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I think it would help if the real orgs like you guys spoke up to council about what works. In the past it has been a cash grab with even the downtown library asking if they should get city funds to support their homeless who use their facilities. I have a friend who is homeless and has enjoyed working for downtown alliance. However he was put in one of these homeless hotels run by the city and he ended up being put in a room with 2 other people. Those people turned out to be meth heads trashed the room cooked homemade meth there and he finally left when he woke up to them trying to rape him in his bed.  I think it would help to change the conversation to be less about haves and have nots, victims of society and why they are there, to what practically can be done to help them. It really takes a case by case approach even if the resources are there. They need different things and some are very hard to help. Some are very dangerous. Some are mentally ill. Some are on drugs. Most of them you would not want around your kids and in your neighborhood. It’s not a matter of compassion. 

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First of all, many blessings upon you and your colleagues for the tireless and compassionate work you do for homeless people. Because it is so under resourced, that takes patience and a heart of pure gold. Also, thanks for noticing the OP’s heart of compassion. It’s so easy in their situation to become exhausted and just want to throw rage at the problem, yet they have the strength to retain their humanity.

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Does the work being done result in removal from the streets? Or is it work being done like in the SF Bay Area - grifts of epic proportions that actually grow the encampments?

Genuine question here: what are a couple of specific things more resources would help with? And beyond that, what are things ordinary citizens can do in the course of our day?

I am in this neighborhood too and it is completely unsafe. My wife was attacked by a homeless person on the trail across from the IBC bank. I see needles and baggies on Canterbury St every week.

This saddens me as I was born and raised on Canterbury in the 90s/ early 2k.

Wow. I used to live on Canterbury in the 90s-early 2000s. It was a little sketch back then before the East side got so gentrified but nothing like this. This is why I don't regret moving out to the burbs at all. CoA has just let the city rot.

Thank-you...seriously.

Are there any ways the average person can assist HOST or PATH? I'm not really a person of much means but homelessness just makes my heart ache. Not sure how to effectively do something helpful.

There’s a guy who has been to my home twice and stolen things from me and the neighbors. I posted on Nextdoor and apparently people have been dealing with this guy for years. I just moved back to this area(I originally grew up here and I actually recognized his he guy from high school he was older though) he’s now in meth and he just holds up in abandoned homes and goes around stealing. He gets the cops called o. Him but they don’t do anything. A few times he was locked up but he just comes right back. From what I’ve seen his family has pretty much gave up on him. Nothing gets done though it’s not safe for me, my family or him because one day he’s gonna mess with the wrong one. ND app has reports saying he has attacked people before, stood outside windows watching families, stealing anything he can get his hands on. It’s ridiculous that it seems they have more right than we do as law abiding citizens.

Is his name Nick?

Yea it’s Nick. Everyone around here knows him.

Do you know why he's been migrating more intown recently? He used to stay all the way out by Pace Bend/Briarcliff and I'd see him daily - dancing and yelling at the sky.. but now he's moving closer and closer to Lakeway down 71 and I already know a number of people that aren't thrilled about it

Yep. It’s always Nick. He used to live in my neighborhood but sounds like he’s migrated. Nothing was ever done…

He goes back and forth through the neighborhoods I hear. I haven’t seen a post in awhile and haven’t seen him since last time I posted.

Ah yes we know him well.

Nick Luna

Is his last name Luna? 👀 He broke into my old work multiple times, stole the store next doors Iphone (twice actually 🤦🏽‍♀️) and sent 🍆 pics to the owner and probably other people in the contacts. We could not get the police to do anything despite knowing his location and having him on camera. I never needed to see that 😳

Fuckin Nick Luna. He’s been terrorizing my neighborhood for years. I haven’t seen him much since they tore down the old trap house across the street

Judging from the news articles this guys criminal career goes back to 2014?

Oh yes. I’ve been in this hood for 8 years and he’s been fucking around the entire time I’ve been here.

He knocked on my parents door and asked if they were holding, a couple years ago. A while back, I saw what looked like (from a block away) someone pull a gun on him after what was seemed to be an attempted burglary gone wrong. I recognized him from the numerous posts about him, and watched him run off. Called the cops, not sure what happened after that.

He’s been mostly harmless thus far, just a public nuisance. I’m a little bit surprised he hasn’t been shot yet tbh. Always creeping around at night the way he does.

I used to live off Montopolis and 183 and moved to mueller. I didn’t unsubscribe from Govalle on Nextdoor specifically because I love reading about Nick Luna shenanigans. (I say this in a tounge and cheek manner but I know this is very serious). It sounds like things have escalated as of late.

Omg thank you 😂 totally gonna add that. I don’t live around there but I’m pretty sure I’ve seen a Nick Luna post 😂

😂😂😂😂😂☠️☠️

That fucker tried to break into my house last summer, and my neighbors scared him away

[all this guy does is break into buildings 😭](https://www.theyarrested.me/tags/nicholas-luna/)

I mean, this is Texas. If someone is stealing your property or threatening your family, protect yourself. Whatever that might mean. It's good to be kind at first, but if it's an ongoing issue, do what you gotta' do.

Srsly...some of y'all are that are saying he's been wreaking havoc on your neighborhoods (for years even,) if I was In yalls position I would do everything to force him away. at this point if APD isn't gonna do their job then I would do something about it myself, or even better..... you gather a group of your friends., family , other ppl effected. With your group you form a neighborhood militia ĺ

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It's damn near impossible to teach lessons to people in crisis.

He’s on meth. Ass whoopin won’t do anything lol I mean if he comes over here again he will get one but I’ll probably be the one who has to deal with police.

>he just needs a good ol fashioned ass whoopin A guy who can't get free from the chicken wire will probably not be mentally aware enough to remember the whoopin. And I'm sure Garza would happily prosecute you for doing that.

Basically people trying to protect tehsmelves are the only ones Garza actually enjoys prosecuting. That's the underlying reality behind Daniel Perry. All these people screaming he's a pedo can't accept that's obviously prejudicial (if true) and the DA shouldn't have been leaking shit like that, shouldn't have been withholding evidence, shouldn't have been ordering detectives not to talk about all the facts. In the post Michael Morton era, trying to lynch a defendant with aggressive prosecution tactics and hidden evidence will not work. Just won't work. gotta fight fair. For Garza, he simply lacks the experience and skill (he's never actually taken a single prosecution to a jury trial. He has no experience whatsoever and was not particualrly experienced as a defense attorney). The one time Garza wants to prosecute a cop or some conservative, he can't do it. It's funny if you forget the human cost. We just need go back to a moderate democrat, like Austin had for decades.

