God's Concrete Angels
He will reply, "Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me." Matthew 25:45
September 5, 2024
The 2017 $20 Million Dollar Bond Package, (Proposition J), overwhelming approved by the Dallas Taxpayers, to assist in helping the homeless community, was never used by the stated year of 2020. Now here we are in 2024 and it seems that even though that time has come and gone to have utilized the Bond Money we are still seeing some movement on it that has just recently taken place.
I have added the link below that takes you to the page about the 2017 $20 Million Dollar Bond Package and it is showing some projects that have been selected recently, but no movement on them as of yet. I will continue to check on this and see if actual building starts to take place as well as any other movement on the spending of the 2017 $20 Million Dollar Bond Package. I will also keep track of the recent approval by the Dallas City Council for $72 Million Dollars to combat homeless, this to be spent for the homeless community by the end of 2023 for permanent housing as well.
We also have seen just recently some of God's Concrete Angels secure permanent housing, but some that have recently secured permanent housing are being asked to pay rent within less than a month of living there or to pay utilities right away, something that was not communicated to them when they first moved into their place.
It is not that they do not wish to pay, but most have not acquired a job when they first move in or they have a job but do not have money to afford paying right away. This is something that is known before they move in by those organizations that are securing the housing for them, so we have to ask, what is going on? We will keep you up to date on this as well. As always we ask that you please continue to keep all of God's Concrete Angels in your Hearts and Prayers and thank you from all of God's Concrete Angels.
September 5, 2024
The two news articles below touch on the $72 million dollars that the Dallas City Council voted in favor of in August of 2021 to combat homelessness, mainly those homeless that are living in homeless encampments, (the ones we work with on a regular basis), and transitional shelters. The goal is to get nearly 3,000 people into apartments by the end of 2023 and pay for a year of their rent. Wayne Walker, the executive director with the nonprofit organization Our Calling is one of the individuals heading up the effort.
With this new initiative, in combating homelessness in place, we just have to wonder will there be any real changes or will we just see things not only not change but even get worse for the homeless community.
As most of you all recall, in 2017 the Dallas taxpayers overwhelming approved a $20 Million Dollar Bond Package, Proposition J, aimed solely for the homeless, for the building of permanent housing for the homeless. The City of Dallas had until 2020 to utilize the $20 Million Dollar Bond Package, but 2020 came and went and nothing was ever done with the $20 Million Dollar Bond Package and no one can tell us what happened to the money. And since that time, from 2017 to present time, the homeless population has tripled in size and more of our homeless continue to die on the streets.
So are we to believe that this new initiative of $72 Million Dollars to aid the homeless will actually take place? Or will the $72 Million Dollars be diverted elsewhere and the homeless community continue to grow and more and more of our homeless continue to die on the streets? We will stay on top of this and hope and Pray that by 2023 we will see these results that have been set forth for our homeless community.
This City Has a New Way to Fight Homelessness With COVID Aid
STATELINE ARTICLE January 19, 2022 By: Kristian Hernández
DALLAS — In March 2020, when the pandemic first hit, Raharish Velu was living on the streets of downtown Dallas.
“They rounded us all up and took us to hotels,” Velu said of city officials and case workers. “We were all tested, and I tested positive so I couldn’t leave my room. But once I got better, they let me out.”
Velu, 70, went back on the streets where he’s lived for more than 20 years, but found that survival has been harder than it’s ever been. Shelters are always full because they’ve had to reduce capacity to accommodate social distancing guidelines, he said, and the streets are getting crowded.
“Every day someone new arrives,” he said this week while sitting on a bench at Akard Plaza, just outside City Hall. “I’d say most lost their jobs or got sick, but they’ve never been out here before. It’s getting pretty bad.”
Since the start of the pandemic, states and localities across the country have received billions in federal aid to help reduce homelessness. But most areas have been slow to get the money to those in need, like Velu, in large part because the huge influx of dollars has overwhelmed agencies’ capacities. Still, some have seen progress: In the Dallas area, more than a dozen nonprofits and government agencies joined forces last summer to launch a new program using the federal aid, aiming for successes that other localities could replicate.
The goal of the new Dallas R.E.A.L. Time Rapid Rehousing Initiative is to place 2,762 people and families experiencing homelessness in permanent housing by September 2023. An estimated 4,570 people were without homes in the region as of March 2021, up 3% from 2020. Rapid rehousing is a federally funded national program designed to reduce the amount of time a person is homeless by providing housing before other social services.
