One hundred residents of Travis Heights and adjacent neighborhoods met Tuesday evening with Council Members Zo Qadri and José Velásquez, police chief Lisa Davis, and the head of the Homeless Strategy Office, David Gray, to discuss a proposal from Gray and HSO to place a homeless navigation center alongside I-35, south of Oltorf, near their neighborhoods. The meeting was difficult for all concerned.
Gray began by explaining that navigation centers help people on the verge of falling into homelessness and those who are newly homeless. He said he’s recommending that the city purchase a building in the Oltorf area because there is a high need for homeless services there and it is near the city’s Southbridge shelter, where rapid rehousing work is already being done. He began to make the point that the new South Austin Housing Navigation Center would be a safe distance from schools and parks, saying he had walked the area and it took him 20 minutes to reach Travis Heights Elementary School. The crowd erupted.
“That’s not true!” people called out. “Tell the truth!” For the next hour, residents repeatedly interrupted Gray as he tried to continue. They complained that the new center would increase trespassing and the open use of drugs by homeless people already in the area. They said they feared their children would be assaulted, that businesses would see customers driven away. They pleaded with the Council members to delay the decision on purchasing the property, currently set for Oct. 9…