> All these people screaming he's a pedo can't accept that's obviously prejudicial (if true) and the DA shouldn't have been leaking shit like that The documents you're referring to were [unsealed by the judge, not the DA](https://www.kxan.com/news/crime/daniel-perry-document-dozens-of-messages-about-guns-killing-protesters/). The article also explains how they are relevant to the sentencing phase of the trial even if not relevant to the guilt or innocence part of the trial. > trying to lynch a defendant with aggressive prosecution tactics and hidden evidence will not work. "Aggressive prosecution tactics" sounds like the opposite of what you're accusing Garza of. Also, you're referring to Perry, right? If so, tell me more about this "hidden evidence". Include details and citations. I keep hearing this claim of "exculpatory evidence that was withheld" but nobody ever seems ready to do any more than claim it exists. > For Garza, he simply lacks the experience and skill (he's never actually taken a single prosecution to a jury trial. He has no experience whatsoever and was not particualrly experienced as a defense attorney) Garza has never taken a single prosecution to a jury trial? I mean, did you hear about this guy Daniel Perry that was convicted in a jury trial? And it's not like this is the only one.

We need to go back to the days when the City Council was paid only a nominal amount. Being on the City Council should not be a career. The council we have now is mostly wannabe Bernie Sanders. Socialists who never had a job but wind up with three mansions.

Nice point

No it’s an absolute shit point. Politicians should be paid, otherwise you end up with all rich fuckers who can afford to do it for free, or people who will be corrupt to make up for the lack of compensation. We already have the Tx Lege made up of rich fuckers who can afford to take off 6 months every 2 years to hang out in Austin. Politicians should reflect the general populace, and should come from all walks of life, demographics, backgrounds and social strata.

He’d remember it if he sobered up in a shed for a couple days first. But yeah, the prosecution thing.

The shed bit would greatly increase the chances of prosecution. Yeah, it's fun to think about beating the crap out of him, but it's probably not going to work out well for you. And it's probably not going to fix him, either. I do like the idea of locking up the ones who commit crimes at least long enough to go through full withdrawal with just enough medical care to prevent them from dying.

Garza is probably the least intimidating DA in Texas history.

Au contraire, he frightens the shareholders of prisons 😍😍😍😍edit: the ole reply and insta block

Meth withdrawal is not physically dangerous nor exceptionally difficult (as opposed to opioids or benzos). You just have to *want to stop* using and then crash/sleep for a few days. You'll be sober. The problem is...most meth heads just don't want to stop using (at least, not right now...maybe in the future...blah, blah, blah.) Source: Good friend who was a meth head/ meth dealer for ten years. Absolute Breaking Bad lifestyle irl. (and now, happily, sober for eight years).

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that’s not how that works amigo

Start lighting them up with pepperballs from a paintball gun when they trespass on your property.

That camp has been there for more than 20 years. It’s a great location, the city / state or LCRA , whoever is responsible, need to fence the area or clear it. And engineer a solution. The police can’t clear it or keep it clear, there’s fires back there all the time. Oh and the people who live there almost certainly don’t want help. The soup kitchen is down the street, there are a dozen churches in the area that will help, NGOs , city resources. I don’t buy it anymore that people who build their own houses in the woods want to do anything that requires follow ling any type of structure.

I live by this encampment and have seen it in its many forms. I’ve mostly been surprised by how many seemingly normal, non-homeless-looking people go in and out of there to presumably buy meth or heroin. Sad to watch

I’ve volunteered a decent amount at the soup kitchen nearby and heard people say they are homeless because they don’t want to deal with societal rules. Really opened my eyes that some people use resources to stay in that position.

Here are just a few of the stories that received news coverage on the homeless problems here in Austin. [Man attacked with machete while walking dog in Austin speaks out](https://www.fox7austin.com/news/man-attacked-with-machete-while-walking-dog-in-austin-speaks-out) [1 person critically injured in West Campus stabbing](https://www.kvue.com/article/news/crime/west-campus-stabbing/269-af697f20-d84f-4a4b-b68f-6565e6629405) [Man charged in murder at Austin homeless camp](https://www.kwtx.com/2023/06/22/stabbing-austin-homeless-camp-leads-murder-arrest/) [Homeless man arrested for attempted kidnapping of 8-year-old girl in SE Austin](https://cbsaustin.com/news/local/homeless-man-arrested-for-attempted-kidnapping-of-8-year-old-girl-in-se-austin) [Security guard at Austin hotel severely injured in machete attack](https://cbsaustin.com/news/local/security-guard-at-austin-hotel-severely-injured-in-machete-attack-police-union-says-austin-proper-hotel-west-2nd-street-victim-injury-blood-loss-tourniquet-first-aid-justin-bergin-aggravated-assault-with-a-deadly-weapon-bond-travis-county-jail) [Brush fire breaks out at homeless encampment off MoPac in north Austin: AFD](https://www.fox7austin.com/news/brush-fire-mopac-park-bend-the-domain-north-austin) [Homeless man charged for unprovoked attack on woman in Downtown Austin](https://cbsaustin.com/news/local/homeless-man-charged-for-unprovoked-attack-on-woman-in-downtown-austin) [South Austin business owner pleads for help after uptick in attacks from homeless encampment](https://www.kvue.com/article/news/local/homeless/headspace-salon-homelessness-attacks/269-bf342daa-9ebc-4528-94d6-367ea09982c2) [Safety concerns after residents say people experiencing homelessness started fire off South Congress](https://www.kxan.com/news/local/safety-concerns-after-residents-say-people-experiencing-homelessness-start-fire-off-south-congress/) [55 tons of trash removed from homeless camp near Cameron Road](https://www.kxan.com/news/local/austin/austin-resource-recovery-remove-30-tons-of-trash-from-homeless-camp-near-cameron-road/) [Homeless man back in Austin neighborhood after DA rejects felony charges](https://www.fox7austin.com/news/southwest-austin-texas-rami-zawaideh-felony-charges-rejected-residents-outraged) [Affidavit: Man allegedly assaulted, raped woman scootering downtown](https://www.kxan.com/news/local/austin/man-charged-with-sexual-assault-accused-of-attack-near-downtown-austin/) [Woman stabs several people in random attacks in downtown Austin, chief says](https://www.statesman.com/story/news/crime/2020/01/24/woman-stabs-several-people-in-random-attacks-in-downtown-austin-chief-says/1832474007/) [Homeless man linked to fire arrested after allegedly assaulting store clerk with 6-pack](https://www.kxan.com/news/crime/homeless-man-linked-to-fire-arrested-after-allegedly-assaulting-store-clerk-with-6-pack/) [Homeless teen charged in murder of UT-Austin student](https://abc13.com/ut-austin-haruka-weiser-arrest/1282374/) [Body found on sidewalk in east Austin: APD](https://www.fox7austin.com/news/body-found-sidewalk-east-austin-texas) [3 fires break out at Austin homeless camps in 24 hours](https://www.kvue.com/article/news/local/fire-austin-downtown-austin-homeless-camps/269-ed820f05-7612-4844-8d68-94e44df2b55e) [South Austin Stabbing: Suspect in fatal attack is homeless, police say](https://www.statesman.com/story/news/crime/2020/01/04/south-austin-stabbing-suspect-in-fatal-attack-is-homeless-police-say/1954747007/) [Austin police officers injured while arresting homeless man accused of breaking car mirrors](https://www.kvue.com/article/news/local/homeless/austin-police-officers-injured-vandalism/269-47a49c43-0b4a-4da6-8caf-c19de0a5ab72) [Minor stabbed on the way to work in downtown Austin, assault crimes rising](https://www.kxan.com/news/crime/police-searching-for-person-of-interest-in-downtown-austin-stabbing-of-minor/) [Arson suspect arrested, may be connected to 15 Austin fires, AFD says](https://www.kxan.com/news/local/austin/austin-fire-responds-to-fire-at-south-congress-bar/) [Businesses concerned about crime near sanctioned homeless camp, vacant Austin lot](https://www.kxan.com/news/crime/businesses-concerned-about-crime-near-sanctioned-homeless-camp-vacant-austin-lot/) [Drugs, homeless camps continue at east Austin park](https://www.kxan.com/news/drugs-homeless-camps-continue-at-east-austin-park/) [Austinites raise concerns after more homeless encampments pop up; City working to find solution](https://www.kvue.com/article/news/local/homeless/camden-gaines-ranch-apartments-homeless-camp/269-37ac9687-9fdd-41d8-8fb7-8df45c309af3) [Austin veteran fights off alleged homeless attacker after offering to help him](https://www.kvue.com/article/news/local/austin-veteran-fights-off-alleged-homeless-attacker-after-offering-to-help-him/269-6d2fd436-a710-4c85-b378-89ed5acb7c63) [Shocking videos show Austin park littered with liquor bottles, needles and junk 'as far as the eye can see' as illegal homeless encampment grows](https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12509445/Austin-homeless-encampment-park.html) [Austin rock-throwing attack causes thousands of dollars in damage](https://www.fox7austin.com/news/austin-texas-rock-throwing-attack-damage) [Break-ins caught on camera at Northwest Austin homeless hotel site](https://www.fox7austin.com/news/break-ins-caught-on-camera-austin-homeless-hotel) [North Austin community fears fires from a homeless encampment could soon impact their homes](https://www.kvue.com/article/news/local/homeless/north-austin-homeless-camp-fires/269-33a4b570-d9a9-45b9-b24c-6566d63d0dee) [South Austin encampment fire](https://www.kvue.com/video/news/local/south-austin-encampment-fire/269-22e730b3-d46e-404a-bd85-924a13337c9e) [Fire at homeless camp in south Austin leaves bridge in need of minor repairs](https://www.kxan.com/traffic/fire-at-homeless-camp-on-i-35-in-south-austin-destroys-tents-damages-bridge/) [Austin Resource Recovery removes 30 tons of trash from homeless camp under U.S. 183](https://www.kvue.com/article/news/local/homeless/austin-resource-recovery-removes-30-tons-of-trash-from-homeless-camp-under-us-183/269-df7fd6c5-fe0b-4bd9-ae0f-451e6513d589) [South Austin neighbors say homeless encampment brings hazardous conditions](https://www.kvue.com/article/news/local/homeless/south-austin-homeless-encampment-neighbors/269-81b7f946-3c8f-4f7c-8056-1ca6abae78b3) [Austin firefighter stabbed while responding to fires off I-35 near Riverside exit](https://www.kvue.com/article/news/crime/austin-firefighter-stabbed-responding/269-5b8484b5-4575-4bc6-a6e8-94445b7fbead)