“This is the most ambitious plan to curb homelessness that Dallas has seen,” said Sarah Kahn, chief program officer at Metro Dallas Homeless Alliance, which leads the initiative and is the region’s largest nonprofit organization providing homeless services.
“I mean, this is a historic level of new resources and new dollars coming into our community that’s used to running on a scarcity model and often fighting for scraps. We have a very, very large infusion of resources that we need to move quickly.”
States and localities received more than $5 billion in federal stimulus money in the form of Emergency Housing Vouchers (EHV) and Emergency Solutions Grants (ESG) to help people experiencing homelessness during the pandemic. Agencies and housing advocates nationwide are using the influx of funds to create new long-term solutions to homelessness.
The federal aid came mostly through two existing programs, the Emergency Solutions Grants and Emergency Housing Vouchers programs, but relatively little of the money has gone out so far.
As of Jan. 6, less than a third of the $4 billion in Emergency Solutions Grants had been spent nationwide, according to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
And only 11.6%—or 8,110 of 69,810—of Emergency Housing Vouchers had been accepted by landlords nationwide as of Jan. 18, according to HUD. States have until September of this year to spend the emergency grants and until September next year to use their housing vouchers.
Challenges Elsewhere
California, which has the country’s largest homeless population, illustrates the difficulties.
A report by the state auditor found that California’s Department of Housing and Community Development did not give its partners access to the first round of federal Emergency Solutions Grants until December 2020, seven months after the federal government announced the funding. That’s mostly because the department lacked the capacity to manage the grants and failed for a full year to hire a contractor to run the program, the report said.
That $315 million was 25 times the department’s typical yearly allocation, noted Geoffrey Ross, its deputy director of federal financial assistance. The department’s private partners struggled to expand housing capacity while meeting pandemic safety guidelines, he said.
The Dallas area likewise lagged in getting money out, but the new initiative has helped.
The city of Dallas received $19 million in Emergency Solutions Grants through the CARES Act and 490 Emergency Housing Vouchers through the American Rescue Plan Act, worth some $8 million, HUD data shows. The city has used 26 vouchers, and as of last week spent roughly $10 million of its funds and allocated the remaining $9 million, according to Christine Crossley, director of the city’s Office of Homelessness Solutions.
“I think most cities, and most organizations have this issue where it's amazing to have this money, and it's needed but there's also only so many contracts and programs anybody can hold in a year,” she said. “And you can hire more staff, but it's also COVID and there's a shortage of people so it's kind of, well, we can spend it, but we might not be able to spend all of it simply because it's just so much money to spend in so little time."
The initiative’s total budget is $72 million, including $50 million from federal relief funds, $12 million in emergency vouchers allocated to Dallas, Mesquite and Plano and $10 million in funds from private donors including the Meadows Foundation, Dallas Regional Chamber and Lyda Hill Philanthropies. (Lyda Hill Philanthropies also has donated money to The Pew Charitable Trusts, which funds Stateline.)
Private donations are being used for landlord incentives including extra rent, deposits or money for repairs, according to Crossley.
One of the main problems nationwide is that landlords don’t want to lease to people using housing vouchers, because they often lose money while they wait for the housing authorities to inspect their rental units and process the lease, according to Myriam Igoufe, vice president of policy and development research at Dallas Housing Authority.
On behalf of the initiative, Igoufe and her team were tasked with creating computer software to coordinate all the agencies’ efforts while streamlining the application and housing process. They spent more than a month last summer working 13-hour days to program content management software that could seamlessly coordinate 15 agencies and some 100 caseworkers.
“We knew we were designing something from scratch that other people were going to look at and say, ‘Look it could be done’ or ‘See, we shouldn’t be trying to do this, we should use our money for something else.’”
Before this new system, it took weeks or months to get emergency voucher recipients into a rental property. But now it takes only a few days.
“Without this investment in technology and automation, this would not be possible, not at this pace,” she said about the initiative.
Joel Martinez Gregorio, 60, lost his home after contracting COVID-19 and being hospitalized for three weeks. He’s been living on the street since September.
On Monday, near the corner of Cadiz and South St. Paul streets, a large crowd of homeless people began setting up camp as the sun began to set. Joel Martinez Gregorio, 60, leaned against a building while weaving a belt out of neon-colored shoelaces.
