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Vagrancy and Homelessness Abound in Dallas

Cooper Neill
A homeless encampment formed under I-30 east of downtown Dallas. | Image by Cooper Neill

Vagrancy and homelessness are ongoing issues in Dallas County, as nearly 4,000 people experience some form of homelessness on any given night, according to the 2022 Point-in-Time Homeless Count from the Metro Dallas Homeless Alliance (MDHA).

MDHA’s most recent State of Homelessness fact sheet reveals that 3,996 people in Dallas County were found to be homeless or vagrant during the 10-day period of the 2022 annual count. Of that number, 1,324 are presumed vagrants or “unsheltered,” meaning they do not seek housing in shelters and instead live on the streets.

They may sleep under bridges, on the side of the road, or in encampments in abandoned parking lots and in wooded areas.

Encampments in parks grew by 30% during the pandemic.

As previously described in an opinion piece in The Dallas Express, some individuals choose to live on the streets with no interest in maintaining a home. This type of homelessness is known as vagrancy.

Research by the National Low Income Housing Coalition (NLIHC) said there is a nationwide shortage of 7 million rental homes for “extremely low-income (ELI) renters,” those who make less than 30% of their area’s median income.

Non-economic factors contribute to homelessness. These include physical or psychological disabilities, medical conditions, drug and alcohol dependence, learning disorders, post-traumatic stress disorder, a history of childhood abuse, and sexual abuse. Many homeless individuals suffer some combination of these.

“Domestic abuse, for example, is the leading cause of homelessness among women,” Lotus reports, adding that “84% of homeless women have experienced severe physical or sexual abuse at some point in their lives.”

KNOW Homelessness reports that 50% of homeless women and children are fleeing domestic violence.

Nationwide, there were about 223,578 homeless women in 2020, according to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development figures provided by Lotus.

A nonprofit to end homelessness found that in certain areas, “men are far more likely to be unsheltered than their female counterparts.” Texas was among the areas listed.

In Dallas County, the number of “chronically homeless“—those homeless for more than a year — rose from 327 in 2021 to 1,029 in 2022. This is in keeping with a national trend; data shows that chronic homelessness has surged by 40% in the U.S. since 2016.

The number of people who “exit homeless services and enter permanent housing” was a mere 20% in 2021.

“More people are becoming homeless every day,” and the numbers are growing, said Wayne Walker, CEO of the faith-based organization OurCalling. “Pre-COVID, we were meeting about 15 new people a week, and now we meet about 90 new people a week.”

The City of Dallas and numerous non-profit organizations are spending money trying various strategies to eliminate homelessness.

“The four main categories for helping those who are homeless is getting people into housing, long-term recovery programs, shelters, or medical facilities,” said Walker.

In an upcoming series of articles, The Dallas Express will delve into how entities are attempting to mitigate homelessness and vagrancy and examine the success and failures of their respective approaches.

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17 Comments

  1. LaNeisa

    The increase is alarming. When the follow up writing is done, do investigate how many vagrants are just waiting to die.

    Reply
  2. Lisa Marshall

    What you are missing in your report is how MDHA and the office of homeless solutions are part of the problem!!!
    Besides the extremely low housing stock, political will, action with funding, and follow up with data, deep incentives for extremely low housing landlords including tax advantages are part of the solution we are missing.
    Why don’t you report on how our city needs new leadership to combat our homelessness, because it will never be solved with the current leadership.
    Play back the town hall recordings and you will see for yourself.
    Better yet, attend one if you can find one.. they work hard to keep them hidden, small and unattended.

    Reply
  3. ed lopez

    We are unwilling to help these poor people yet we import millions of Europeans and give them free housing, food, phones, furniture, cars, and education!
    Why ?

    Reply
    • daniela

      if i told u why i would get banned

      Reply
  4. Bobby

    Demorat Socialism at its finest…Dallas & Dallas County trying to be like Los Angeles. Way to go Kirk and criminal city councilman John Wylie Price.

    Reply
  5. Bobby

    feed them and give them places to stay and they will tear it all up and turn it into a dump and they will continue to be drunks and druggies.

    Reply
    • Candace Bufford

      This is the reason that many stay homeless because they are not looking or are some capable of handling a house. It’s not just that they are junkies or drunks it’s mental illness that cause most people to be homeless. People don’t care about something unless it’s them or a family member then they might understand. It’s still are people that are homeless that have loss their jobs or not getting paid enough to pay rent. We all have seen that rent has increased dramatically and forcing people Bro the streets.

      Reply
      • Cindy

        In my experience the mentally ill do not account for the majority. Many aren’t interested in working or following society’s rules. They have been addicts since their teens and their families want nothing to do with them because past attempts to help them were unsuccessful. Out of state street people tell me they come here because Dallas has a reputation of “leaving them alone to do what they want”.

