Dallas closes downtown encampments, but the work isn’t done

Here’s a version of an old saying: If you want something done, make it a priority and allocate resources to it.

In recent weeks, homeless encampments near the downtown Dallas library and City Hall have dwindled. No, we’re not declaring victory over homelessness, but we are declaring progress. And this step forward also proves a point this editorial board has made for years: that more could be done to compassionately close homeless encampments downtown if the city focused on doing so.

In a recent memo to City Hall, Interim City Manager Kimberly Bizor Tolbert said behavioral health care and relocation outreach teams last month regularly reached out to homeless people living on the south side of downtown and offered them housing and other rehabilitation services. The city then closed the encampment at the downtown library earlier this month and found permanent housing and support services for those individuals.

These measures were long overdue. Large, visible homeless encampments in public spaces pose serious problems across the city, including the most visible and shameful encampments outside the downtown library and City Hall. The city’s failure to address this reality in a meaningful way threatened to curtail significant public and private sector investments and the planned redevelopment of the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center.

Statistically, the region is making progress in combating homelessness. According to the latest point-in-time count earlier this year, homelessness in Dallas and Collin counties declined for the third consecutive year, and Housing Forward, which coordinates strategies to combat homelessness in Dallas and Collin counties, announced a goal to reduce street homelessness by 50% by 2026, up from an all-time high in 2021.

But a point-in-time count is an imperfect inventory that at best reflects a trend, not a full count. So without serious strategies to close encampments, reclaim neighborhoods, and help homeless people find permanent housing and services, the region’s strategy to combat homelessness is incomplete.

In the memo, Tolbert said the city plans to take additional steps to secure other vacated encampments to prevent other homeless people from repopulating these areas. He said efforts are underway to clear out encampments in other parts of downtown, but did not elaborate.

We hope the city and others will realize that this measure cannot be considered an isolated effort. The work to prevent people from setting up camps must be persistent, compassionate and firm, even if it means stricter enforcement.

In the long term, the region’s efforts to reduce homelessness must continue to evolve to more effectively address those experiencing chronic homelessness in order to stay ahead of this persistent challenge.

We welcome your comments in a letter to the editor. See guidelines and Send your letter hereIf you have any problems with the form, you can email it to [email protected]