Austin council members support using hotels to house homeless, but are wary of locations and quick
Council members support using hotels to house homeless, but are wary of locations and quick timeline
Austin City Council members say theyre concerned about the timeline, placement and funding strategy for a plan to expand efforts to buy and retrofit hotels to house homeless Austinites.
Last month, Council OKd a plan to buy the Rodeway Inn near Oltorf and Interstate 35 to house at least 87 people. At their work session Tuesday, members were briefed on a similar plan to buy hotels to house as many as 300 people in whats called bridge housing a strategy that allows people to move in without preconditions.
Mayor Pro Tem Delia Garza, who generally supports the idea, said shes concerned the city is doubling down on a strategy that hasnt been tested yet. She also noted the housing could be concentrated primarily in low-income neighborhoods.
I hope as we continue these searches for these needed facilities, we sincerely do look throughout the city, she said. Because I will have big concerns if every single one of these is going to be in the majority-minority parts of our town.
Read more:
https://www.austinmonitor.com/stories/2019/12/council-members-support-using-hotels-to-house-homeless-but-are-wary-of-locations-and-quick-timeline/