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by Gordon Hilgers/PNN Dallas Correspondent
Recently, the City of Dallas has emerged in favor of providing millions of hard-to-find dollars to upgrade the areaís animal shelters, but from the looks of it, the Dallas City Council is only now beginning to grapple with the lowest-profile issue of them all. At this point, according to some observers, many council members possess only a general picture regarding homelessness; a complex issue that demands detailed information to adequately address. These observers add that some council members donít even know the City of Dallas runs the Day Resource Center.
Alan Walne, representative for the affluent North Dallas District 10, for example, asked the Director of the Cityís Department of Environmental and Health ServicesóMary Kay Vaughnóto get information on San Franciscoís homelessness services. Area advocates, however, say they already know first-hand that San Francisco has an abysmal record in dealing with homelessness. Last winter, they add, the National Coalition on Homelessness labeled San Francisco the "meanest city in America" due to heavy-handed tactics handling 15,000 homeless people. Do Dallas politicians want to follow that act?
"Why would we want to learn from San Francisco?" one advocate asks, citing a headline from a recent San Francisco Chronicle viewpoints pieceówhich was tellingly headlined, "Throw the Bums Out." What this means, she added, is that some council members are coming to the table with unreliable information. What should be pertinent is that cities like San Francisco have shoved the issue of homelessness under the table for so long that now its city government is being overwhelmed: residents in newly gentrified neighborhoods are angry, the cityís homeless are organizing to counter inappropriate government action and a head-on is already in progress. Councilman Walne, by the way, flatly opposes a City run homeless shelter and resource center.
Meanwhile, the few Dallas area homeless advocates attending budget briefings note that experts who can bring the council up to speed on the nuts and bolts of a growing crisisónamely, the group of homelessness service providers that recently established their mission "to end homelessness in Dallas"óhave been nowhere near the financial wrangling.
With homelessness in Dallas deep in the throes of a readily acknowledged population explosionóa recent survey indicates that homelessness in Dallas increased by 25 percent this year, though most advocates explain this estimate is too small--homelessness is still a contentious political kickball with or without the input of experts.
The big issue with homelessness in Dallasóat least right now--is a bond proposal to spend approximately $6 million to build and maintain a City-operated combination day resource center/homeless shelter, but the official opinions regarding the validity and viability of such a project literally run the gamut. During an April 15 bond discussion, for instance, touchy-feely comments such as "I spoke at the Dallas Life Foundation" ran interference for other, more malignant political arguments like "A City-run homeless shelter? Not in my neighborhood!"
The biggest argument of all against pouring forth citizen tax money for a City-run homeless shelter is that the City of Dallas is running cash-poor. The way some Council members talk, youíd think weíre currently running through a slump that dwarfs The Great Depression, an economy that calls to mind both the fall of the Roman Empire and the Dark Ages. Itís hard living in America right now, weíre told, and we believe it because itís on TV.
When you look around, however, you canít help but wonder if things are as bad as weíre told. While many average citizens will tell anyone who asks that theyíre having a tough goóand many blame the 9-11 terrorist attacks for the recession--areas such as Uptown continue to prosper. Upscale town homes, condominiums and high rises are going up everywhere, though most Dallasites indicate theyíre having trouble believing anybody can afford them, even if many continue to fill rapidly with mysterious young professionals whoíve somehow managed to accrue salaries far above median income, which hovers at $60,000 a year. Whereís the money coming from for these luxurious salaries?
And, though rents everywhere are skyrocketingóthe average rent for a 35-year-old atrium apartment in Oak Lawn is hovering around a ridiculous $700 a monthópeople with political influence and resources seem oblivious that the majority of property owners and apartment management companies are getting paid nearly twice as much for the same properties than they were a decade ago. What gives? Whereís that money going, and whoís benefiting?
Something odd seems to be up, as they say, although people with political connections seem afraid to tell exactly what that something might be. Officially at least, weíd rather look at photos in the newspapers that depict former millionaire dot-comers flying dog-eared cardboard signs along Central Expressway service roads that read, "Will work for latte."
The upshot? All the money seems to be flowing right out of government and into the pockets of the private sector. Two decades of tax cuts and cries for more have not only underwritten the careers of dozens of "fiscally conservative" politicians, theyíve gutted governmentís ability to fix roads, repair infrastructure or grapple with poverty and governmentís crumbling safety net.
