AUSTIN, Texas — In May 2020, the Austin City Council approved a deal to purchase the Country Inn and Suites along Interstate 35 in North Austin, between East Saint John's Avenue and US 183, for $8,755,000. The initial plan was to use the hotel to house Austinites experiencing homelessness who needed a place to quarantine during the COVID-19 pandemic. It was later turned into the Northbridge Shelter – a City-run shelter for people experiencing homelessness.
Now, the inside of the facility is filled with drugs, weapons and deplorable living conditions. That's according to the site supervisor, who has filed a whistleblower complaint with the City of Austin.
Andrea Gipson has worked for the City for nearly a year and a half. During that time, she has raised numerous concerns with City leaders about the conditions of the shelter.
Gipson said the client rooms are filthy. She said the meals the City pays for to give residents are often arrived undercooked or uncooked and are not healthy options. She and her staff have found guns, knives, machetes and other weapons in client rooms.
"Drug use, prostitution. There are assaults happening. There are folks being drugged and robbed right on site," Gipson said in an exclusive interview with KVUE. "There are clients who are being assaulted by other clients. The drug use is out of this world. It's nothing to walk into a client room and see someone about to put a needle in their arm or put a needle in their neighbors arm. Smoking meth, coke, crack – any and every type of drug. There's fentanyl users. There is drug activity and dealers and drug deals going on just right outside the gates every day."
Perhaps most concerning is the drug and alcohol use staff say happens inside the shelter. Multiple staff members at the shelter told KVUE clients bring in drugs, needles and other drug paraphernalia. Some also cook drugs in their rooms.
Gipson said in her time with the City, there have been several overdoses and two deaths at the shelter.
"It's hard. Because when you encounter clients who constantly ask about a case manager and when they're going to be housed and are asking the questions that are necessary to be successful, and they come in and they use everything that you're giving them for their good – and then this happens to them. Whether it's natural causes or an overdose, there's always something more that could have been done," Gipson said.. "There's always – these are things that probably could have been addressed or triaged before they got here, before they got to the shelter. So, it is hard when you build relationships with these folks and you kind of take on their problems and you, you're responsible for taking care of them. It's hard."
KVUE requested an interview with leaders at Austin Public Health (APH), the City department that oversees the shelter. APH sent the following statement:
"Austin Public Health (APH) is aware of the recent allegations raised concerning Northbridge. We want to emphasize our commitment to transparency and accountability in all matters, especially those about the well-being of our clients and staff.
We take all reports seriously, regardless of their nature or source, and have been actively collaborating with several departments, and Austin Public Health's Internal Auditor is involved. It is our duty to investigate any concerns that are brought to our attention, and we are committed to doing so with the utmost urgency and diligence."