AUSTIN, Texas – Saturday, May 1 Austin residents voted on Proposition B that would criminalize camping in public areas and force those in our community experiencing unsheltered homelessness to hide in the shadows or face fines and possible jail. The race has not yet been called. The campaign and the vote, on both sides, have to be seen as an expression of the popular will to end tenting.
Austin Mayor Steve Adler said the following:
“We anticipate the result to get closer. If it passes it will go into effect on May 11, once the election is certified.
“One thing seems pretty clear, people on both sides of this issue want to see public camping end. This election underscores that we need to accelerate and scale a solution to end camping.
“Our next step is to get people out of tents and into better, safer places with the critical services needed to keep them out of tents.
“We must pool our resources to get our unhoused residents into homes, and that will take the whole community rallying together to commit to this cause.
“Austin has a real opportunity to lead nationally on homelessness if we band together. I am committed to getting our residents out of tents. I will continue to work with my colleagues and our Summit partners to house 3,000 people in the next three years and accelerate moving people out of encampments and into better, safer places. We can do this if we commit to this cause.”
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