Homelessness is starting to become the norm when you go city by city. You see homeless people on street corners, asking for money in parking lots.
Dallas Deputy City Manager Kimberly Bizor Tolbert said the city is seeing an increase in shelter space due to “record inflation, the housing crisis, and the aftereffects of an economic downturn.”
The Metro Dallas Homeless Alliance is the lead agency in Dallas for homelessness as they provide funding and housing for the homeless. Last year, the organization planned to move 2,700 people from homeless to housing by October 2023.
The board chair, Peter Brodsky said:
"With an incentive, landlords are much more likely to take our clients as tenants."
Family Gateway president and CEO Ellen Magnis said the pandemic created:
"a whole new batch of people who normally wouldn't be homeless."
"If you were just barely holding on, you're not able to hold on anymore."
Dallas has worked hard over the years to limit the homeless population but the current demand is pushing this to its limits.
OurCalling, a Dallas nonprofit that assists people with homelessness sees about 80 new people every week. Previously, it was about 10 homeless people a week.
The Metro Dallas Alliance has moved about 1,019 homeless people into homes.
Then the Office of Homeless Care Solutions proposed Dallas reallocate $1 million from the CAREs Act that was for pandemic relief to the homeless situation.
Some people are pending evictions which would only add to the number of homeless in Dallas.
See how Houston is managing the homeless situation.
Have you noticed an increase in homeless where you live?