Lake Highlands - Lakewood | May 2023

STATE OF HOMELESSNESS Housing Forward’s point-in-time count provides a snapshot of homelessness trends in Dallas and Collin counties. RACIAL DISPARITIES While Black people account for about 24% of the area's overall population, they make up about 60% of the homeless population.

the city’s unhoused population is a result of targeted investments. Housing Forward’s rehousing pro- gram, the Dallas Real Time Rapid Housing Initiative, has disbanded 11 homeless encampments and helped nd homes for 1,871 people since its creation in 2021. In the last year, Housing Forward

homelessness for about a year, said essentials such as gas money, bus vouchers and aordable child care would help single moms like her keep a job. Campbell and her children moved from Sugar Land to Dallas to seek help from relatives after losing her job and becoming homeless in 2021. On

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stigma and misplaced eorts as rea- sons for why homelessness is still high despite the decline. Housing Forward President and CEO Joli Angel Robinson said an accurate count of homelessness is “hard to capture” because many unhoused people couch surf with relatives, shelter in cheap motels or live out of their car. Those people are still considered homeless from a federal standpoint. “There’s a lot of people experi- encing homelessness that probably even live in Lake Highlands [and Lakewood] that are doubled up [in relatives’ homes] and are a little more invisible,” Robinson said. Demographics Derek Hayes, a Black man experi- encing homelessness, said he often spends $15 on a bed at the home- less shelter Dallas Life, but when he has extra money, he books a cheap motel room. He said he has experi- enced homelessness for extended periods of time since 2009 when his caretaker died. “[I’ve had homelessness] breaks from time to time; I have had my own place before,” Hayes said. “I know how it is to have been blessed with something and nding out the next day that you might lose it.” The population of people experi- encing chronic homelessness, like Hayes, has decreased 32% in Dal- las and Collin counties since 2022, according to Housing Forward data. People who are chronically home- less have experienced homeless- ness for at least a year or repeatedly while struggling with a disabling condition, such as a mental illness, a substance use disorder or a physical disability, according to the National Alliance to End Homelessness. Robinson said there are notable racial disparities in the unhoused population. While accounting for only about 24% of Dallas County’s population, Black people, particu- larly men, make up about 60% of the unhoused population, according to Housing Forward data. “We know that Black men are disproportionately represented in our unhoused population because of a lot of other systems that may have failed and negatively impacted Black men,” Robinson said. Targeted eorts Robinson said the decline in

received an inux of private and federal funding to help it serve 6,000 unhoused people by the end of 2025, Robin- son said. Housing Forward received $1.25 million from the Day One Families Fund, a private fund that works to reduce family homeless- ness. In Febru-

days they weren’t able to stay with relatives, they sought help from local shelters, Campbell said. Often, those shel- ters didn’t have enough space to house her entire family. “There were shelters who wanted to split us up, but I wasn’t willing to do

THERE’S A LOT OF PEOPLE EXPERIENCING HOMELESSNESS THAT PROBABLY EVEN LIVE IN LAKE HIGHLANDS AND LAKEWOOD THAT ARE ... A LITTLE

59.5% Black 34.8% White* 2.3% Multiple races 1.5% American Indian, Alaska Native or Indigenous 1.5% Asian or Asian American 0.4% Native Hawaiian or Pacic Islander

4,244 homeless individuals counted in January.

MORE INVISIBLE. JOLI ANGEL ROBINSON, PRESIDENT AND CEO OF HOUSING FORWARD

ary, the Department of Housing and Urban Development awarded $22.8 million to Housing Forward to target unsheltered homelessness. In March, Housing Forward received $22 mil- lion in annual funding from HUD. Mayor Eric Johnson announced the creation of a task force of local homeless advocates in February. The group will assess policies regarding homelessness, research other plans and issue a report of recommenda- tions to Johnson’s oce by June 15. The recent eorts to address the root causes of homelessness come after Dallas City Council passed an ordinance in October making it a misdemeanor to walk or stand on a median that measures 6 feet or less. While ocials said the ordinance is meant to address public safety, advocates have said it criminalizes homelessness by making it illegal to panhandle, which is protected by the First Amendment. The ordinance has led to a lawsuit against the city. District 9 Council Member Paula Blackmon said she would still vote “yes” again on the ordinance. Despite the way some people per- ceive the ordinance, Blackmon, who serves on City Council’s Housing and Homelessness Solutions com- mittee, said it’s meant to keep peo- ple safe—but the byproduct is that it may deter panhandling. Despite targeted eorts, some who have experienced it say more must be done for sheltered home- less people. Deosha Campbell, a single mother of four who experienced

that,” Campbell said. Eventually, Campbell found Inter- faith Family Services, a social ser- vices organization that connected her with resources like transitional housing and nancial coaching. Still, Campbell said more could be done to address the issue. Lack of housing Christine Crossley, director of Dal- las’ Oce of Homeless Solutions, said the biggest roadblock to reduc- ing homelessness is a lack of aord- able housing. In addition, Texas is one of two states that allow landlords to refuse to accept tenant vouchers with the exception of veterans. If landlords were required to accept vouchers, many people on the brink of homelessness would be able to stay housed, Crossley said. “All of us need aordable hous- ing,” Robinson said. “If we’re rely- ing on people’s hearts and minds to be changed before aordable hous- ing is built, we’ll never build aord- able housing.” Blackmon said she would support new aordable housing in her dis- trict if it would “make sense.” In the meantime, people who sup- port new aordable housing in their neighborhoods must be “just as vocal if not more vocal” than those who oppose it, Robinson said. Michael Crouchley contributed to this report.

*INCLUDES HISPANICLATINO PEOPLE SOURCE: HOUSING FORWARDCOMMUNITY IMPACT TYPES OF HOMELESSNESS Chronically homeless people have been unhoused for at least a year or repeatedly with a disabling condition. Chronic Nonchronic

-11.2% since 2019

4.5K 5K 4K 3.5K 2.5K 3K

+29.6% since 2019

1.5K

500

2021 2020 2022 2023 2019

SOURCE: HOUSING FORWARDCOMMUNITY IMPACT

GETTING EVERYONE HOUSED

Housing Forward’s rapid rehousing program, the Dallas Real Time Rapid Housing Initiative, plans to triple its eorts by 2025. Housed 1,871 individuals since October 2021 Closed 11 homeless encampments Received about $46M in private and federal funding to address homelessness Planning to house 6,000 individuals by 2025 SOURCE: HOUSING FORWARDCOMMUNITY IMPACT

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