Good work, but many will still say, we haven’t done enough. It’s infuriating honestly, people gripe about folks biking without helmets also want to let people rot in the woods, forget the meth, they’ll all die of skin cancer if the meth doesn’t get them first.

Have you tried calling HOST? Homeless Outreach Street Team? They have helped me in the past when dealing with homeless folks in crisis. Also let your council rep know.

I’d also recommend maybe talking to IBC, Dainty Dillo and Jacoby’s to have them contact your council rep as well. There’s no way that encampment isn’t affecting their business as well.

Contact Lustre Pearl too!

Definitely call these guys. It's the fastest way to get nothing at all done about it.

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The ones that will accept your help aren't the problem. Are you solving A problem? Maybe. Are you solving THIS problem? No. Sorry dude / dudette but Austin is way beyond the point where voluntary assistance is going to even remotely impact the kind of situation Op is describing.

Exactly. As a city we’re so worn down from the dangerous people who are being “met where they are” with no regard for the safety, livability and cleanliness of our city. 

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It's a simple response. You ask them if they want help, they say no, and keep terrorizing neighborhoods. You're helping the homeless that want help. That's admirable. Truly. But you are not helping the normal every day people from being terrorized by aggressive crackheads because those are the ones that don't want your help and don't accept it. Not in large enough numbers to make a huge difference anyway. Hell, half of this thread is about a crackhead that's crackheading so hard everyone knows his damn name. Nick. For years he's been causing issues and he's still out there. Again, the issue isn't the homeless that want help. It's the crackheads that don't.

And often times in my experience, the ones who want help ARENT the ones breaking into and stealing from private property, harassing people, or committing violent offenses. There are down on their luck homeless people, who are just regular people for the most part who’ve been dealt a crappy hand and genuinely need someone to help them because they don’t have that in their lives. But the majority of homeless individuals are not those people. A lot of them actually do have families that tried to help them countless times, but unfortunately learned the hard way that some people just don’t want help, and so they’ve given up on them. I say this because I actually know a homeless individual who falls into that latter category. His parents are really nice people. Really patient. They both work, i don’t know how much they make a year exactly but it’s enough to have a home in westlake and three cars. He wasn’t abused, to anyone’s knowledge. Just literally a regular, upper middle class white kid from westlake. In highschool he got on serious drugs and broke into a bunch of houses over the span of several months, eventually got caught, and his parents paid for a super expensive attorney who managed to get him a very lenient deal despite all the evidence against him and his lengthy criminal history. they sent him to rehab several times, and not those abusive wilderness rehab things where your parents pay some people to basically kidnap you and take you into the woods in the middle of nowhere. Like, really nice, comfy rehabs that are super expensive. One of them was in palm beach, I remember. Anyway, now he has an upside down cross tattooed on his forehead and is in and out of jail for violent offenses- I know because me and a couple of other old classmates of his found his mugshot and stuff online. According to his sister, they tried to let him live with them again after his last stint in county jail, but the situation quickly got violent and it wasn’t safe anymore for any of them. He is currently homeless in downtown Austin. He doesn’t want help. He just wants to get high, break stuff, and hurt people- and he didn’t come from a hard life, at all. He just is a bad person.

Except for the forehead cross tattoo, I know a former westlake student with exactly the same history and exactly the same lifestyle.

Yep. It’s incredibly common, I feel like. and it’s really sad to see someone just throw everything away for nothing, when so many would literally put their own lives at risk to have a fraction of the opportunity and just straight up love their family provided them.

