The City of Dallas has clocked a whopping 1,121 homeless service calls through its 311 system, with the overwhelming majority once again having to do with homeless encampments.
Some 106 of the service requests, which are tracked by the City’s homeless service calls dashboard, are designated as still open. The dashboard tracks calls on a rolling 30-day basis.
“I’ve seen this guy here for over a year. His stuff gets moved and he’s gone for a day or two but comes back and rebuilds his encampment. Lately, he’s accumulated a lot of trash and has been making fires,” one resident wrote in a 311 complaint to the City.
The address associated with the encampment was listed as 4184 Santa Fe Ave., in Council Member Jesse Moreno’s District 2. The complaint was filed on August 13 and remains open.
Another resident used the 311 system to bring attention to a growing encampment on 9140 Forest Ln. in Council Member Kathy Stewart’s District 10.
“I am concerned that these camps have the possibility of continuing to grow in size and population unless this is addressed immediately. This is [the] first time I’ve felt truly concerned when visiting my neighborhood Kroger,” the resident said.
The complaint was filed on August 19 and remains open.
In Council Member Omar Narvaez’s District 6, a citizen tried to raise awareness of a serious safety hazard being caused by the homeless encampment near 3215 Topeka Ave.
“They continue to make our alley way disgusting, they are loitering, using drugs and leaving all the needles in the alleyway. How are we suppose to have the alley clean; when there’s trash, couches, tvs, and needles constantly,” the individual wrote.
The 311 complaint was filed on August 22.
As previously reported by The Dallas Express, 75% of Dallas residents think homelessness, vagrancy, and panhandling are “major” problems throughout the city.
Despite polling that shows Dallas residents would be in favor of a “one-stop-shop” strategy for homeless services, such as what the nonprofit Haven for Hope does in San Antonio, City officials have yet to experiment with such a model.
Some local stakeholders are looking to bring the model to Dallas, but it remains to be seen whether City officials will embrace the approach.
As previously reported by The Dallas Express, Haven for Hope provides social services like drug counseling, drug training, and transitional housing, all on a single campus where it also maintains transitional housing for the homeless. Its “one-stop-shop” model has been credited with reducing unsheltered homelessness in San Antonio’s downtown area by 77%.