He said he’s been living outside since he was hospitalized for three weeks with COVID-19 in September and lost his job. It’s the first time in his life that he’s been homeless.
“It’s been rough,” he said. “I’ve been trying to find work but it’s hard because I don’t sleep and I spend a lot of time just trying to find something to eat.”
He said people on the street have been talking about a new program that pays people’s rent for a year.
“That would be a godsend,” he said. “If I had a safe place to sleep and to leave my belongings, I know I could get back on my feet.”
Dallas to spend $72M on housing plan to combat homelessness
By FOX 4 Staff
Published August 27, 2021
DALLAS - Dallas leaders approved a big spending plan to help thousands of homeless residents get off the streets and under a roof. Millions of dollars are expected to be invested to combat homelessness.
The Dallas City Council voted in favor of the $72 million plan earlier this week.
It’s aimed at helping people living at homeless encampments and transitional shelters. The goal is to get nearly 3,000 people into apartments by 2023 and pay for a year of their rent.
Most of the money will come from federal stimulus funds given to the city of Dallas and Dallas County.
One of the people on the front lines of this is Pastor Wayne Walker, the executive director at the nonprofit Our Calling. He talked about the plan in an interview on FOX 4’s Good Day.
"It’s 24 months and it gives us a great kind of tourniquet or booster shot to really get caught up with where we need to be for homelessness. It’s going to create a lot of vouchers for people to be able to get into housing, but it really sets a timeline for us. We have 24 months now to actually work on infrastructure, building more housing and build more systems to actually work on the root causes and to create more infrastructure space for people experiencing homelessness," Walker said.
He said local nonprofit organizations like Our Calling plan to use the next year to work on projects like a tiny house community so that people who are in the program can transition to life on their own when their lease is up.
They’re also hoping to improve the services that are available such as mental health services and healthcare.
"You know I hear all the time people say it’s because of drugs, it’s because of mental health issues but really most people become homeless because of poverty. Poverty and crisis and they don’t have a community. And often when they are on the streets, the challenges they are facing makes them want to use drugs, makes them develop mental health issues and that’s an after effect. That’s a collateral damage to just the isolation and the abuse they suffer on the streets," Walker said.
Our Calling has about 20 partners that serve in its facilities to help provide those social services to the homeless. It has been able to get more than 1,400 people off the streets already.
"It’s been really great to see these pieces come together but what’s happening now is we have a bigger inventory of people on the streets and a smaller inventory of places where people can go. And that’s the hope that we can create an opportunity to build something to really move the needle down," Walker said.
Gov. Abbott Signs Bill Banning Homeless Encampments On Public Land In Texas
KUT 90.5 | By Andrew Weber
Published June 15, 2021 at 5:44 PM CDT
Gov. Greg Abbott has signed into law a bill that bans homeless encampments on public property in Texas.
The bill makes it illegal to set up shelter or store belongings for an extended period of time. The offense is a class C misdemeanor, punishable by a fine of up to $500. The bill also makes it illegal for cities to adopt policies that effectively legalize public encampments, as Austin did in 2019.
Abbott has been a staunch critic of the Austin City Council's decision to roll back criminal penalties for behavior related to homelessness. He called for a bill at the start of the legislative session in January.
In May, Austinites voted to reinstate bans on public camping, as well as limitations on panhandling and where people can rest in public. The measure, Proposition B, received financial backing from the Travis County GOP and Abbott's campaign.
The new state law requires law enforcement officers to make reasonable efforts to direct Texans toward medical or mental health services and shelters before ticketing them. Opponents pointed out the bill doesn't provide funding for resources to help with these efforts, but state lawmakers did set aside $12.5 million annually in the state's two-year budget for health programs to assist people who are homeless.
The law also limits cities from using parkland for temporary encampments. That provision was added by Lakeway Republican state Sen. Dawn Buckingham less than 24 hours after the Austin City Council had discussed potential city-owned sites for encampments. City staff had offered a list of 45 potential campsites, but was met with pushback citywide.
Earlier this month, Austin Parks and Recreation staff found only one site would be legally allowed if the statewide ban passed.
First and foremost I want to thank ACTZ Ministries, with Pathway of Life Church, for alerting us of the news that the Governor of Texas, Greg Abbott, had signed into law H.B. No. 1925. As of June 15, 2021 the Governor of Texas, Greg Abbott, signed into law H.B. No. 1925, which bans homeless encampments on public land in Texas. The Bill, H.B. No. 1925 goes into effect on September 1, 2021. As we have said many times before, where are the homeless to go? There are not enough shelters to house all the homeless and their numbers continue to grow on a daily basis. Now the Governor has decided, that instead of creating a true solution to homelessness, and that is looking into more permanent solutions, we are now going to fine the homeless person and when they are not able to pay they can then be locked up.
