ACTION ALERT: Demand City Council Approve an Independent Audit of Homeless Spending Since 2019

With the recent and sudden resignation of the Homeless Strategy Officer and the stunning whistleblower account of illegal activity and squalid conditions at the Northbridge Homeless Shelter, now is the appropriate time for the City of Austin to assess our homeless spending.

It is clear that what the City of Austin is doing to address homelessness is not working.

Homeless camping continues. Our waterways and parks are trashed. Homeless services are not efficiently provided. The city does not measure outcomes (right now they only measure 'heads in beds'). Funding continues to flow to unqualified groups. And the homeless suffer while taxpayers continue to be disrespected.

According to the city's own estimates, homelessness has increased from 3,000-5,000 in the past 3 years (we believe it is more like 6,000-8,000 based on law enforcement estimates).

The city conducted an internal audit two years ago, but it was ridiculous, with very limited information.

We need a complete, thorough, independent audit of all homeless spending since 2019 to see where the money went, how it was spent, and to measure its effectiveness. That audit needs to be conducted within 180 days and publicly released.

EMAIL THE MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL: The link below will take you to a page where you can email the Mayor, City Manager and City Council with one click. Please take the template and make whatever changes you think are needed to reflect your views. We want to generate hundreds of emails in the first 24-48 hours. Thank you!

>> Email the entire council here.