There are approximately 2,300 homeless people living
on the streets of Austin and over 900 of those people would be considered
chronically homeless; people who have been homeless for over one year, or four
times in the past 3 years (Austintexas.gov, 2013). It seems that the population
of homelessness continues to grow in Austin and is a complex issue to deal
with. While watching the news this week, there was one story that really caught
my attention. This story was about opening up a homeless RV park in East Travis
County. This story really grabbed my
attention and many questions began to arise. How would Austin residents react
with the opening up this RV Park for the homeless in their neighborhoods, how
would it be beneficial to the homeless population, and will it help decrease
the amount of people who are homeless? There has been a lot of debate about
opening up this RV Park in East Travis County prolonging the process. The
Mobile Loaves and Fishes homeless charity group is all about making this
project happen (My Fox Austin, 2013). The project will be called Community
First! Village (My Fox Austin, 2013). The park is designed to provide
supportive, affordable, and sustainable housing to people with disabilities and
the chronically homeless (My Fox Austin, 2013). The park will stretch out over
the 27 acres of Hogg Eye Road near Decker Lane near East Travis County (Murray,
2013). However, there are many people who are still in opposition with the development
of the RV Park due to their uncertainty in the project and many who question
their safety. I think that this is a
good innovative project because it will give the homeless population a sense of
self dignity again, provide them with a roof of their heads, and maybe help
them find niche in society again.
Observation
While on my bus ride to Houston this weekend, I
realized how gender roles have a huge effect on how individuals treat each
other and how people use their gender roles to manipulate certain situations
for their benefits.
I think you are asking reasonable questions about the attitudes of Austin residents toward the homeless population. Are residents of the neighborhood going to be welcoming of those who are in need of shelter? Another interesting fact is the location off this proposed sight. I do recall Diane talking about the lack of transportation to that area in particular. I think utilizing space that is available is a great idea, but will the location provide access to other resources, like public transportation and job training to create sustainability? Thank you for bring up this topic so we can explore the positive and the negative.
ReplyDeleteGreat post, Chanin. Thank you for writing about this. I had heard a rumor about the opening of an RV park to serve the homeless population, but I did not get any details. When I think about how the residents already living in that area, it seems that if they are worried about crime, then the best way to avoid the criminal behavior which concerns them is by embracing their new neighbors and not making them feel alienated. It seems that building a stable, safe community is only possible if all members are included. Thanks again for writing about this very important topic. Good luck!
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