A lot of the homeless have mental issues and addictions and this type of treatment will just cause the homeless more problems not less. There are also the homeless that are just recently homeless because of a job loss or those homeless that work but do not make enough to get a place to live.
So as of September 1, 2021 the state of Texas solution to all homelessness will be to criminalize them all. As we continue to advocate for all of God's Concrete Angels we humbly ask that you all continue to keep all of God's Concrete Angels in your hearts and Prayers and thank you from all of God's Concrete Angels.
Texas Senate passes statewide homeless camping ban.
The bill was amended to include a ban on cities using public parkland for temporary camps, a move the Austin City Council discussed this week.
Author: KVUE News staff
Published: 4:21 PM CDT May 20, 2021
Updated: 7:00 PM CDT May 20, 2021
AUSTIN, Texas — The Texas Senate on Thursday passed House Bill 1925, a statewide homeless camping ban, with 28 in favor and three voting against.
Under the bill, people cannot camp in a public place unless authorized. Authorized camping includes camping for recreational purposes or if the property has been approved for sheltering people experiencing homelessness.
People who violate the legislation can be ticketed with a fine of up to $500, but only after the officer gives the person the option to leave, tells them where camping is allowed and educates them on resources available to help the homeless. The original bill passed by the House also allowed officers enforcing the law to arrest violators, but the Senate removed that provision. Now, someone can only be arrested if they are presenting a public safety threat or breaking a law.
If the person is arrested, HB 1925 requires the officer to either allow the person to take their personal property or store it until the person can get it.
In the House, the statewide ban was approved by a vote of 85-56, with most of the opposition to it coming from Democrats, although the legislation had sponsors from both parties.
The Senate bill was amended from the House version to include a ban on cities using public parkland for temporary camps, a move the Austin City Council discussed this week as it looks at possible designated campsites. The idea of using park lands was met with opposition from Councilmember Mackenzie Kelly, who said there are people in her district who are not able to enjoy green spaces because of homeless encampments.
If Gov. Greg Abbott signs the bill into law, it will take effect on Sept. 1.
H.B. No. 1925
AN ACT
relating to prohibitions on camping in a public place and to a political subdivision's designation of property for camping by
homeless individuals; creating a criminal offense.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Chapter 48, Penal Code, is amended by adding
Section 48.05 to read as follows:
Sec. 48.05. PROHIBITED CAMPING. (a) In this section:
(1) "Camp" means to reside temporarily in a place,
with shelter.
(2) "Shelter" includes a tent,
tarpaulin, lean-to,
sleeping bag, bedroll, blankets, or any form of temporary,
semipermanent, or permanent shelter, other than clothing or any
handheld device, designed to protect a person from weather
conditions that threaten personal health and safety.
(b) A person commits an offense if the person intentionally
or knowingly camps in a public place without the effective consent
of the officer or agency having the legal duty or authority to
manage the public place.
(c) The actor's intent or knowledge may be established
through evidence of activities associated with sustaining a living
accommodation that are conducted in a public place, including:
(1) cooking;
(2) making a fire;
(3) storing personal belongings for an extended
period;
(4) digging; or
(5) sleeping.
(d) Consent given by an officer or agency of a political
subdivision is not effective for purposes of Subsection (b), unless
given to authorize the person to camp for:
(1) recreational purposes;
(2) purposes of sheltering homeless individuals, if
the property on which the camping occurs is subject to a plan
approved under Subchapter PP, Chapter 2306, Government Code, and
the camping occurs in a manner that complies with the plan;
(3) purposes permitted by a beach access plan that has
been approved under Section 61.015, Natural Resources Code, and the
camping occurs in a manner that complies with the plan; or
(4) purposes related to providing emergency shelter
during a disaster declared under Section 418.014, Government Code,
or a local disaster declared under Section 418.108 of that code.
(e) An offense under this section is a Class C misdemeanor.