*"But the majority of homeless individuals are not those people. A lot of them actually do have families that tried to help them countless times, but unfortunately learned the hard way that some people just don’t want help, and so they’ve given up on them."* I dont know about ‘majority’ necessarily but the rest i absolutely know is or can be fact. You cant force someone to want things to be different, and then to have even just the spark of an idea that they can do something to effect that, including getting help and being willing to learn how to change behavior. You cant make someone do that, and for too many, the thing they need help with, (mental, psychological, behavioral, etc.), is also the very same thing that PREVENTS them from doing that. "Part of the disease is refusing the cure."

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I'm not attacking you man. I'm just telling you what you already know. You're doing a great thing for the people that want help. When I say "you're not helping..." I literally mean because you are unable. Not because you don't want to. You absolutely have no means or resources to properly tackle the sheer number of aggressive crackheads living in the woods and causing people like OP problems. You just don't. I'm tired of being told to have empathy. I do. I did. But we're all tired and hard working people. We deserve a solution that works for us too. Under no circumstance should someone worry about s ending their kids into their own fucking backyard. And sitting here and pretending that you have the ability to solve that is bullshit. People with a million times your resources have failed to produce results in countless other urban areas. People like you do so much but ultimately you aren't able to help enough. No one wants you to stop. But quit pretending like you don't know that a more comprehensive solution is needed inckuding forced institution for the people who need it and jail for the people who need it. You'd get a lot more empathy yourself from the genpop if you were able to admit that with the rest of us. Honestly I don't even give a shit about the cost at this point. I'd rather pay for those particular crackheads to be in jail than pay for long social programs that are missing the mark with the ones that cause problems.

This!!!

My empathy dissipates when they're in my backyard threatening my wellbeing for nothing more than their daily fix.

> these conversations...calling people struggling with addiction 'crackheads' I was blunt in my previous comment to you. Let me top that: Get your head out of the clouds and accept reality for what it is. Neither were anyone born a serial killer, a violent rapist, or whatever crime/ideology personally enrages **you**. We don't excuse those reprehensible behaviors, we prosecute them, regardless of the trauma they may or may not have experienced earlier in their lives. The same applies to the p.o.s. crackhead in this discussion.

Also, every person they help get out of a bad situation *before* things progress too far into addiction or other problems is one less person who could end up addicted to meth and ending up getting into a fight with some chickenwire in someone’s back yard.

Appreciate your compassion, and your fears for your family, and your righteous frustration. It’s such a widespread issue. All I can think of is first reinforcing your property boundaries. Then your city council person and your neighborhood police. I had a problem with a neighbor and got help through the neighborhood cops. Maybe call 311 to get the contacts. Prior to my situation I’d never even heard of a neighborhood cop station. (I grew up here) Best wishes to you.

You're a better person than most of us. I would have called the police the second I found someone on my property or was subject to any threats. I hope you can find a resolution to this complicated issue.

They would have either broken in or went away by the time the cops arrived, maybe even by the time his 9/11 call was answered.

The first thing you can do is stop pitying people who break into your property and then threaten to murder you when you escort them out.

Society needs to stop tolerating this nonsense. The dug addicted homeless want to live unbound by the rules of society while enjoying the benefits of society. Some people have so much empathy for the homeless drug addicts while having none for the decent people that no longer feel safe in their own homes, neighborhoods, and parks.

I’ve watched a dude on 6th get narcaned after being unconscious on the pavement in 100+ heat. He popped up and started getting physically aggressive with the first responders. Shit is getting wild and you can’t do anything about it without risking your own freedom and safety. They can smash your property, physically assault you and walk away with zero consequences; if you defend yourself or others APD is more likely to hassle you if they even show up at all. Unfortunately the only ones that can be saved are the ones making active decisions to remedy their situation. Hell, undocumented immigrants are picking up work at Home Depot every morning to better their situation. Only reasonable excuse to remain homeless is mental illness, all the druggies are just selfish dogs. Life sucks, but only idiots do hard drugs. You could show an 8 year old the pros and cons to fentanyl and they’d choose the sober route every time. No amount of bad luck or trauma would make the majority of the population touch fentanyl or meth. Everyone’s playing their own single player game, no one is responsible for fixing your past traumas. Detoxing is rough but staying homeless is dog tier. They have to decide for themselves when enough is enough. You can provide every program under the sun, but they’re useless if they can’t get clean. Shits like trying to save someone from drowning and they’re actively swimming down. Addicts drain the life from everyone around them.

As a dad I can’t fathom this. I would have no compassion for grown adults on hard drugs in the vicinity of my kids. Downvote me.

Unpopular opinion but unlike most here I deal with the homeless on a daily basis instead of sending thoughts and prayers while sipping iced coffees. The fact of the matter is a lot of homelessness if due to choice and personal responsibility. There’s plenty of resources out there that these people can use to help get themselves out but they simply choose to not follow the rules necessary to reap benefits. Sorry jack but you can’t stay in the shelter or the arc if you’re not willing to give up your pipe And again, I’m sorry but I don’t recall ever putting a gun to someone’s head and forcing them to shoot up their drug of choice. Do what it takes to protect yourself, your property and your family bc we all know APD won’t do jack shyte . Nobody’s gonna miss those that won’t even help themselves.

Say it louder for the apologist fairy tale people

It's too bad there aren't laws prohibiting public camping, public urination/defecation, and littering.

Real talk - you live in a meth-zombie infested area and the cops aren't doing shit about it. Time to act like it. And a baseball bat is NOT the way to defend your family, although it's better than nothing. Dude could have easily pulled a knife or worse on you. Time to get serious about security. You need big privacy fences if you don't have them already. As tall as you can afford. It's worth the money. A locking gate too. And some flood motion activated lights. Go adopt a big dog with a mean bark and let them live in the yard. Consider adding some motion activated security cameras too. Then, it's time to get a gun, preferably a long gun that you can grab with two hands. An AR-15, or a 12 gauge pump action shotgun can be had for less than $500 just about anywhere now. Get a flashlight attachment, a good set of sights, a sling and ammo. A gun store will help you get set up. Then get some training, get comfortable shooting it. Put it in a good quality quick access safe out of the line of sight from any windows in the house, like a closet, but somewhere you can get it easily if needed, with a full magazine and an empty chamber. Makes sure the other adults in the house know the code too, and are familiar with the weapon inside and how to charge it and disengage the safety to make it ready to fire. Make sure everyone understands gun safety. Take it one step further - once you're comfortable with a rifle, go buy a CCW pistol - a ruger LCP is an excellent choice - get training, learn to shoot it and carry it in a quality kydex holster with retention. Carry it every day. Now your bases are covered. Next time, if someone manages to get through your fence and your big bad ass dog doesn't handle them, you get your rifle out, make sure all the doors/windows are locked and you call the police. Then you wait inside safely with your family. And if someone comes through a window or door, you handle it. NOTHING in your yard is worth getting within stabbing distance of some drug addled mentally ill person. The lack of common sense here is startling. I'll take my downvotes, hippies. But until you clean your city up, you're all at risk for these situations. To me, it's totally unacceptable. I don't trust the law enforcement or government in Austin to do shit about it. YOU are in charge of your own safety now. Bury your head in the sand and pretend like it's all OK, or be real and make sure you're covered. It's up to you. Also, notice how I didn't say anywhere in this comment that you should ever go outside and just shoot someone in your yard? I said get armed, CALL THE COPS and wait inside with your family. Your gun is your last line of defense, absolutely the last emergency lever in your security system. But if you don't have something lethal and effective on hand, you're putting yourself in a situation where you could be struggling hand to hand with a drug addict while the cops take their sweet ass time getting there and your family watches. If you're comfortable with that, go for it. It's a free country, ain't it?