The numbers are telling: for 2002, Dallas expects a $15.3 million sales tax shortfall, over ten percent below projections. This unexpected revenue loss has already dictated that the City mandate a one percent cut in all City employee salaries. At this point, however, the City has been unwilling to lay off the 200 positions some have recommended. Although cities like Dallas are somehow expected by state and federal politicians to pick up the slack and insure that homeless shelters get built, most on the Dallas City Council seem hard pressed over exactly how to stretch shrinking dollars.
To make decisions regarding financial priorities ruled by tax-free realities even more complicated for the Council, police and firefighters recently slammed their cards on the table, demanding a double-digit salary hike that has many wondering when the money for thatís going to appear. City officials fear the proposal, if approved, would cost the City approximately $60.8 billionóa figure that hypothetically amounts to 1,000 City run shelters.
Accordingly, stunning figures like that translate into property tax increases that nobody really wants, officials say. It also likely would force the City to cut other programs, especially aspects of the City budget that have traditionally languished at the bottom of priorities lists: like the Cityís commitment towards ending homelessness. After all, the last time Dallas ran cash-pooróduring the 1980s oil bust--government ignored the homeless.
Representatives for both police and firefighters, moreover, have done bang-up presentations that established other pressing needs in Council briefings: the numbers weíve seen clearly show we really need to replace a bunch of fire stations that got slapped up fly-by-night-wise 20 years ago and are now too small and are falling apart; and the police meanwhile make a strong case for the construction of a police substation in South Central Dallas to help them combat poverty, ignorance, anger and frustration the old-fashioned way.
In other words, whereas homeless advocates and the homeless themselves have been begging for a City-run and operated homeless shelter 20 yearsóand $6 million dollars, theyíll add, isnít much--the idea always gets lost in the shuffle because City priorities are "elsewhere." Itís just more fun to plan slinky boutiques than it is to solve ambiguous problems like homelessness that donít have any pat answers. It also looks good when voting time and international dignitaries come around.
Homeless advocates citywide would like citizens to run that measly $6 million for a shelter right up against the whopping $64 million in proposed City expenditures currently tangled up in what has come to be known as "the Palladium request." Thatís the exclusive hotel and retail complex designed to attract tourists. In plain English, itís a market-driven behemoth local developers hope to construct on a tract located between the cityís new godzillian dollar basketball court and the West End entertainment district. For $64 million, advocates for the other side of the tracks say, the Dallas could build and operate ten and a half homeless shelters.
Though regular Dallasites probably wonít be barred from the proposed Palladium development, the part of the community that cares about the homeless has its hopes pinned on the possibility local citizens will see through the blurry set of values that allow billionaires to rake in millions of dollars yet deprives the areaís most invisible poor even the opportunity to get out of the rain.
Local advocates for the poor, however, havenít yet found a voice on the council for their concerns. During budget briefings, for example, Dr. Elba Garcia of District 1 stunningly announced: One reason an animal shelter gets more attention from top levels of City government is that it "received in excess of 300 calls last month" from residents trying to get a little action for stray dogs and cats. A voice on the council is something the homeless really need if things are going to get better, but champions are hard to find in any political situationóespecially if youíre not out there looking for one.
According to Garcia, the City killed 75,000 stray animals last year. Is it a shot in the dark to suspect that local animal rights activistsóan outspoken bunch if television news reports and boisterous protests outside downtownís Neiman Marcus department store are to be believedóare outraged? Would it be too much to presume that 300 telephone calls a month on behalf of non-sentient animals to various sentient Council members and City departments werenít exactly coincidental? Whatever really happened, itís a truism that animal rights organizations in the Dallas area have learned their lessons well: effective grassroots activism has gotten the ear of the council. In contrast, homeless advocates have been as quiet and politely considerate of the feelings of those in power as, well, church mice.
One subtext to Garciaís remarks hints at a lesson local homeless advocates and service providers can learn from pet-lover outrage: politicians wonít hear you if you donít talk to them. So far, this lesson has been lost on homelessness service providers who are inured to a status quo that is going to have to change before things get really bad.
Though most connected to organizations like the Dallas Homeless Consortium, Dallas Agencies Serving the Homeless and the Metro Dallas Homeless Alliance have been forthcoming about reorganizing homeless services in the area, few attend bond briefings. Other than Clora Hogan (publisher of Endless Choices), James Waghorne (DASHís new VISTA volunteer) and a representative for the Veteranís Administration, the briefing, which could have far-reaching effects pertinent to Dallasí oft-disputed commitment towards alleviating homelessness, was literally devoid of prominent spokespeople for the homeless. Where were those folks?