(f) This section does not preempt an ordinance, order, rule,
or other regulation adopted by a state agency or political
subdivision relating to prohibiting camping in a public place or
affect the authority of a state agency or political subdivision to
adopt or enforce an ordinance, order, rule, or other regulation
relating to prohibiting camping in a public place if the ordinance,
order, rule, or other regulation:
(1) is compatible with and equal to or more stringent
than the offense prescribed by this section; or
(2) relates to an issue not specifically addressed by
this section.
(g) Except as provided by Subsection (h), before or at the
time a peace officer issues a citation to a person for an offense
under this section, the peace officer must make a reasonable effort
to:
(1) advise the person of an alternative place at which
the person may lawfully camp; and
(2) contact, if reasonable and appropriate, an
appropriate official of the political subdivision in which the
public place is located, or an appropriate nonprofit organization
operating within that political subdivision, and request the
official or organization to provide the person with:
(A) information regarding the prevention of
human trafficking; or
(B) any other services that would reduce the
likelihood of the person suspected of committing the offense
continuing to camp in the public place.
(h) Subsection (g) does not apply if the peace officer
determines there is an imminent threat to the health or safety of
any person to the extent that compliance with that subsection is
impracticable.
(i) If the person is arrested or detained solely for an
offense under this section, a peace officer enforcing this section
shall ensure that all of the person's personal property not
designated as contraband under other law is preserved by:
(1) permitting the person to remove all the property
from the public place at the time of the person's departure; or
(2) taking custody of the property and allowing the
person to retrieve the property after the person is released from
custody.
(j) A fee may not be charged for the storage or release of
property under Subsection (i)(2).
SECTION 2. Chapter 2306, Government Code, is amended by
adding Subchapter PP to read as follows:
SUBCHAPTER PP. PROPERTY DESIGNATED BY POLITICAL SUBDIVISION FOR
CAMPING BY HOMELESS INDIVIDUALS
Sec. 2306.1121. DEFINITION. In this subchapter, "camp" has
the meaning assigned by Section 48.05, Penal Code.
Sec. 2306.1122. APPROVAL REQUIRED. (a) A political
subdivision may not designate a property to be used by homeless
individuals to camp unless the department approves a plan described
by Section 2306.1123(b).
(b) Not later than the 30th day after the date the
department receives a plan submitted by a political subdivision
under this subchapter, the department shall make a final
determination regarding approval of the plan.
Sec. 2306.1123. PLAN REQUIREMENTS. (a) In this section,
"proposed new campers" means homeless individuals the applicant
intends to allow to camp at the property.
(b) A plan submitted for approval under this subchapter must
describe each of the following with respect to a proposed property:
(1) the availability of local health care for proposed
new campers, including access to Medicaid services and mental
health services;
(2) the availability of indigent services for proposed
new campers;
(3) the availability of reasonably affordable public
transportation for proposed new campers;
(4) local law enforcement resources in the area; and
(5) the steps the applicant has taken to coordinate
with the local mental health authority to provide for any proposed
new campers.
(c) An applicant shall respond to reasonable requests for
additional information made by the department regarding the
proposed property or plan.
Sec. 2306.1124. APPROVAL OF CERTAIN PROPERTY PROHIBITED.
The department may not approve a plan described by Section
2306.1123(b) if the department determines that a property proposed
under the plan is a public park.
SECTION 3. Subtitle C, Title 11, Local Government Code, is
amended by adding Chapter 364 to read as follows:
CHAPTER 364. ENFORCEMENT OF PUBLIC CAMPING BANS
Sec. 364.001. DEFINITIONS. In this chapter:
(1) "Local entity" means:
(A) the governing body of a municipality or
county;
(B) an officer or employee of or a division,
department, or other body that is part of a municipality or county,
including a sheriff, municipal police department, municipal
attorney, or county attorney; and
(C) a district attorney or criminal district
attorney.
(2) "Policy" includes a formal, written rule,
ordinance, order, or policy and an informal, unwritten policy.
(3) "Public camping ban" means a law, rule, ordinance,
order, or other regulation that prohibits camping in a public
place, including Section 48.05, Penal Code.
Sec. 364.002. POLICY ON CAMPING BANS. (a) A local entity
may not adopt or enforce a policy under which the entity prohibits
or discourages the enforcement of any public camping ban.
(b) In compliance with Subsection (a), a local entity may
not prohibit or discourage a peace officer or prosecuting attorney
who is employed by or otherwise under the direction or control of
the entity from enforcing a public camping ban.
(c) This section does not prohibit a policy that encourages
diversion or a provision of services in lieu of citation or arrest.