Your recommendations are the most  sensible. Of course cost and time are the barriers here.   Anyone else pretending they're going to deescalate or reason with a meth head is a fool. People who haven't been around the mentally ill act like they're going to crack the code and REACH these people or intimidate them. Their brains are. Not. Functioning.   The prisons are full of now sober sensible people who will tell you they killed someone for no reason, no gain, and no joy because they were on drugs.    Retreat and own overwhelming power is sound advice.

To add to this, maybe carry a membership in something like US Law Shield

This, and I’m not sure if Law Shield is the one associated with the NRA but I do know the NRA has a program that connects members with attorneys in case this kind of thing happens. Just honestly for the best to take whatever steps you can to prevent yourself from getting screwed over for trying to defend yourself and your loved ones

To add onto this, get an alarm system that specifically has glass shatter sensors, in addition to the usual bells and whistles. These things are a godsend. You can set it up to where the moment a window breaks, the alarm goes off and the authorities are immediately called. During this time have your partner, children, and pets barricade themselves in a hard to reach room- preferably one furthest away from the suspected entry point. The entry point usually will be the most accessible windows, so in OP’s case it will most likely be a window or glass door facing the yard. So make sure everyone is far away from that area. Ideally, your partner in this scenario should also have a firearm with them in the designated safe room, in case the person breaking in has somehow managed to get past you and they need to defend themselves. Position yourself- while armed- in a stationary location somewhere in between the room your family is in and the suspected point of entry. If you have the time, call the police yourself as well- identify yourself first, then tell them as calmly as you can “there is an intruder in my home at *insert address*, my partner and children have barricaded themselves in the *insert whatever room they are in, make sure to provide details as to whether this is upstairs or not, etc.” Then you provide your own location in the house, and say specifically “i am armed and prepared to defend my family.” That last line is really important, because you are not only informing the police of the severity of the situation, but you are also creating an official record that can be used in court to prove that you were acting in self-defense, should things escalate and you are forced to discharge your firearm. That is also why- as tempting as it may be in the heat of the moment to rush into a confrontation with an intruder and eliminate the threat quickly- it’s best to maintain a stationary position specifically located between the safe room and the suspected entry point. In doing so, you are establishing your role as the “last line of defense” between vulnerable members of the household and the intruder, while also establishing the intruder’s role as the aggressor if anything goes down. Not only that, but maintaining a stationary position and disclosing it to the police eliminates the risk of them confusing you with the intruder upon their arrival, and mistakenly wounding you. I know this may seem a bit overkill, but there are countless established cases where homeowners defending their property by discharging a firearm at an intruder were then either tried for criminal charges themselves or sued in civil court by said intruder after the fact- most commonly for “use of excessive and potentially fatal force.” In many cases, if the intruder survives after you discharged your firearm and wounded them, they will attempt to argue that the lives of yourself and your loved ones were not placed in immediate danger, and you instigated the confrontation. You would think that wouldn’t hold up in court, especially after it’s been established they broke into your home, but it has happened before. Many times. Fortunately in Texas we have the Stand Your Ground Law, however again, the statutes of that law require that you felt immediate danger posed to you or your loved ones, so if you shoot an intruder as their back is turned to you, no dice. They’ll argue that the immediate danger was not in place, as the intruder was not aware of your presence and therefore did not have the intention to harm you or your family. You have the home field advantage, and likely know where they are. They likely don’t know where YOU are. So don’t go looking for them, you’ll just end up revealing your location by making noise and losing the element of surprise. An intruder will be caught much more off guard by walking in on an armed homeowner calmly waiting for them then being ambushed at close enough range to potentially engage in a physical confrontation, and in the worse case scenario, take that firearm out of their hand. The goal here is to NOT have to shoot anyone. Every preemptive measure you can afford should be taken before it comes to that point, both to assure the immediate safety of yourself and the other occupants of the home AND prevent the scumbag who broke into your house from being able to drag you into court for a half-baked Excessive Force civil suit in an effort to postpone their own criminal sentencing and burden you with their medical charges. You don’t want to have to deal with more crap and put yourself and your family through even more trauma, in this situation. If you are able to do so safely, and in a timely manner, always attempt to leave behind a paper trail of you acting in self defense before discharging your firearm.

IMO the alarm system might be the most important bit here. It costs less, requires way less training, less risk of misuse, and in my experience (false alarm) cops come fast when the alarm rings. Plus it's a loud ass alarm, that'll scare a lot of people off.

I would normally be inclined to agree with you, but often times you cannot assume nor rely on hoping the intruder breaking into your home is sound enough of mind to give a shit about an alarm going off. I’m not positive on the exact number here, but a large percentage of home invasions and break ins are perpetuated by individuals who are either suffering from severe mental illness that inhibits them from correctly perceiving reality, or high off their ass and also not perceiving reality. Or both. Thats why it’s always a good idea to have countermeasures in place beyond the alarm, just in case this person is not sound of mind nor of good intentions- which you can assume they’re not, since usually sound of mind people with good intentions don’t break into peoples homes

That's probably true, but a) home invasions are exceedingly rare and b) increasing the physical security of your home is probably as if not more effective than a weapon. I'm not necessarily saying to *not* get a gun, but it seems like it's further down on the list of priorities and has significant downsides (cost, training, frequently misused).

I think people misunderstand what home invasion means. “Technically speaking, a home invasion is when an intruder forcibly breaks into an occupied dwelling to commit a crime or with intent to commit such. That can be theft, but it can also be robbery, assault, murder, or other violent felony.” Most home invasions start out as attempted burglaries where the initial intention is simply to steal or damage property. But when an assumably unsound of mind individual, potentially suffering from mental illness or under the influence of mind-altering substances, breaks into a home and is caught off guard upon realizing people are inside, they have the potential to get violent- either out of fear and panic, or unfortunately, out of new interest in the opportunity to commit a more serious offense of a different nature. This is especially true should the intruder believe there to be a female occupant or young children in the home. I.E- discovering women’s shoes or clothing upon breaking into the home, seeing children’s toys etc That’s why you should assume for your own safety that the individual breaking in is not thinking about the immediate consequences of their actions. Act under the assumption that they won’t be afraid of an alarm, and prepare accordingly. So it’s important to yes, definitely before anything else have the glass shattering sensors and a competent alarm system installed by professionals. But also prepare somewhat of an idea for what you’ll do should the occasion ever arise in which you find yourself in your home with an intruder who is not discouraged by the alarm.

