Homelessness has increased in Dallas by 9 percent, unsheltered homelessness by 23 percent — almost a quarter — since 2017. There are many reasons why, too many to go into right now. You may recall when the tent city was shut down, a plan was enacted to move the homeless to Hensley Field, the site of a former naval air station near Grand Prairie. The plan hinged on $50 million in private donations to build tiny homes and other living facilities on the 350-acre lot, including lots of support services. But the media balked at the feel of “rounding up” people and concentrating services. Now the services are concentrated downtown.
But is shuffling people all over town, taking temporary shelter in recreational centers where children play and swim, a sensible approach?
I spoke to Linda Garner, who was appointed to the Citizen’s Homeless Commission by Adam Medrano, and who lives in the Cedars, ground zero for the homeless in Dallas. Linda understands the Four Track program and tells me that the solution to homelessness is to remove the concentration from downtown, where most services happen to be. I get it. It’s like sending your kid to boarding school to get him away from the riff-raff. She believes in the concept of small “boutique” shelters that exist across Dallas, but off the radar because they are in low-density areas. For example, one she discovered off Denton Drive.
“I think the temporary aspect is expensive, but we truly need to decentralize homeless services from downtown,” Linda told me.
The Track program is to have four actions running simultaneously. Track One is to add more beds to existing homeless shelters. Track two aims to decentralize services with two options: amend city code so public and private facilities can open a homeless shelter. That is, your neighbor could open a homeless shelter in her home. Or the empty space next to JoAnn’s, say, at Preston Forest could become a homeless shelter — the one right across the street from the kids birthday party place.
Or, send the homeless to city owned facilities, like recreation centers, without amending code.
Both are terrible options. Amending city code would have disastrous effects on property values, safety for both the homeless and citizens, and tremendous cost without controls. Opening the rec centers is an absolute negative, particularly in a city which is down on police officers.
What to do? The media bashed the Henley Field idea. City Councilman Lee Kleinman tells me he asked about buying the Timberlawn facility last February — brilliant! (Timberlawn shuttered February 1 and it’s parent company, Universal Health Services Inc., the largest operator of mental health facilities in the country, is in criminal deep doo doo, including a federal criminal fraud probe. Sounds like an opportune time to snag it.)
Long ago I dreamed of a vastly re-decorated Dawson becoming a first-class homeless center.
“The facility has residential, commissary, recreation, treatment rooms, and a large, self contained campus,” he wrote. “The Timberlawn idea was largely ignored.”
While the building sits empty.
“The homeless are not indigenous to downtown, they are there because large provider services are concentrated in one area,” says Linda. “With that comes a predatory element that seeks out the vulnerable and keeps them from ever exiting. If we make shelters smaller and make them fit the identity of a neighborhood, an opportunity to exit homelessness is increased by giving them a safer environment without temptation from that predatory environment.”
Why not create a central homeless center and work to develop these “boutique” shelters around the city, seeking areas where you won’t run into NIMBYs. After all, there are different levels of homeless need: some need more supervision, others just need a loving boost.
Track 3: Get more homeless into apartments and homes with a risk mitigation fund that will incentivize landlords to take on responsible homeless. A portion of their rent will be guaranteed to be paid monthly, opening up another shelter bed.
Track 4: $20 million was slated in the last bond proposal for durable infrastructure for housing needs to be fleshed out. What does that mean? I don’t know, but here is the briefing…
Homeless Solutions Proposed Strategy Track II Temporary Homeless Centers Memo 072718 by Joanna England on Scribd
