AUSTIN, Texas — The City of Austin hopes to effectively tackle homelessness but wants people to know that in order to so, it needs more time and more shelters.
"We understand the frustration of folks. I don't think anyone is satisfied at seeing people live outside in these conditions," Homeless Strategy Officer Dianna Grey said.
Back in March, business owners at South Town Square alerted KVUE to a series of encampments behind the shopping center.
“I don’t think anyone understood how big it was,” said Craig Plakis, who owns CraigO’s Pasta & Pastaria.
Plakis, along with other business owners in the area, said he was notified of the cleanup efforts and is glad there are steps being taken to relocate people who are unhoused. But he also hopes the City doesn’t lose sight of what he calls a “big issue.”
“We could all say, ‘Oh, it's too little too late.’ The bottom line is we have to look forward and, you know, there's been a lot of growing pains for the city and I think they're hopefully they're going to learn from that,” Plakis said.
On Tuesday, City leaders announced that they had started clearing out the homeless encampment behind the shops at South Town Square, an area situated along the Gaines Creek greenbelt, near the Violet Crown trail. The City said it has begun relocating people who live in the encampment to the Northbridge Shelter.
Grey said because of the size of the encampment and capacity issues at shelters, the City had to approach plans for the cleanup and relocation carefully.
"We have multiple departments across the city, as well as community partners, and don't typically announce before we're starting because what we don't want is the unintended consequence of more people moving to the area in hopes of getting access to the shelter and other housing resources that we're able to make available," Grey said.
The City was able to expand capacity at the Northbridge Shelter by placing two people per room.
In an update on Tuesday, June 20, the City said a total of 75 unhoused residents and approximately 30 pets were relocated from the encampment to the Northbridge shelter as part of the Housing-Focused Encampment Assistance Link (HEAL) Initiative. It said the encampment was formally declared closed on Tuesday morning, and a work zone has been designated while "an extensive" cleanup process is underway.
Mayor Pro Tem Paige Ellis (District 8) wasn't available for an interview on Wednesday, but staff at her office said she had toured the grounds last week and spoke with people who live at the encampment, business owners and community members to make sure everyone has a voice in this process.
In a press release, Ellis said in part, "This relocation is a positive development for the community that will promote public health and safety while connecting many to the vital services they need to strengthen their quality of life."
Those who live at the encampments were given the option to relocate to the shelter and ask questions about it.
Salem, who did not want to give her last name, has lived at the encampment on and off for about two years and experienced homelessness for 10 years. She said the camp is home to her and many others, and she was devastated to learn they had to leave.
"Our dogs are buried out here, you know. Like, our friends have died out here, and this is one of the hardest part of things," Salem said.
Salem said she knows the City is doing what it can to help, but she believes more can be done to address mental health and health in general.
"A lot of people that have been out here for years and years and years – they're out here for a reason, and we want somewhere to go," she said.
Mark Hilbelink is the executive director of the Sunrise Navigation Center, which provides homeless services in Travis County. He has been part of the cleanup effort and explained that the biggest challenge when it comes to clearing encampments is making sure people's needs are met at the shelters they're placed in so they don't return to camps.
"I think the reality in our community right now is that the rate of homelessness is increasing faster than the rate of shelter and housing. And so, as long as that's the case, we're going to continue to see encampments pop up," Hilbelink said.
According to City officials, crews with Austin Resource Recovery have come in with an affiliated contractor and begun environmental cleanup efforts to restore the area to its natural landscape. That process will take several weeks.
Once that's complete, the Austin Police Department will ramp up efforts to make sure no one resettles at the camp. The Parks and Recreation Department will install perimeter fencing to deter future unlawful camping in the area.
As people from the camp were relocated throughout the week, the City noted that there are new efforts in place to increase shelter capacity. Last week, City leaders approved reopening the old Salvation Army in Downtown Austin, and they are looking to set up shelter beds at a warehouse in southeast Austin.