Beginning this weekend and continuing through March 7, the City of Dallas will allow those with outstanding Class C misdemeanor warrants to resolve them by donating new blankets for the homeless.
In lieu of fines stemming from ticket-only offenses, Dallas residents can resolve their warrants by donating unopened packages of blankets to the Office of Homeless Solutions (OHS) at select municipal courts and pop-up locations. As indicated in a news release from the City of Dallas, donated blankets and throws will be redistributed by OHS “as they deem appropriate.”
Some examples of Class C misdemeanor offenses include traffic violations, disorderly conduct, petty theft or shoplifting of items worth less than $50, simple assault, and public intoxication.
Those wishing to resolve their outstanding citations can bring a government-issued photo ID to the locations listed here. Normally, individuals with outstanding Class C misdemeanor warrants would be subject to arrest, but the City said in its news release that those participating in the blanket donation plan to resolve their violations “will not be arrested,” effectively dampening any possible impact such penalties might have on deterring such misdemeanors from being committed in the first place.
A similar initiative called “Be Citation Free in 2023” was organized by the City of Dallas last year, which allowed individuals to resolve outstanding Class C misdemeanor warrants in exchange for donations of three or more pairs of new socks to OHS.
As previously covered by The Dallas Express, the City launched a campaign last year asking Dallas residents to “Give Responsibly” to the homeless due to the growing problems with vagrancy, panhandling, and crime. Per the City’s own campaign, giving handouts of any kind — whether clothing, money, or food — directly to the homeless could ultimately prove counterproductive.
“Giving directly to the homeless prevents them from receiving help and support from professional service providers,” the statement read. “By partnering with existing service providers, we can fulfill the needs of our neighbors with dignity and compassion while promoting systemic change.”
Irresponsible giving can be detrimental in unexpected ways, such as accumulating trash on the street and even rodents chewing through traffic light wires, as one City official previously explained.
“That seems like a pretty far-fetched jump, but it’s not,” OHS Director Christine Crossley said last August. “Some of the street light outages that you see across Dallas that are annoying you because now you’re sitting in 20 minutes of traffic at a four-way stop are because people have been leaving food, and the food attracts rodents that chew through the wiring. It really has larger impacts that I think people don’t think about.”
Poor street maintenance, increasing crime due to the Dallas Police Department’s officer shortages, and persistent homelessness and vagrancy have been cited by Dallas residents as key sources of dissatisfaction in polling conducted by The Dallas Express and the City’s own satisfaction survey. Such issues, along with significant IT problems and accusations of inefficiencies and poor management, have marred the tenure of City Manager T.C. Broadnax, who recently announced his decision to resign from his position after seven years.
Despite many Dallasites favoring the “one-stop-shop” homeless services model utilized by Haven for Hope in San Antonio, which has reportedly reduced unsheltered homelessness by 77% in downtown San Antonio, it is unclear whether City officials will support a local effort to bring the model to Dallas.
