Thank you for signing our petition to rescind the Homeless Camping Ban.
The response has been extraordinary since I created the petition around 8pm on Wednesday, July 17.
We have not spent one cent on advertising. This has grown organically.
We now have well over 15,000 signatures, and the number continues to rise. We will continue to encourage people to sign up until the August 8 city council meeting. I have signed up to testify that day and if I am allowed to testify, I will carry your voice with me as we seek to rescind this disastrous policy.
Mayor Steve Adler has been doubling down on the Homeless Camping Ordinance. He wrote an absurd guest column in The Austin American-Statesman on Monday (https://www.statesman.com/opinion/20190722/adler-want-to-stop-people-sleeping-in-public-spaces-house-them that basically said critics of the policy should bring homeless people into their homes. While charity is always helpful, this is not the answer.
Last night on Fox 7, Mayor Adler admitted that the city's efforts to address homelessness have failed. He refused to address concerns about human waste created by campers. We spend $30 million a year and have little to show for it. You can watch the segment here (http://www.fox7austin.com/news/local-news/fox-7-discussion-mayor-adler-on-homeless-ordinances
Now the city is threatening public safety, public health and tourism by letting homeless people camp and sleep wherever they want in public.
We have to keep the pressure up. Next week we will announce the next phase in this battle. I will ask you to help us in new ways.
In the meantime, we want to grow the number of signers of this petition to the largest extent possible.
If you've already signed, here is how you can help:
1) Ask Austin residents to sign the petition on your social media accounts (Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn). Post the http://www.SaveAustinNow.com URL.
2) Post about this effort on NextDoor. This is highly effective.
3) Email friends and family and ask them to sign.
I have lived in Austin since 1984 and I have never seen an issue with broader and deeper opposition than this one.
We must save our city. We must convince the City Council to rescind this policy.
Thank you for your support,
Matt Mackowiak
SaveAustinNow.com
Email: matt.mackowiak@gmail.com