Thread by @chrisharris101

1/ Homelessness is decriminalized as of today in #ATX!

We're gonna be sharing back w/ directly impacted folks in the coming weeks but given that the new rules go into effect today & the persistent misinformation being spread, thought I'd share my interpretation of it all.

https://twitter.com/AustinChronicle/status/1144228888387698688

2/ Speaking of misinformation, this @statesman headline today feeds into the biggest lie being told about the new rules.

In fact, people won't be allowed to tent camp on sidewalks if it blocks passage or makes use of it unreasonably inconvenient.

statesman.com/news/20190628/…

3/ Here's the actual changes & new ordinances to read for yourself.

I think you'll see they're a lot different than all of the rumors & disingenuous nonsense being spread by mostly anonymous cops & conservative operatives trying to make inroads in #ATX.

austintexas.gov/edims/document…

4/ The "no camping" ordinance used to prohibit storing possessions, cooking or sleeping in a car on any public property. Now it only applies if you:

1. Materially endanger anyone or
2. Make public property impassable, or impede or make hazardous reasonable use of public property

5/ While these exceptions are still too vague, crucially, there will now be places that people can legally sleep outside if they don't have anywhere else to go.

& even if someone is still violating the new ordinance, police have to give them time to move before they can ticket.

6/ The "no sit/no lie" ordinance has now been changed to only prohibit obstruction of public property downtown.

This means that, as all humans need to do, people can legally sit & lie down if they aren't blocking passage like sidewalks, entryways, wheelchair ramps, etc.

7/ The same exceptions allowing tickets in cases where the behavior causes danger or makes use of public property hazardous or unreasonable also apply to obstruction downtown.

Important note - the "no sit/no lie" (now obstruction) ordinance *always only applied downtown.*

8/ Finally, the "no aggressive solicitation (panhandling)" ordinance used to be a blatantly unconstitutional infringement on free speech rights unnecessarily coupled w/ already outlawed behaviors.

Because of this, we continued to push for outright repeal of this ordinance.

9/ Unfortunately, homeless decriminalization opponents spread enough fear about repealing this ordinance that some on the council felt they had to keep it in some form even though what remains mostly duplicates other laws - namely class c assault & disorderly conduct.

10/ Like the old ordinances, we worry that only people experiencing homelessness will be subjected to the new laws. To combat this, we had offensive assertions about homelessness & behaviors directly associated w/ homelessness (except camping) scrubbed from these new versions.

11/ We also will be getting regular reports from APD about the enforcement of these new ordinances so we can track what's happening.

While too much policy is left up to the discretion of law enforcement, I'm feeling hopeful based on a couple of comments by Chief Manley.

12/

1. During the council meeting he said that the police would no longer be able to act on a large volume of calls they receive about people experiencing homelessness.

2. This👇🏽

kut.org/post/apd-chief…

13. If true, this effort will have been a huge success in at least 5 ways:

1. Those experiencing homelessness will have fewer barriers to housing & jobs, enabling more of them to more quickly escape homelessness. This won't "fix" homelessness on it's own but it can help a lot.

14/

2. People experiencing homelessness will legally have a place in our community. While we will unfortunately continue to push them "out of the way," our answer to where they can go will no longer simply be "out of sight." And forcing us to face homelessness is a win b/c:

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3. As we've seen over the course of our campaign as the tickets have dropped & homelessness has become more visible, the powers that be are moved to act. 3 new shelters have been approved in that time & more initiatives aimed at actually ending homelessness are coming.

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4. Bringing people into the light should also reduce homeless victimization. Having their existence criminalized & being forced into the margins of society has made many people experiencing homelessness targets of those that mean to cause harm.

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5. This will scale back the use of police for public health & socioeconomic issues. Police are too often ill-equipped to handle these issues & prone to unnecessary force. They also feed people into a system that hurts more than it helps at great cost to us all.

18/ In closing, the new laws don't allow the worst-case scenarios pushed by those that believe we can arrest our way out of homelessness - unless the police allow it.

The new laws do allow #ATX to live up to its values & to more humanely & effectively work to end homelessness.