Sec. 364.003. INJUNCTIVE RELIEF. (a) The attorney general
may bring an action in a district court in Travis County or in a
county in which the principal office of the entity is located to
enjoin a violation of Section 364.002.
(b) The attorney general may recover reasonable expenses
incurred in obtaining relief under this section, including court
costs, reasonable attorney's fees, investigative costs, witness
fees, and deposition costs.
Sec. 364.004. DENIAL OF STATE GRANT FUNDS. (a) A local
entity may not receive state grant funds, and state grant funds for
the local entity shall be denied, for the state fiscal year
following the year in which a final judicial determination in an
action brought under Section 364.003 is made that the entity has
intentionally violated Section 364.002.
(b) The comptroller shall adopt rules to implement this
section uniformly among the state agencies from which state grant
funds are distributed to a municipality or county.
(c) A local entity that has not violated Section 364.002 may
not be denied state grant funds, regardless of whether the entity is
a part of another entity that is in violation of that section.
SECTION 4. (a) Except as provided by Subsection (b) of this
section:
(1) Subchapter PP, Chapter 2306, Government Code, as
added by this Act, applies only to the designation and use of
property described by that subchapter that first begins on or after
the effective date of this Act; and
(2) the designation and use of property described by
Subchapter PP, Chapter 2306, Government Code, as added by this Act,
that first began before the effective date of this Act is governed
by the law in effect when the designation and use first began, and
the former law is continued in effect for that purpose.
(b) Subchapter PP, Chapter 2306, Government Code, as added
by this Act, applies to a public park, as described by Section
2306.1124, Government Code, as added by this Act, regardless of the
date that the public park was first designated by a political
subdivision to be used by homeless individuals to camp.
(c) A political subdivision that designated a property to be
used by homeless individuals to camp before the effective date of
this Act may apply on or after that date for approval of a plan under
Subchapter PP, Chapter 2306, Government Code, as added by this Act.
SECTION 5. This Act takes effect September 1, 2021.
This is how we take care of our homeless population in Texas. This is House Bill 1925, that if signed into law will ban all "homeless camping" and the homeless that violate this law could be fined up to $500. Where are the homeless to go? There are not enough shelters to shelter all those who need it and there is a lack of affordable housing for those of the homeless that do work, but do not make enough money to afford housing. So I suppose now the state of Texas solution is to just criminalize homelessness instead of looking for more permanent solutions. Please continue to keep all of God's Concrete Angels in your hearts and Prayers, because so many of them are just trying to get out of their situation and make new and better beginnings, but this law will surely set them further back and not further ahead, thank you.
January 1, 2021
It Is Now January 1, 2021. What Has Happened To The Dallas Taxpayer Approved $20 Million Dollar Bond Money? Bond Money That Was Passed In 2017 By The Dallas Taxpayers To Assist The Homeless. This Bond Money Was Supposed To Be 100% Used In Assisting The Homeless And Was To Be Spent For That Purpose Through The Year 2020. But As Of January 1, 2021, We Find That None Of This Bond Money Has Been Committed For This Purpose, None Of This Bond Money Has Been Spent For This Purpose, And No Projects Have Ever Been Started For This Purpose.
WHAT HAPPENED TO THE DALLAS TAXPAYER APPROVED $20 MILLION DOLLAR BOND MONEY PASSED IN 2017 FOR ASSISTING THE HOMELESS?
WE AS DALLAS TAXPAYERS HAVE A RIGHT TO KNOW!!
January 1, 2021
On November 7, 2017, (more than three years ago now), a bond issue proposition to fund services for the homeless, Proposition J, was on the ballot for Dallas voters in Dallas County, Texas. It was approved. The yes vote was a vote in favor of increasing the city's debt by $20 million by issuing general obligation bonds in that amount to fund services for the homeless.
The services are for permanent public improvements, specifically: planning, designing, constructing, renovating, repairing, replacing, improving, expanding, and equipping facilities to serve the homeless population in the city, including permanent, supportive and transitional housing. Furthermore the proposition will fund transitional and permanent supportive housing to target chronic homelessness, rapid rehousing for the elderly, disabled and families with children and day centers for seamless wrap-around services.
But as of January 1, 2021 zero dollars have been committed, zero total projects, zero projects started, and zero projects completed.
WHERE'S THE DALLAS TAXPAYER APPROVED BOND MONEY TO ASSIST THE HOMELESS?