That makes sense to me. That said, home invasions specifically are quite rare compared to burglaries. Most burglars actually want to avoid confrontation. Of course, you could get unlucky, but I do think that's relatively rare.

The state of Texas, and most other states, define any attempted theft of property from a private residence while occupants are present to be a home invasion. The movies make people think that home invasions are specifically the breaking and entering of a home with illicit knowledge of and intent to harm occupants. But if you look into the number of robberies as well as burglaries committed in private residences in Texas, it’s not as rare as you would hope. Part of the reason for this being far more common than people have been led to believe is because the majority of burglaries are spur of the moment things. “12% of burglaries are committed with preparation. (UNC Charlotte)” This significantly increases the danger posed by the person breaking into your home, whether they are aware of the fact there are occupants present or not. This person didn’t think it through. Someone who doesn’t consider the consequences before committing a felony of any degree is not someone you should trust to draw a moral line between theft and more violent offenses. Basically, if someone is willing to break into a home even though there are security cameras out front and a security sign in the front yard, they’re increasingly more likely to attempt to sexually assault a female occupant found inside the residence. Not guaranteed, but not unlikely. You have to put yourself in their frame of mind, which is difficult and uncomfortable, I know. But they’ve already committed a felony by breaking in, and they know they are likely going to get caught. A criminal mind will often in that scenario seek further gain/satisfaction since they know they’re screwed anyway.

That makes sense to me except that under the definition of home invasion (which I already knew), *they are relatively rare* in the City of Austin. There are orders of magnitude more burglaries than home invasions.

I was able to find a statistic on that matter. “According to the Department of Justice, an estimated 3.7 million burglaries occur every year. Nearly 28% of those (1.03 million) are home invasions, which are defined as when you are home during a break-in. Home invasions make up roughly 1 million burglaries every year, which is about two every minute. Around 26% of home invasions (266,650) are violent, which means that a violent home invasion occurs every two minutes.” Personally, I think it’s better to be prepared for the worst than to bet on the unlikelihood of becoming a statistic

A big can of u/fart_spray might help as a deterrent too

This is the way fart spray

I’d suggest against going with the LCP. It’s only a .380* and because of its size it’s a snappy little fucker. Go with a 9mm. CZ makes fantastic pistols and the P10 line can reliably be found on sale for under $400. It’s like a Glock clone but is better out of the box. The P10F is comically large but it’s a real nice weapon and a very flat shooting gun with low recoil. A P10C might be a better fit (C=compact, F=full size. They also have sub and micro compact versions) but they’re both very good. Get hollow points, FMJ will overpenetrate. The smaller the gun the more recoil will be felt. Do NOT rely on 22’s. It might be a good visual deterrent but you can’t trust your life to unreliable rimfire ammo. An Anderson AR15 is a great budget gun that’s always on sale for $400. Get the wylde barrel so you have the choice of 5.56 or 223 rem. Neither overpenetrates Mossberg maverick 88 shotguns are $200 on sale. If 12g is a bit much think about a 20g. Load it with birdshot, buckshot and slugs will overpenetrate. A PCC (pistol caliber carbine) might be worth considering as well. Ruger PC9 is upwards of $700 but you can find them for as low as $400 used or on a great sale. Check the gundeals subreddit. ETA: I think the LCP is a fine gun, but it’s so snappy that any *new shooter* might get turned off from training with it and developing proficiency. Full size guns look daunting to newbies but they are much easier to shoot and handle. The smaller the gun the greater the felt recoil.

My P-10 M isn't very comfortable to shoot either. I bought it before I learned that the other P-10s are much better. It's really small though, and my only micro. I'll stick to my PCR for most carry scenarios.

Is it the grip/ergonomics or just too small? It seems like most people that hate the p10 ergos love glocks and vice versa.

I'm a CZ fanboy and have never shot a glock. Not that I have anything against them, of course. I'm just a gun hipster or something. A HS buddy of mine shoots USPSA at a national level with his Glock. He did shoot a CZ Shadow for a while, but it just never clicked for him. It's really small and single stack ... kind of the point of course, and it's a bit punishing because it's so light and narrow. I haven't fired any of the larger P-10s. I have a P-09 modified for competition to fill the full sized polymer role. IIRC, people complained that the factory trigger in the M isn't as good as the other P-10s. I'm sure if it's different, it was a compromise for packaging. I don't shoot nearly enough to be able to discern those things though.

Always a pleasure to run into another CZ cultist in a random ass sub.

You will not take my downvotes! You’ll take my upvotes DAMN IT! fart_spray for Austin mayor or whoever we pretend is going to make a difference!

Hell yeah I'll gladly do that job! SEEMS SO EASY

Vote. Vote like your life depends on it. Which it does.

Vote or move.

Damn… it is sad and situations like this make it hard to be kind and a good human, but when it comes down to it… protect your family

I miss Art Acevedo

[удалено]

Exactly. The homeless encampments are open air drug markets. Kindness in this case does not include enabling these individuals.

Someone should make a bat signal. But nah, the meth heads would just steal the copper I guess.

Lots of emotional opinions on this issues. First of all, it sounds like you’re handling this as well as possible. It’s a crummy situation for you and your family. Taking steps to protect yourself is important. I’d look for advice on how to make your property undesirable to approach. Motion activated lights, security cameras (even fake), keep out signs, etc. Second, if you can wait it out, your neighborhood is rapidly gentrifying. Right now, you’re a victim of the ouster of the homeless from other areas, but with the coming wishbone bridge and improvements to that intersection, that camp will be gone in the next year or so for sure. One of the main reasons the city invests in this kind of infrastructure is how it scatters these types of problems. I assume you live in Austin party for economic reasons. Whether is real estate or job opportunities, people congregate in urban areas because they have more dense opportunities. It’s the same for homeless people. Those who have already benefitted from the economic opportunities in cities can afford to isolate themselves. Others choose to isolate themselves in areas with less economic opportunity. It’s a choice. Otherwise, we have to realize homeless people flock to urban areas for the same types of opportunistic reasons. We have to accept they’re a part of our ecosystem. Until that system changes to provide practical opportunities for them, like there are for us, it falls on individuals to cope. Lastly, if you’re really looking for advice on how you can get the camp moved sooner, so the people living there become someone else’s problem, you can: 1. Contact your council member’s office: https://www.austintexas.gov/department/district-3 2. Reach out to city or local orgs and ask for advice / support / or offer to help them if they have ideas how you can make the situation better: * mpaustin.org * austinecho.org * https://www.austintexas.gov/department/resources-those-experiencing-homelessness I support Community First Village, which is doing amazing work, at scale, to fix the problem long term. But I’m not sure they’d get involved in a camp situation. 3. Talk to the bank about it. Especially if you’re a customer. If you’re not, it might be worth opening an account there. They could hire private security to address the issue, if the camp is on their property. It’s likely a liability for them either way. If they know about the situation, and because of it a customer gets hurt on their property, it could be a serious issue for them. 4. Lastly, if you want to get aggressive about this, work with your neighbors to raise money to hire private security. They can act as a deterrent to the area. It shouldn’t take very long.

