The fate of Dallas City Hall has been dominating headlines, but you’ll find none of that in this roundup. Read this morning’s standalone coverage on that ongoing saga later. For now, catch up on some of the other news coming out of 1500 Marilla St.
What Parts of Dallas Are Shouldering the Weight of Homeless Housing?
The Housing & Homelessness Solutions Committee met on Monday to hear from more out-of-town homeless service providers as officials explore their options to meet the needs of the city’s unsheltered population.
At the start of the meeting, however, Council Member Cara Mendelsohn (District 12) presented a map produced by staff that shows where the city’s existing shelters and permanent supportive housing are located.
“What we’ve heard very often, both in public comments, social media, even sometimes in media articles, is a narrative about where the homeless services are located,” she said. “Very often, it’ll be explained that there’s some concentration in southern Dallas, that there is an effort to move the homeless to southern Dallas. What this map is showing you … is where the services actually are.”
Half of the 14 operating shelters and permanent supportive housing sites are in and around downtown. The rest are a few miles just northwest of the city center or far up north at the city limits.
“What we don’t have south of downtown is any overnight sheltering, day sheltering, or permanent supportive housing,” Mendelsohn said…