On March 25, city personnel moved 31 people living in a controversial encampment at St. Johns and I-35 into transitional housing at the Northbridge and Southbridge shelters, as part of the city’s HEAL (Homeless Encampment Assistance Link) initiative, adopted in the wake of last year’s local and state reinstatement of a ban on public camping.
For months, the encampment in and around St. John Neighborhood Park had generated concern among neighbors. On March 6, police shot and killed 28-year-old Miguel Ruiz Rivera, who lived periodically at the camp, after he had apparently been spotted firing a gun near one of the tents. At the same time, an outpouring of generosity from locals seeking to help unhoused neighbors inspired multiple fundraising campaigns and sustained volunteer efforts to feed, assist and, ultimately, house the campers before the city stepped in.
“I’ve got to give props to the community,” said Council Member Chito Vela, whose District 4 includes St. Johns. In an interview with the Chronicle, Vela emphasized that volunteer efforts, along with luck, were important to ensure unhoused residents could move from the camp into transitional housing, citing support groups like the Little Petal Alliance. “It’s such a good feeling to see everyone headed to better housing and see the park looking like a park,” he said. Others involved in relief or mutual aid efforts at the camp included Austin Area Urban League, Community Resilience Trust, and Stop the Sweeps.
In February, during his first days in office, Vela’s office successfully interceded to delay a scheduled cleanup sweep of the camp because of freezing weather. The city’s Homeless Strategy Office had initially passed on making the camp one of its designated HEAL sites, which left volunteers struggling to find options. And then, abruptly at the end of March, the city reevaluated the site. “Honestly, I think that what triggered the change in analysis and made it a HEAL cleanup was the shooting,” Vela said.
While the HEAL initiative prioritizes camps that pose the greatest health risks to both residents and neighbors, a city spokesperson would only speak in general terms about the reasons behind the move. “The city of Austin gathers and receives information on encampments on public land … and is regularly monitoring and closing sites,” they told us. “While APD officers [can] enforce the state and local camping ordinances at any time, the [number], size, and complexity of these sites often requires the coordination of a variety of city departments to resolve larger encampments.”
This article appears in April 8 • 2022.