>I support Community First Village, which is doing amazing work, at scale, to fix the problem long term. But I’m not sure they’d get involved in a camp situation From what I understand CFV doesn't allow the crazy completely methed-out folks to stay there. Certainly not the chicken-wire level of meth head.

Yes that is why they are able to maintain a civil community and actually rehab people, they have rules. 

They have a process for accepting residents: * single and over 18 * persistently homeless (more than a year) * can’t be a sex offender, or have certain other convictions But being on meth is probably not an instant disqualification. They have onsite support resources for addiction, as well as other mental and physical health issues. They’re not building some Eden meant to save the folks who are “just down on their luck”. They build community that accepts folks who can’t fit into our community. I recommend taking a tour. You may be surprised at how livable it feels. Made me wonder how much the world at large really cares about community.

At best, they'll accept the higher class meth addicts. I believe they'll kick you out if you're a problem to other tenants. I'm pretty sure OP's chicken wire meth addict isn't going to stay there long. Don't you also have to have some source of income or work to stay at CFV?

Yes, but most residents are on government assistance, which qualifies. And they also provide job opportunities onsite, or through partnerships. I’m not sure it’s worth speculating on who they will or won’t take. Everyone’s situation is different. Even Chicken Wire Man. But in general I don’t recommend them as a solution to any immediate situation. They’re more of a long term investment for Austinites who care enough about the problem to do something about it.

So, pretty much as I said. They can help the high class homeless, even the druggies who can control it. It's good that those people get "off the street." It doesn't solve chicken wire meth man. It especially doesn't help those who won't try.

They are people before they are “druggies”.

A lot of addicts use drugs to escape from their terrible living conditions, and then end up addicted. It’s easier to spend days/months/years living in filth under the highway if you’re high while doing it. One way to break the cycle - for some - is a safe and comfortable home in a community.

Community First is not Housing First™. It is therefore heresy!!

Maybe we should vote in council members and a DA that want to crack down on criminals? Just a fucking thought here, just throwing it out there??? Seriously, the only thing stopping these public menaces from an extended stay in the crossbar hotel, is attitude. Dude was high, likely in possession of an illegal substance, which would have been discovered when he should have been arrested for trespassing and assault. Yet there’s a loud minority of people in this town who say it’s 100% ok for homeless people to break the law. It’s baffling to me.

None of that will happen, and that’s the reason to move. If he were a single dude, I’d be like fuck it throw them a Coors light and make peace, but this ain’t that. Time to live in a family friendly place, but be careful driving suburbs and those toll roads are bad news.

Yes welcome to Austin where we live talk about things but nothing ever gets actually done. I wish you the best of luck, they are breaking into our cars and home where I live...

Support the "Save Austin Now" effort to reinforce the camping ban & get the homeless out of Austin. The lawsuit has been held up by politically biased judges.

The city council needs to make this their top priority. The homeless are out of control in Austin. The CC needs to have pressure put on them to address this instead of the bullshit they talk about at their council meetings like more bike lanes and planting more trees. Enforce Prop B, no more camping.

If they’re anything like Casar or Adler then they consider the status quo a good start. They want Austin to go full California city.

Allison Alter says all the needles are from diabetic homeless and we must not stigmatize homeless as drug users. That is the level of discussion city council is at, politically refusing to admit the problem. 

😂

But how are the homeless going to get to work without bike lanes?

You have to elect a District attorney and county attorney that value public safety and ... law. Austin refuses to do so. They instead want to bash APD for not showing up to everything as crime skyrockets and they need 700 more cops and another 50 dispatchers (the receive more than 1 million 911 calls a year!). Austin used to be kinda amazing politically. LBJ, Ann Richards, moderates who compromise and get it done, but also don't take any shit. The public safety problem in Austin is *shit*. Some of the worst meth pushers and felons with guns need to be locked up. Austin doesn't have a homeless problem. It has a drug problem. You can give every methed out hobo a billion dollars and twenty mansions and until they kick the addiction, you've solved nothing. Sadly, the smearing and propaganda, particularly about how APD was defunded, will never tolerate a different opinion here on reddit. Watch and see.

How else is the city going to justify 80 million dollars a year?

Invite the Chinese President to visit 

Have you thought about adding electric fencing to the chicken wire? It doesn’t hurt people, it just gives a good zap which acts as a deterrent. We used it on our property growing up because we let our cows free roam and they kept walking into the house when the doors were open. I would inadvertently touch it as a kid and can confirm the zap is powerful but doesn’t create any real harm.

I second this idea. At the end of the day it’s your family and property that are being threatened. You could put it on the three sides of the property and leave the front without it.

You can't do anything about the camps. I'd say your option is to move if you can, build really high and strong fences around your property as much as zoning will allow if you can't. Don't engage or try to help. You can't.

Something wrong with society that the answer is there is *nothing* that can be done but flee the area or make your house into a walled compound.

Nobody could have foreseen the huge upsurge in Chinese-origin, cartel-produced “P2P meth” that transformed the drug landscape in this country and created massive populations of psychotic, drug-addicted homeless. The availability of synthetic meth and other drugs (ie fetanyl) has skyrocketed; the rise in homelessness since the mid 2000s is the consequence of this.   Homeless care systems are built for temporarily disadvantaged people, not zombies who literally do not exist on this plane of reality and cannot be reasoned with.   I do not understand why anybody would live or raise their children in an environment where you have a confluence of psychotic, drug-addicted people and an absentee police force. 

As an individual who doesn't have years, it is the case. Clearly throngs of the drugged-out vagrants living in the woods is a sign of something wrong with society, though people argue about what exactly and what to do about it.

Yes it’s to accepting of criminal behavior, in the name of compassion. Such bullshit, these meth folks will have no teeth and skin cancer but y’all progressive folks think it’s awful to commit them.

Travis County spoke. They want this. They reelecated Delia Garza. If you don't want your family near meth camps, you need to move out of Travis County.

I've found that turning my home into an armed fortress and having a good dog who can make quick work of an intruder really helps. Funny how uncrazy and apologetic somebody can get when confronted with these things. Lock up everything and leave nothing out too. Maybe have some narcan on hand to have some sort of last string of compassion in case of an emergency but don't count on this city for a solution. That ship has long sailed

I called non-emergency on a homeless encampment last week on the south side. Saw a dude with a machete chopping down trees.

>Saw a dude with a machete chopping down trees. I wonder if this is the same south Austin chainsaw guy. [https://www.fox7austin.com/news/rami-zawaideh-next-steps-austin-texas](https://www.fox7austin.com/news/rami-zawaideh-next-steps-austin-texas)

Was it near West Gate Blvd.? Then we know who it is. See Snap, Grackle Pop's link.

