Homeless nonprofit leaders call Abbott’s tweets ‘destructive’ and ‘dangerous’

Nonprofit leaders across Austin are speaking out against what they call “destructive” tweets by Gov. Greg Abbott that appear to link violent crimes in Austin to homelessness.

Greg McCormack, executive director for the nonprofit Front Steps, which manages the Austin Resource Center for the Homeless, said if Texas leaders continue to falsely link violent crimes to those living on the streets, it may severely affect financial support of local homeless programs. That, in turn, could hinder an advocacy group’s ability to get such individuals and families into more permanent shelter.

“We know we need the community’s help to tackle and solve the homeless issue in Austin,” McCormack said. “If we’re implying the people we are trying to help are criminals and dangerous, it makes our fundraising efforts more challenging.”

Abbott’s tweets began hours after one man was stabbed to death and two others were injured on Jan. 3 at two eateries in the 500 block of South Congress Avenue.

Austin police later reported that the attacker, who died from his injuries after jumping head first from the roof of the Freebirds World Burrito restaurant where the stabbing occurred, was homeless. However, even before the attacker’s identity was released, Abbott tweeted that Austin’s “reckless homeless policy puts lives in danger to murderers like this.”

The conflict between Abbott and city leaders over Austin’s homeless policies began after the Austin City Council voted in June to remove a public camping ban aimed at those living on the streets.

Abbott received hundreds of emails requesting that he intervene after the council’s decision. He did so a few months later by sending Texas Department of Transportation crews to clear several encampments that had been built under state highways after the camping ban repeal.

Newly released data by Austin police shows about 261 violent crimes occurred downtown in 2019:

• In 164, or 63%, of those cases, no one linked to homelessness was involved.

• In 44, or 17%, of those cases, the suspect was listed as “transient,” “homeless” or their address was listed as living at the ARCH, while the victim was not homeless.

• In 27, or 10%, of those cases the suspects and victims were both homeless.

• In about 26, or nearly 10%, of the violent crimes, the person living on the streets was a victim of the crime while the suspect arrested was not homeless.

The American-Statesman requested city-wide data for violent crimes in Austin from 2014 through 2019, but is still waiting for the city to turn over the public records.

“The focus of the tweets is to highlight how the ineptitude by the city of Austin in dealing with the homeless is increasingly endangering both the homeless and non-homeless alike,” said John Wittman, Abbott’s press secretary. “Through public statements and positions, decision making, and general lack of enforcement the city has adopted a posture that the homeless should not have the same law enforcement rules applied to them as applied to other residents.”

But Matthew Mollica, executive director of Austin’s Ending Community Homeless Coalition, said he believes Abbott’s tweets were motivated by political gain, not over a concern for public safety.

Mollica said any stereotype spoken as fact against someone without a home, especially from those with a large platform like Abbott’s, is perilous and disempowers a vulnerable population.

“He is not tweeting out every time a crime is committed in Texas,” Mollica said. “How many murders and assaults in the state of Texas has he not tweeted about? It’s clearly politics and I think the governor lacks the knowledge around homelessness in general.”

In addition to the loss of financial support, McCormack said the governor’s tweets may also discourage potential employees of local nonprofit organizations from applying because of the misguided belief that they could be put in harm’s way.

“When we have turnover we want to have the best and brightest and most passionate workers and, if we have this continued dialog, it makes it very difficult to get staff engaged in this effort as well as the community engaged in this effort,” he said.

However, Abbot continued to tweet about the topic after another stabbing occurred in downtown Austin days after the Freebirds stabbing.

“How many people will be killed and injured before Austin reforms its homeless policies?” Abbott wrote, noting both the suspect and victim of the stabbing were homeless.

Abbott, speaking after a Jan. 7 Domestic Terrorism Task Force meeting, said it’s time for Austin to step up and start enforcing the law and “putting the public safety of the people in Austin first so that nobody else is going to lose their life because of these modified rules that have been adopted by the city of Austin.”

Abbott fulfilled a promise added in one of his tweets, which said he would increase law enforcement presence around downtown and the University of Texas.

While McCormack and Mollica agreed they could use the governor’s help to solve the homeless crisis in Austin, both say his narrative thus far has been detrimental instead of beneficial.

Mollica said he contacted the governor’s office multiple times in hopes of meeting to discuss ways to help solve the homeless crisis, but never received a reply.

“I would love to meet with the governor or his office,” Mollica said. “This is something people who are experiencing homelessness have been dealing with for a long time in our society. It’s created a subhuman standard for them and it divides and stops us from making progress to end homelessness in Austin.”

Wittman said the governor is working closely with “a coalition of private sector and faith-based organizations to develop more methods of support for unsheltered Austinites.”

ANOTHER stabbing in downtown Austin—where both the suspect & victim are said to be homeless.

How many people will be killed and injured before Austin reforms its homeless policies?

I will have DPS increase law enforcement around downtown & UT areas. https://t.co/rTNIMImWMH

— Greg Abbott (@GregAbbott_TX) January 8, 2020

You are exactly right.

I’m not attacking homelessness.

I’m criticizing the lawlessness promoted by the City of Austin.

The City’s top job is public safety and they are failing.

Yesterday’s tragic murder is the most recent example. https://t.co/PMtGOmoYBM

— Greg Abbott (@GregAbbott_TX) January 4, 2020

Exactly.

This murder must be condemned by Austin leaders.

An innocent person lost their life this morning at a restaurant & others injured

The City of Austin must ensure its homeless policy doesn’t endanger the lives of innocent people—AND the lives of the homeless. https://t.co/pza3KoD4OG

— Greg Abbott (@GregAbbott_TX) January 4, 2020