Articles tagged: homelessness
Austin and America’s Thirty-Year War on the Homeless
Cities have spent three decades criminalizing homelessness. Last year, Austin bucked the trend—and sparked a firestorm that still hasn’t gone out.
No Place to Be Cities have spent three decades criminalizing homelessness. Last year, Austin bucked the trend—and sparked a firestorm that still hasn’t gone...Read More
Living With Discomfort and Ambiguity in ‘Finding Home in Boomtown’
A new documentary follows a couple’s winding path toward starting a tiny-home community for the homeless in West Texas.
Outside a big, stately home in a Midland suburb sits a pocket-size tiny house. Curious passersby peer inside the model, picking up flyers and bottled water from...Read More
From Jail to the Streets: One Texan’s Story During COVID-19
The homeless are 11 times more likely to be incarcerated than the rest of the population.
With the novel coronavirus upending society, Rachel Schuyler felt like a sitting duck. At the Bexar County lockup in downtown San Antonio, she lacked supplies l...Read More
COVID-19 Reveals the Urgent Need to House the Homeless
As state and local governments scramble to provide the homeless access to rooms in order to save them (and us) from the coronavirus pandemic, it’s worth keeping one eye on the future.
For weeks, advocates and news outlets have been sounding the alarm: The homeless are profoundly vulnerable to the COVID-19 pandemic. The disease is a new and ur...Read More
Loon Star: The Governor Shows His Concern for the Homeless
To see more political cartoons from Ben Sargent, visit our Loon Star State section, or find Observer political reporting here....Read More
Governor Abbott’s Campaign Against the Homeless Isn’t Just Cruel—It’s Dangerous
There’s a thin line between spreading hate, as the governor continues to do, and inciting violence.
I’m stopped at a red light next to I-35 in central Austin, waiting to cross under the highway on my drive home from work, when I see a young woman sitting on ...Read More
Greg Abbott’s ‘Indefinite,’ Imperfect Homeless Camp
Scenes from Abbottville.
Just off Highway 183 in southeast Austin, twin rows of weathered, garage-like structures line a mostly vacant 7-acre paved lot. The property, a former maintenan...Read More
In Dallas, Churches Break the Law to Shelter Homeless People on Freezing Nights
A city ordinance prevents churches and virtually anyone else from acting as emergency shelters, but some are offering safe haven anyway.
The first night of a punishing cold front in January 2018, two people living on the streets of South Dallas died. Others camping underneath the same highway ove...Read More
Governor Launches Camp, Backs ‘Mega-Tent’ for Austin’s Homeless, Surprising Advocates
The governor and Austin’s business community announced plans for a temporary campsite and a future “mega-tent” shelter for the city's homeless community. They’re working separately from local homeless service providers.
After a months-long campaign of smearing Austin’s homeless as violent and disease-ridden, Governor Greg Abbott announced Thursday he was designating 5 acres o...Read More