        Reply
  6. Betsy Whitfill

    Homelessness is now a Federal problem and needs a Federal solution including building facilities for residential recovery from homelessness by addressing all the issues that cause people to go to live on the streets. Where are the leaders who will take on this serious crisis?

    Reply
    • Bobby

      last thing we need is to be paying for these people. Why are they in this spot? Drugs? Alcohol? Running from the law? Mental issues? School Drop out? Just Lazy POS’s?

      Reply
    • Lay Monk Jeffery

      Maybe FEMA needs to round them up and take them to the camps. From there they can be sorted for help.

      Reply
  7. Richard Dee

    Some folks are mentally ill, some are alcoholics, and some are people who have worked hard most all their lives for a minimum wage and now prices for rent, food, gasoline, bills, have gone way up and wages have stayed the same or their paltry raise helps not one bit. Some have lost their jobs and are too young for S.S. or have no pension at all to look forward to. They have been kicked out of their homes, lost transportation, and are now shunned by friends and family. Now they’ve given up, don’t care anymore, and figure it’s easier to beg and sleep under a bridge.

    Reply
    • Betsy

      The causes of homelessness are not obscure mysteries. Yes, Richard, your list is basic to every city and many towns throughout America. That is why there must be a national level effort to reverse the trend toward homelessness. At least to build enough facilities to take people off the streets and into residential recovery. This will not go away with half measures, no matter how well intentioned. Where are the leaders with a national plan?

      Reply
    • DParidh

      You’re 100% correct.
      The number of folks who have beome ‘Unhoused HOMELESS ‘ since mid February 2020 is alarming especially when many are Senior Citizens who’s Social Security no longer allows them to be HOUSED … many because a ‘ROMMATE’ has passed away….👈👈
      They can no longer afford to be HOUSED!
      The waiting list for Government Assisted Housing is YEARS long and the shelters won’t allow long term stays, their pets and they LOSE ALL THEIR BELONGINGS as they now are HOMELESS!!!

      Reply
  8. Cindy

    I work with the homeless on a daily basis in a major Dallas hospital. The only ones interested in housing are the elderly who’s SS won’t cover decent housing and their medical issues can’t be managed without nursing home placement. Of note, many of those are veterans who have burned their bridges with family due to lifestyle choices.

    Most love their street life with no societal rules, get a free bed/meals/healthcare when needed at a local hospital then refuse shelter placement. It’s a revolving door. Throwing tax dollars at programs to house them will never work because, in their words “I ain’t following anybody’s rules”. Blatant drug/alcohol use will not be tolerated in shelters or other taxpayer provided housing; therefore, they aren’t interested. It’s a choice they are making knowing full well what they are doing. Leaving their excrement, needles, lice, trash around in neighborhoods are their “f you” to us all. Again… their words. And like stray animals people “feed” them so they stay.

    The ones with psych issues aren’t allowed to be involuntarily placed because of past foolish advocacy that said it was inhumane to house (institutionalize) them. Now the same advocates scream it’s inhumane to have them living on the streets.

    Reply
    • LFMinDallas

      Cindy, you are 100% correct. There are homeless people (temporarily dislocated who want to get back on their feet) and there are street people (ones that are unwilling to follow any rules necessary for any societal group to exist like in shelters).

      Those that hand out cash on the street corners to street people are themselves enabling bad behavior and bad habits. Support your local shelters and charities instead with your money and your time and stop handing cash to street people to feed your own ego and shame for not giving by investing your time and efforts. To be a steward of your money requires more time and effort than rolling down your window and tossing out money.

      Reply
  9. DParidh

    THIS IS 100% INACCUTATE!!!
    IVE RUN A MISSION SINCE 2014….
    FOCUSED ON 2 SPECIFIC AREAS.
    ONE AREA HAD 75+ HOMELESS, UNDHELTERED, VAGRANT ETC IN JUST A 4 BLOCK AREA!
    I KNOW THEM BY NAME…THEY KNOW ME.
    THIS DOESN’T COUNT THE ‘NOMADIC’ ONES WHO ROAM FROM ENCAMPMENT TO ENCAMPMENT.
    FORREST LANE & 75 HAD APPROXIMATELY 60 REGULARS…MANY MORE AROUND THE DART STATION THERE.
    NW HYW & 635 ALL THE WAY TO CENTERVILLE ROAD….😱
    EXTREMELY ‘HOMELESS ‘HIGH CRIME.
    THEY’VE ALL MOVED INTO THE WOODS PARALLEL WITH 635…2 MILES OF ‘HIDDEN’ ENCAMPMENTS.
    THE NE POLICE STATION OFFICERS ARE OVERWHELMED WITH THE POPULATION
    THESE BOGUS STATISTICS ARE DECEIVING PEOPLE AND THUS THE ‘PROBLEM’ ISN’T BEING PROPERLY ADDRESSED WITH CITY COUNCIL, PD, ETC TO FIND SOLUTIONS.
    REMEMBER:
    DESPERATE PEOPLE DO DESPERATE THINGS…..

    Reply

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