We Won! 100,000 Austinites Passed Prop B by a Massive 16% Margin!
Deregulated Public Camping is Unsafe, Unsanitary, and Inhumane. Vote Saturday For Prop B to reverse Austin's 2019 deregulation of public camping & panhandling. Deregulated camping is unsafe, unsanitary, & inhumane. Voting For Prop B will require camping areas to be specifically designated, rather than the lawless situation we have now, & B restricts unregulated camping in every zip code across Austin.
Unregulated Camping is Unsafe, Unsanitary, & Inhumane
Every day, Austinites are suffering from the free-for-all associated with the City’s deregulation of all public camping and aggressive panhandling. Crime has skyrocketed 43%. We’re on track for more murders this year than in the last 3 years combined. Lawlessness is not helping the homeless and it’s not helping Austin. We asked over 10,000 Austinites how they’d been impacted, and here are their stories:
Deregulation Put More People On The Street
People left shelters after deregulation. The 2019 policy changes left an unmistakable incentive for a segment of the homeless population to leave shelters, with their rules, and live on the streets and parks of Austin. After the policy was instituted (or lack of policy), the sheltered homeless population decreased by 20 percent while the unsheltered population increased 45 percent, according to the City of Austin’s latest data. When we vote to reinstate our public camping laws on Prop B, here’s where the homeless population will go:
Deregulation Acts as a Magnet
The sister of Edward Macintosh, a homeless man who attacked a woman on 6th Street unprovoked, spoke out to CBS Austin to share that her brother chose to move to Austin from a group home once the ordinance was lifted. The ordinance removal has had an undeniable impact on the increase in the homeless population.
“In addition to reconsidering the city's homeless ordinance, she says her hope is that city will look at more resources for the mentally ill and those who struggle with addiction. "There's more people like Edward who have chosen to leave their homes because now they can," said Janet. "And with that, there are going to be more Ms. Karli's. There is going to be more victims."
It Is Damaging Our Environment
Impacts to Austin’s natural environment - our beloved parks, creeks, trails, and natural areas, include debris accumulation, erosion, destruction of native vegetation, water quality issues, public health issues (including hypodermic needles and E. coli fecal coliform bacterial contamination of the creek and its tributaries), and discouragement of public use of parks and green spaces. According to the Oxford Academic Journal “camping is associated with multiple adverse effects on the biophysical environment”. In addition to issues of safety, environmental stewardship, and public health, deregulated homeless camping challenges our emergency responders and has led to an increase in crime. Further, as we’ve seen, the vast amount of litter accumulated and the use of propane tanks have increased the risk of fires around our highways and toxic smoke. Health risks associated with continuing with deregulated camping include the risks to Austin’s rivers and streams from human waste, trash, and needles, and the increased risk of transmitting communicable diseases among the homeless population.
Who We Are
The Save Austin Now nonprofit advocacy group was founded by a bipartisan citizens coalition, intentionally made up of a diverse set of Austinites including local Democrats, Republicans, and Independents as well as leadership from major Austin institutions like UT and APD. Save Austin Now delivered over 26,000 citizens’ signatures to get the reinstatement of the city’s longtime Camping & Panhandling laws onto the ballot for Austinites to vote on. This PAC was created to win that election on May 1st.
