A majority of Dallas County residents who are likely to vote in municipal elections view homelessness and vagrancy as serious problems, according to a new survey commissioned by The Dallas Express in March.
A total of 53% of respondents identified as both frequent municipal voters and Dallas County residents acknowledged that homelessness and vagrancy were serious issues. On the other hand, 22% disagreed, while an additional 25% admitted to being unsure.
This comes as the City of Dallas has been faced with a “scourge of homelessness,” as described by Mayor Eric Johnson. Johnson recently announced the formation of a new task force intended to study the issue and provide actionable steps to reduce the number of vagrants in the city.
“We also have residents of this city who are also trying to get by and do right by their families and their communities who want to go to work every day and come home,” Johnson explained at a press conference attended by The Dallas Express.
“Unfortunately, they see growing numbers of encampments in their neighborhoods. They see people passed out on the sidewalks. They see people walking naked on the streets,” he added. “They see trash. They see waste. They see tents pitched on our freeway underpasses.”
“They want and they expect to live in a city that does not tolerate, and certainly does not facilitate, disorder,” the mayor concluded.
Polling seems to confirm this claim, as 51% of respondents in The Dallas Express survey said they favored a plan “to require the homeless, vagrants, and panhandlers to occupy only one small specific area of town where all the homeless services are located instead of roaming wherever they like.”
Some 26% disagreed, and 23% answered that they did not know.
These findings conform to prior trends suggested by The Dallas Express polls, as well as to research conducted by outside groups.
In February, 50% of respondents told The Dallas Express that they considered homelessness and vagrancy a pressing issue for the City. Similarly, a recent poll commissioned by Mayor Johnson found that homelessness was considered one of the top three most significant problems Dallas faced.
The woke Dallas City Council has had years to “fix” this problem and it has only gotten worse. The time to fire all of them is now.
Our Harvard-educated genius mayor has said: “Unfortunately, they see growing numbers of encampments in their neighborhoods. They see people passed out on the sidewalks. They see people walking naked on the streets,” he added. “They see trash. They see waste. They see tents pitched on our freeway underpasses. They want and they expect to live in a city that does not tolerate, and certainly does not facilitate, disorder,” the mayor concluded.”
And then our ineffective Mayor goes on to announce the formation of a new task force intended to “study the issue.”
A task force? That’s the best this loser can do?
Dallas County is experiencing a population exodus because people cannot get away fast enough from the “Austification” of Dallas by these woke clowns.
The best thing about Dallas is seeing it in your rear view mirror.®
In many states the underpasses and adjacent lands to major arterial roads are under the authority of State Juris and it is unlawful to trespass on them.
The bigger issue is that MOST of the homeless consider themselves in a lifestyle and are not interested in self improvement, employment, responsibility and being involved in classically “normal” life. Drugs play a HUGE influence on these people.
Three things are evident:
To facilitate Item 3, Police should be willing to train Watch volunteers extensivly. Watch volunteers should be willing to utilize carry laws as well (remember that SCOTUS determined police have no duty to protect, only to investigate and arrest for crimes). Additionally, the city itself should consider partial reimbursement of petite cash expenses (fuel etc) from property taxes in the areas of Watches.
Training and watch duty should include video identification, license plate identification as well as teach how to recognize and report possible drug deals and drug houses, and how and when to interact. Golf cart type vehicles might be a better vehicle for this activity.
It took me years, but there were no less than 4 drug dealers within a few blocks, one house of ill repute, and indigents living in the back yards of unoccupied homes and vegetative open spaces.
In my case I knocked on the doors and told them that WE neighbors know what you are doing. They were told to take their business somewhere else. We would be happy to have them as good neighbors as long as they do NO business in the neighborhood, alternatively that they would wind up in prison. They all chose prison and today there are NO drug dealers in my neighborhood, no more hookers, no more thieves.
It only takes a few people and a little honesty with the perpetrators. The last ones to be arrested were an indigent thief, and four “fences” that purchased goods and sold drugs from the proceeds. They all went to prison, two of them on a third strike. That last arrest only took a single phone call when the transaction was about to happen.
The fact that two were on parole allowed vehicle search and ended very well for the public.
Prioritizing the police calls helps along with having the knowledge of exactly what is transpiring. Neighborhood Watch helps as it has priority generally.
The homelessness issue is causing at least half of the vagrant issue. As long as the people in charge ALLOW locals to be priced out of their homes AND/OR not address the high market rates on residential living quarters, rental property and homes – then you’re going to see vagrants and homeless people walking around their home city. A majority of the issue stems from mental health issues as we all know, but it starts with being priced out. Wages are too low to meet the high rent demands and in most rental properties, you will be locked out of your place to live if you can’t make the rent. Then you have people loosing everything they own, including their mind AND all of this is alright with city officials as long as they get a paycheck. They just don’t want to see the fruits of their hard labor walking around begging for a handout. Mr. Mayor, there are a lot of people who have lost housing after 2020. The job market is not what the polls say and your allowing other states’ business to come into Dallas to boost your own bottom line and these high market rates to lure people in from different areas causing prices to soar so Dallas can “Keep up with the Jones.”
I hope you see homeless people walking their own city until cows begin to fly. The lowest and most average rent cost is $1500.00 x 3 = $4500.00.
Now this is not expensive – to the wealthy, but who do you know that works at a grocery store or fast food or even a school teacher in public schools that make enough money to actually pay bills and save for a rainy day or vacation? Nobody. So, this causes an entire family to have to live together forever, instead of branching out and thriving physically, mentally and financially. Eventually, all of these factors that tie into the same underlying issue of high property market rates and low paying jobs will trickle down and cause crime, vagrants to roam the city and overall dissatisfaction with authority and city value. I hope the embarrassment continues until someone brings down prices enough to stop the locals being forced out.
Citizens should visit the downtown Public Library men’s bathrooms after the library opens.
I wonder if some housing regulations, such as rent control, would help mitigate the problem?
Really? Are you going to also put in a control for Taxes, Insurance, Interest Rates and who is going to pick up the cost for all the destruction that is done? Go do some research on why Landlords run from Section 8 Housing.
The city just moves them around. They clean up an encampment, the “vagrants” move their tents into our neighborhoods. Just look for the piles of trash everywhere. I’d say it’s more than out of control.
Gas-powered mowers seem to be the City Council’s greatest concern.