A comprehensive database of homeless services could offer police a major assist in downtown Austin.
APD’s Homeless Outreach Street Team has made great strides, but as the Downtown Austin Alliance pointed out this week, the city is lacking short-term shelters for the homeless. Assistant Chief Justin Newsom says not being able to find a temporary place for someone waiting for city services has become a real detriment. “You’ll find a person who says ‘yes, I’m ready to do something.’ ‘Alright we’ll find you in a week.’ We don’t have a place to take them!” The thinking here is that through the DAA’s proposed nexus of information database, those who need city services won’t get lost in the shuffle before that help can finally be rendered.
Austin police officers are running into hurdles while trying to connect homeless people to city service. Newsom says officers meet a lot of people who want help, but without a proper place to take them, many of those people disappear before services are rendered. “You can’t snap your fingers and get an appointment with the mental health system. The lack of a place for people to maintain their lives is a huge challenge and a huge detriment.” A lack of a proper ID is another major problem. The Downtown Austin Alliance hopes a proposed database of homeless services could streamline the effort to transition people into shelters.
(KLBJ FILE PHOTO)
