Austin Interim City Manager Jesús Garza announced Wednesday that the city is actively working with The Salvation Army on options to ensure people who have been staying at the downtown shelter have somewhere to go. The Salvation Army still plans to close the shelter on March 15, despite calls from city officials and activists to reconsider.
The Salvation Army announced on February 17 that the shelter would be closing to consolidate resources in order to serve more families.
“This is a vitally important issue to Council and to the community,” Garza said. “We are exploring all options for placement and will have a solution by the end of this week that ensures each Salvation Army resident is provided for and able to stay here in our community if they wish to do so.”
Mayor Kirk Watson expressed concern about the fairly short notice residents were given.
“I’m disappointed that it’s taken this long for The Salvation Army to live up to the promise they made in January to take care of each and every resident that they’re displacing. I’ve been pushing them every step of the way and sent a letter to Major (Lewis) Reckline yesterday demanding that they fulfill their responsibility,” Watson said. “Last night, Salvation Army asked for help from the City to do so. Austin is home for these residents, and we will take care of our neighbors.”
