Homeless Census Shows Numbers Up In Dallas & Collin County
Follow CBSDFW.COM: Facebook | Twitter
NORTH TEXAS (CBSDFW.COM) - The latest count of homeless people living in Dallas and Collin Counties shows there's been an almost 30-percent increase since last year.
The latest unofficial census conducted by The Metro Dallas Homeless Alliance (MDHA) focused on what are called unsheltered homeless – that would include people living outdoors, in tents, boxes, under bridges and overpasses. Essentially, the description matches all of the 200-plus people who live under Interstate-45 in Dallas, near downtown.
As the City of Dallas looks to dismantle the homeless camp that has come to be known as 'tent city,' Mayor Mike Rawlings says officials made a crucial mistake by bringing in portable restrooms and dumpsters.
"I don't believe we should have ever done that. You just don't facilitate opportunities for homeless people to congregate and say 'this is where I'm gonna live,'" the Mayor said explaining that he has visited tent city. "I was down there the other night and uh, I mean somebody's been down there for a year, another person for eight months, six months... they just start to come in because that's where you go."
MDHA President and CEO Cindy Crane said about 70-percent of the people living in tent city have the same problem -- joblessness. "Most every gentleman there [is a] median age of 50, African-American and have a felony they accrued years, and years ago as young men. They cannot get hired."
Mayor Rawlings agreed and said the homeless problem must be brought out of the darkness into the light. "Right now we're kind of hiding this issue," he said. "Nobody can see it. It's over there in the corner, but we've got to get it out there and we've got to deal with these people on person at a time."
Mayor Rawlings said it could cost tens of millions of dollars to address the long-term issues of homeless, but that it would be money well spent.
The Dallas City Council will meet next month to try and decide how to dismantle the tent city.
(©2016 CBS Local Media, a division of CBS Radio Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