It may seem odd, then, that perhaps the most strident voice on the Dallas City Council in favor of the construction of a City-run homeless shelter is the District 13 placeholder, Mitchell Rasansky. During the April 15 Council bond briefing, the 65-year-old North Dallas investment banker and real estate investor came out of nowhere, unequivocally in favor of funding a City-run shelter and resource center. Later, Rasansky told reporters, "Homelessness is just a very large problem that all cities have. Itís a social issue that we have to address. This is just as important as getting cultural arts. You know, Cultural Affairs just recently raised $112 million. If we have to trim some other things to get this shelter in order to help some people, then Iím really for it."
At this point in time, itís Rasanskyóand oddly he represents the most affluent council district in Dallas, a district that has had few serious problems where homelessness intersects with the interests and concerns of his constituencyówho could be the lone voice on the council that is on the record as willing to do whatever it takes to address the issue. "The City of Dallas should be ashamed that we donít already have a City-run shelter as do other major cities," he says. "We have to be able to help these people. Youíre not going to be able to help everybody. There are just people youíre just not going to help. Their guard is downóthat is, itís really down. The issue is not so much building a shelter as staffing it with the right people."
During a recent interview by Endless Choices, Rasansky spoke gently but with determination to indicate he doesnít have an answer to homelessness, or even the best way to begin finding one. Itís a gesture that fully communicated an unwillingness to profess intimate, hands-on knowledge on subjects he knows only generally, a quality rare in most city politicians. Rasansky, however, is also asking dozens of questions about homelessness. And in some respects, curious fact finding from a politician is refreshingóespecially for homeless advocates and service providers who for decades have sat out council meetings amazed at what they hear from wannabe statesmen, many of whom are intent on getting their way no matter how unenlightened they might be.
Sitting in his office, a comfortable if cluttered space on City Hallís fifth floor that is about as far away from the realities of homelessness as itís possible to be, Rasansky keeps those questions coming, though theyíre simplistic ones to people whoíve actually been homeless. But in the same turn these are subjects that befuddle and shock those unaware of just how difficult and confusing homelessness can be: Why is the Austin Street Center not located on Austin Street? If I was new to Dallas, would I even be able to find this shelter if itís located on Hickory Street instead of Austin Street? If a shelter is full, do they really turn people away? And if that were true, what would my other choices be? Would I have to sleep on the street or in a parked car? And do you really mean to say that if a man and his wife try to get into a shelter that they have to show their marriage license? How many people actually carry those around with them?
In so many words, then, Rasansky is eager to demonstrate good intentions: getting to details he believes he needs to make a good case before the council is also effective politicking.
"I really can't tell you what I think about all the issues coming before the council surrounding homelessness," Rasansky apologizes. "Thatís because Iím not versed in that sort of thing and thatís why we need professionals to help us in our decision-making. Thatís one thing I can tell you." A case in point: "I have a problem with the staff member whoís always picking out a place for the proposed new center. Sheís not qualified to pick out a place for homeless people. Whatís her name? Mary Vaughn? You know, I donít know her, but I do know sheís not qualified to pick out a place to house the homeless."
Rasansky is more than likely not trying to nitpick Vaughn, who directs the Cityís Department of Environmental and Health Services, but he does express concern that an observer of the April 15 briefing had to point out to Vaughn that directors of three privately run, downtown-area shelters donít release clients to downtownís streets at the sunny hour of eight a.m.óas she professed before the councilóbut as early as five a.m. Those listening to the briefing also mentioned they felt Vaughn had poorly prepared for her advocacy before the council. These are things top-level politicians need to know if they want to do good work.
Slowly, then, despite tinny moments like Vaughnís, the Dallas City Council is getting a grip on a problem most acknowledge has been ignored far too long. When Vaughn mentioned that there were plenty of additional resources "out there" the City could tap into, Sandy Greyson of far North Dallasí District 12, chimed in: "If there are additional resources to tap into, why havenít we tapped into them?"
That's a good question. But even though good questions indicate the Council is getting its ducks in a row, the group has a long way to go before effective City policies make a dent in homelessness. When South Dallas councilman Ed Chaney blew up after Vaughn asserted that one particularly good location for a City-run shelter and resource center had been identified in his districtó"Not in my backyard," he counteredóJohn Loza, who represents the Oak Lawn area, indicated heís willing to locate the complex in his district. But the best comment so far belongs to District 4ís Maxine Thornton-Reese: "The only time animals come before people is in the dictionary."
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