Just a quick update today.

On Thursday, there was a stabbing at a homeless encampment in Republic Square Park.

On Friday night, a homeless person stabbed an innocent victim.

Has the Mayor of Austin or the City Council done a single thing to respond to the spike in violence in our city? No.

But our Governor has.

Texas Governor Greg Abbott responded to these latest stabbings by outlining a sensible four-step plan:

1. Put public safety first.

2. Open large shelters that can accommodate > 200 people.

3. Provide mental health, drug addiction help + job training skills.

4. Then focus on long term housing.

In the last two weeks, signatures on our online petition to reinstate the ban on homeless campaign have exploded. We now have more than 80,000 signatures!

We are in the final stages of developing ballot language to overturn the homeless camping ordinance. We appreciate your patience. An update is coming very soon.

In the meantime, you can help us in the following ways:

1. Please share our petition on your social media networks (Facebook, NextDoor, Twitter, LinkedIn). Just ask people to visit SaveAustinNowPetition.com.

2. Contribute to our effort to re-institute the ban on homeless camping. You can give online here (http://www.PayPal.me/saveaustinnow) or send a check to "Save Austin Now" and mail to 807 Brazos Street, Suite 408, Austin, TX 78731.

If you are part of an organization that would like to support and help pass a ballot initiative to reinstate the homeless camping ban, please email me (matt@saveaustinnow.com) and let me know.

Sincerely,

Matt Mackowiak

Save Austin Now co-founder

(email: matt.mackowiak@gmail.com)