HOMELESS CAMPING ORDINANCE UPDATE:
The polls are now open!
Early voting is now underway in the May 1st Municipal election.
You can early vote at ANY location in the city of Austin from April 19-27.
The early voting locations can be viewed tin the image attached.
Please go vote YES on Prop. B to reinstate the pubic camping ban and save our city.
You can find the closest and most convenient voting location here: VoteTravis.com.
WHY VOTE YES ON PROP B?
In June, 2019, despite enormous private and public feedback from the public as well as Austin Police Chief, UT Police Chief, Greater Austin Crime Commission, Austin Chamber of Commerce and the Downtown Austin Alliance which begged the City of Austin to stop and consider the unintended consequences of repealing the camping ban, the City of Austin repealed the camping ban that had been in place for 23 years which had enjoyed a 93% success rate according to local law enforcement.
The result of overturning the camping ban resulted in increased physical waste, human waste, dangers to public health and public safety and the highest violent crime rate in five years. In just the first 3 1/2 months of 2021, there have been 26 homicides in Austin, putting us on pace to double our all-time homicide record.
If we continue to make it harder for average people to live here, to feel safe, raise a family and make a living in Austin, the tax base and residents which can fund proven homeless housing and treatment programs and treatment programs will flee. We see multiple examples of this on the West Coast.
A tent is not a home and is not a compassionate solution. During the winter storm of 2021, a tent did not protect Austin’s homeless residents. We had five days of devastating, sub-freezing weather. The city said nine homeless people died; in fact, it was closer to 55-60, according to local medical experts.
When the ordinance was overturned, homeless shelters emptied. A large portion of our homeless population would rather live in a place where they don’t have rules and responsibilities, but not all of them. Austin’s homeless population is a very complicated mix of people. We estimate that three quarters of that population have drug/alcohol addiction or mental health challenges or both. Overturning the ordinance put people in more desperate situations in closer quarters and in more frequent contact with average Austinites.
Homeless camps are filthy, unsanitary, unsafe and rife with drugs. People are regularly trafficked, raped and assaulted in homeless encampments. It is not debatable that it has made our city worse off in a year and a half. This is not a partisan issue. This is a human issue and a problem for Austin to take seriously.
In January 2019 the City of Austin estimated there were 2,500 homeless people in the city proper. Today we estimate that number to be at or above 5,000 and they’re coming from all over the country because of the lawlessness that the City of Austin has embraced.
The City of Austin spent a $161M in fiscal years 2018-2020 and provided approximately 200 new beds per year. Let’s do the math: that’s 5,000 homeless people divided by $161M giving us a rough cost of $13K per person, per year to provide a bed over a period of three years. That’s ridiculous! We can do better!
It’s time to put the pressure back on the City to deliver real solutions and housing for the homeless and we can offer up examples that actually work.
Successful Models:
> Community First Village already houses 250 people using the affordable micro home model. Residents must sign a contract to abide by community rules. It is self-sustaining and privately funded and gives purpose and hope to its residents. Community First Village is supposed to double in the next 12-18 months, but this model could expand much faster with additional resources.
> Haven for Hope in San Antonio is funded with private and public funds and is the only place to legally camp in San Antonio. It is a “one stop” design which was born after 18 months of research of over 200 homeless shelters across the country providing job training, facilities and treatment to anyone who needs it.
Copying these proven, successful models with focus, purpose, efficiency and transparency can help solve the challenge of homelessness in Austin.
What can we do?
> We can start by holding our City Council and Mayor accountable. The Council wants to spend an additional $73M on homelessness this year on top of the $161M they’ve already spent in the last three years. It’s time they show where they’ve been spending the money.
> Ask your Council Member the hard questions: Are they willing to submit to an independent audit? How many homeless do we have now? Where did the $161M go? At what point will we be able to house all of Austin’s homeless?
> Sign up to volunteer at https://form.jotform.com/200565023717146
> Sign up for emails at https://www.saveaustinnowpac.com/get-involved
> Donate to https://www.saveaustinnowpac.com/donate
> Talk about this in your sphere of influence
>Turn out for early voting April 19-27 and on Election Day on May 1. Find your early or election day voting location here: https://www.saveaustinnowpac.com/vote-may-1st.
WAYS TO HELP:
We have so much work to do in these final 12 days. If you have not yet signed up to volunteer, please do so here. We will need pollworkers and other office help in these final days.
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Every dollar we have raised is being efficiently spent to contact voters across Austin between April 19-27 or May 1.
We are up again the entire Austin media, 9/10 council members, Mayor Steve Adler and tons of advocacy groups. But we will prevail.
We have not met our full budget needs to execute our plan. As of today, we are $250,000 short with 12 days to go.
We are so grateful for all of the support we have received, but we need more to ensure we decisively win this campaign.
WE NEED YOUR CONTINUED FINANCIAL SUPPORT!
PLEASE DONATE NOW ONE OF TWO WAYS:
1) Donation made securely online – https://secure.anedot.com/save-austin-now-pac/donate
2) Make a check to “Save Austin Now PAC” and mail to: Save Austin Now PAC, 807 Brazos Street, Suite 408, Austin, TX 78701
Thanks,
Matt Mackowiak
Save Austin Now PAC
Co-founder
Email: matt@saveaustinnowpac.com