Homeless population moves north

Homeless population moves north

By Candace Birkelbach and Tiffany Young Friday, 19 December 2008

As the homeless population spreads from downtown to the rest of the city, north Austin residents have become concerned about criminal activity sometimes associated with the homeless lifestyle.

“What you’re seeing is a growth of homelessness in the North Central area because people are moving up the highway,” said Lawrence Davis, senior patrol officer and district representative for the North Central area, which includes the region bounded by Anderson Lane, IH 35, Walnut Creek and MoPac. “Transient people are nomadic in nature and as [the homeless downtown] become more territorial, some are forced to move north. While the camps aren’t as large, there seem to be more transient people in north Austin.”

In recent years, Davis said, transient camps have broken up and the homeless have dispersed across town as law enforcement gave out more tickets to large groups living together.

Resident concerns

At recent Austin Police Department Commanders Forums in north Austin, residents have voiced concerns about the homeless in their neighborhoods, particularly asking about laws concerning panhandling and criminal activity. While all homeless people do not solicit (APD’s term for panhandling), the ones who do are the most visible in communities.

Jim Letchworth, a resident in the Walnut Creek Neighborhood, said he regularly sees solicitors at North Lamar and Braker Lane, asleep on the southeast corner business property or consuming alcohol. Letchworth said he is concerned about the behavior because school buses from Walnut Creek Elementary regularly pass this corner. He has notified APD about his concerns, but is discouraged because he has not seen anything done about the situation.

Brad Wilcox, resident of Walnut Creek Neighborhood, said the city is ignoring the problem. Wilcox said he has called the police 15 times to notify them of homeless persons consuming alcohol at the Valero on IH 35 and Braker Lane, but never got a response.

“The police are conflicted. It seems they’ve been told by someone higher up that it’s not a priority,” Wilcox said.

Laws

While Austin has no laws banning panhandling specifically, the city has laws to discourage soliciting and related activities.

“[The laws] are all minor misdemeanors, and transient people know this,” Davis said. “I don’t know that [the laws] help homeless people, but it does teach them what the law is [when they receive a citation].”

In August, the Center for Social Work Research at the University of Texas published preliminary results of a study for the Department of Health and Human Services on public solicitation in Austin in which 103 solicitors were interviewed. Of solicitors surveyed in the UT study, 74 percent had been ticketed for various reasons associated with solicitation. The main reasons given for tickets were pedestrian in roadway, aggressive solicitation, failure to use a crosswalk/sidewalk and camping/sleeping in public.

The survey showed far fewer tickets were given for public intoxication and public urination, possibly because an officer must see this violation take place to give a citation. In the past year, 37 percent of solicitors had received one to four citations and 61 percent had been arrested.

The North Central District receives a high volume of calls with complaints about homeless people, many times the same ones. However, the police department has to protect everyone, Davis said, and civil rights come into play when figuring out how to deal with a homeless person.

If a resident wants a homeless person removed an officer must determine if there has been any unlawful activity, Davis said, but most of the violations result only in misdemeanors.

“In a perfect world you want everyone to have a home and be off the streets, but realistically that’s not the case,” Davis said. “All these laws are tools to address the homeless issue.”

Officers usually advise homeless persons to seek help from shelters, but many cannot conform to shelter regulations because of their drug addictions. Davis said officers must remain consistent in their law enforcement and keep a pulse on the homeless camps in their area. However, he said there are not any strong laws addressing the city’s homeless population right now.

“You’re not fighting the person; you’re fighting that person’s addiction,” Davis said. “It’s a catch 22. The purpose of law enforcement is to make sure people are safe and protect them, but your hands are pretty tied because there is no law saying being homeless is criminal.”

Demographics

UT’s study on soliciting found that the average solicitor was white, more than 40 years old and male. Life history varied, but often included foster care, military service, serious accidents, early experiences of homelessness and persistent mental and physical health problems.

Most have made repeated efforts to find work, but often health and mental health issues keep them from holding jobs.

“I am troubled by their presence in that it shows the lack of resources available for some homeless,” said Tommie Weaver, Eubank Acres resident. “I do understand that many of them choose to follow the homeless lifestyle; however, [having] a facility [that allows them] to get cleaned up, eat a meal and wash clothes would help anyone to have a better feeling of self-worth.”

Lifeworks Director of Housing and Homelessness and north Austin resident Steve Bewsey participated in the “Stand Up and Be Counted” homeless count and survey in north Austin in 2007. He said most of the homeless he has encountered in the area typically hang out at Walnut Creek Metropolitan Park, and they generally are veterans who try to stay sober. Many used to live where the city is now building the North Austin Recreation Center, Bewsey said, but with the land being cleared, they have moved farther north.

Giving

APD said whether to give money to individuals in need or nonprofits is up to each person to decide for themselves.

“My advice is to follow your heart, but be quick to understand who you’re dealing with. You may be hurting more than helping if they have an addiction. I see the same faces [on the streets],” Davis said.

Homeless by the numbers

Struggles faced:

The unemployment rate in Travis County was 3.5 percent in 2007, and a point-in-time count conducted by the City of Austin concluded that 4,468 persons were homeless that year. Of those counted, 20 percent were considered mentally ill, with 14 percent of the mentally ill not housed in shelters.

UT solicitation survey:

In August, the Center for Social Work Research at the University of Texas published preliminary results of a study for the Department of Health and Human Services on public solicitation in Austin in which 103 solicitors were interviewed.

• 63% spent the previous night outdoors
• 52% prefer a minimum wage job ($5.85/hour) to soliciting
• 45% had worked in the last six months
• 23% were homeless before the age of 18

Number of homeless children at selected schools within Northwest Austin for the 2007-08 school year:

• Walnut Creek Elementary: 24
• Woolridge Elementary: 9
• Burnet Middle School: 26
• Wooten Elementary: 9
• Lanier High School: 25
• Davis Elementary: 1

Les, a 58-year-old Vietnam veteran, journeyed to Central Texas about 35 years ago from Michigan. He has been soliciting for about five years in north Austin and Houston in between jobs. His most recent job, which he lost in November, was working for a demolition company. Les lives by himself in a tent in the woods. During the holiday season, he makes $60 to $70 a day soliciting, but on a typical day, he makes around $20 to $30. Les said he prefers Northwest Austin over downtown because there is less competition, and he wants to avoid drug addicts. Although easier to panhandle in Northwest Austin, there are fewer resources available to homeless persons.

“You’re pretty much on your own up here,” Les said. “I’ve had work here and there, but I don’t have a phone or address.”

Les said he once received a ticket for soliciting in Houston with a fine of $250 or three to five days in jail.

Austin’s homeless population compared with other cities
	Austin		Dallas		Houston		San Antonio
Year	2004	2007	2004	2007	2004	2007	2004	2007
Total population	656,562*	709,893**	1,188,580*	2,345,815**	1,953,631*	2,144,491**	1,144,646*	1,296,682**
Total number of homeless persons	3,789	5,281	6,933	3,408	8,334	10,363	3,306	2,247
Total number of chronically homeless persons	569	443	1,181	574	1,440	3,627	672	218
Unmet housing need ***	61%	74%	36%	11%	39%	52%	51%	20%
*2004 population data for each city is from the U.S. Census Bureau, 2000. **2007 population data for each city is from the U.S. Census Bureau estimates, 2006. *** The inventory of emergency shelter, transitional housing and permanent supportive housing was updated based on the number of beds/units available.
Source: HUD’s Continuum of Care for Homeless Assistance Programs, 2004, 2007