been a major factor in their journey to recovery, but Tuesday's sweep was a setback in their efforts to continue moving forward because they had to stay with their tent all day.
According to notices Public Works posted in the area, the sweep could happen any time after 8:30 a.m. on Tuesday through Wednesday. The Kloningers said they were worried that if they weren't there when the contractors came by they would lose all of their belongings.
In response to an inquiry sent by Spectrum News, a representative for the department said that the cleanup was unique because it was not at an underpass location, but that the department got a specific request for a cleanup at that location.
The representative said crews posted notices around the site on Saturday informing people of the upcoming cleanup, and that the purpose of cleanups like these is not to remove people permanently from a location, but to remove trash and debris from public areas to ensure public health and safety.
With the help of members of the group called Stop the Sweeps Austin, people living at the site cleaned all the trash from the property early Tuesday morning, hoping it would lead to the city's cleanup being canceled.
Nonetheless, late Tuesday afternoon, city contractors arrived at the site saying they have to enforce the cleanup, despite the site already being cleaned.
All the people experiencing homelessness were instructed to pack up their tents and belongings and move them so the cleanup could take place. Once the Public Works cleanup was complete, they were allowed to return.