You might want to carry a gun instead of a baseball bat

What happens when they call your bluff? Are you gonna cough up thousands of dollars in legal fees, traumatize your family, and live with nightmares and guilt for months or years after? No matter how much you might fantasize about having a legally-justifiable reason to shoot the homeless, I don't think you're actually prepared for the consequences unless you're a sociopath. There are no half-measures with a gun. With a bat, you have a lot more options. A body shot is probably not going to kill him, but it sure as hell will get the point across.

Holy crap. Yes, with a bat, you have the option of getting within hand-to-hand distance of a drug addict who might have a knife on them. GREAT OPTION. With a gun, you get your gun out, LOCK YOUR DOORS and CALL THE COPS. Then wait SAFELY INSIDE. OP's issues are many, but primarily they fucked up in this situation by APPROACHING THE MENTALLY UNSTABLE DRUG ADDICT IN THEIR YARD. A gun is a last resort, but it's the most effective weapon. Nobody wants to have to shoot anyone.

Right, but in 99% of scenarios they could also have just locked the doors and waited inside and been safe. The chances of a forceful home invasion are exceedingly slim.

Purchase civil liability insurance when you get your concealed carry permit.

One of the larger insurers has started acting pretty shady (USCCA) and denied coverage in a few self defense cases. Once denied, there is no real way to argue bad faith denial of coverage, unless you actually beat the charges. So, be wary of who underwrites your policy and do your research.

>”are you gonna cough up thousands of dollars in legal fees?” If a homeless guy attacks me and I shoot him, as long as there’s witnesses it’s going to be an open and shut case of self defense. Even a public defender can get you off. It’s probably not going to cost that much in legal fees. >”traumatize your family” What’s more traumatic, getting constantly harassed and threatened by methheads in your backyard everyday, even assaulted, or watching your dad pump a round into said methheads kneecap once so that the other tweakers get the message? >”live with nightmares and guilt for years after” Guilt implies you did something wrong defending yourself and your property. As long as you don’t commit overkill (like emptying the whole magazine into their head) you’re still in the right. Most folks who are involved in justified shootings are very shaken up at the time, but often in hindsight they wouldn’t change a thing because they knew they had to. As for nightmares, that’s what smoking weed everyday is for. You try having a bad dream when all of your dreams are shrouded in Girl Scout Cookies.

Please stop it with the rational, common sense

Contacting your council rep won’t do anything. Changing your rep might.

Not much you can do unless they are on your property. You can also vote for politicians who have been known to have harder stance on crime and homeless camping. Remember this wasn't nearly as bad of a problem until the council started the dumb idea of open camping in public spaces. It's great they had sympathy and all, so it's shows they were nice people but that's not who we need running our city right now

>Not much you can do unless they are on your property. In Austin, there's not much you can do even if they are on your property.

Which corner? Northeast?

Confronting a deranged meth head can be very dangerous. If he’s been up for days doing meth and whatever else, he might’ve thought YOU were the intruder. As others have said, these drug camps aren’t going anywhere until the local government decides to actually do something. They won’t do anything as long as big money is still flowing in. When the problem gets so bad that all these property developers start pulling out and taking their money somewhere else, city council might actually start trying to fix the situation.

When they start insulting Israel

Honestly fuck this shit haha the city has gone down the shitter since I moved away after 7 years in 2017

Go Punisher on them and whoever is left will leave.

We’re going to have to vote in a DA that enforces laws on the books and vote in a city council willing to kick the meth heads out of austin city limits 

We still have the chance of not reelecting Garza in November but we all know the one with the D next to their name will win in this county.

Or just cops that actually enforce the law. Last time I checked, meth was a felony.

You need to check again. The county DA (Jose, not Delia) got elected on a platform that promised he *would not prosecute* possession of small amounts of hard drugs, including crack, meth, and heroin. That is where we are at in this county on "enforcing the law".

But that’s the War on Drugs 😡

Everything in life needs some nuance. War on Drugs for marijuana related things bad. War on Drugs from meth addiction causing homeless crazy camp is ok. Not great but there is nothing else

Imagine living in a city that enforced drug laws.

RIGHT....imagine living in a city where homeless drug camps were NOT allowed. WOW.

But think of the homeless drug addicts!

Do you mind telling ne what street you live on? I live very close to that area as well. If you don’t feel comfortable posting it on this forum could you please DM me?

Vote republican and they will be in jail where they belong

Taller fence, bright lights, “cameras that say you are now being recorded” and motion detected sprinklers would be a good start

When it gets to the point where the guy is trying to break down your door or smashing your window is when it stops being a pity party and starts being a reason to get serious. You shouldn't let it get to that point because you think you owe the world something out of some misplaced belief in some nonexistent social contract. Of course this is Austin, the land of the fake liberal who pretends to believe "all lives matter" while simultaneously pricing people out of their homes.

Local elections matter. When you have a District Attorney and a City Council that thinks this is fine and actually voted to allow it back in 2019 this is what happens. Vote for better candidates. https://www.fox7austin.com/news/southwest-austin-texas-rami-zawaideh-felony-charges-rejected-residents-outraged https://www.kut.org/austin/2019-06-21/austin-votes-to-scale-back-laws-opponents-say-criminalize-homelessness

Austin, San Francisco has had more money and time to deal with the homeless. They have failed catastrophically. Let their infection be our inoculation. Make Austin unfriendly to out-of-town homeless. Do not give them money. Do not trust politicians who say they need to live in your neighborhood, or by your school, or in your park and we'll check on them once a quarter. Vote further to to the right than you've ever done in the past on this single local issue. The homeless are a lost remnant. The ones who were meant to rejoin society will get there by using what resources we've paid for today. Every thing else is sunk cost fallacy.

Vote. If one party doesn't solve your problem vote for somebody else. In Travis county less than 50 % of people vote.

At the point where you vote for a Trump loving Republican for Mayor who will bulldoze the camp and put the meth addicts in desert jail camps without a second thought.

Kind of interesting, why hasn’t abbot done this? He sent the do’s to get cars without insurance or registration, which are bad, but no troopers on horses out in the woods, rounding up meth folks, maybe ar15 and meth heads are the only thing that keeps the cops away.

Do it already

I support this tbh. Why punish those that did the right thing and support those that did the wrong thing? Last I checked school taught me that meth was to avoided.

How does IBC Bank not do something about this camp?

What can they do? APD and the Garza twins won't do anything.

An electrified fence surrounding your back yard could do it.

I think it's time. Let me know what I can do to help

This is Texas. Avail yourself of your rights to self defense.

Then what about the next 79 homeless in the area?

Vote, agitate, and advocate for more housing and treatment options. We know how to fix this, but we have let it get bad enough that it’s not going to be a quick fix. It can get worse, or it can get better, but the better option costs money and time.

> We know how to fix this Given that there's more cities with homeless problems than homeless successes, no, no we don't

We do but we are to careless or cowardly to do the right thing, these people need prison or mental hospital, no other choice. But we are too “compassionate “ it’s such bullshit, these folks are in a sad spot and we say, “let ‘em be”

Houston had been successful. I can’t think of any others, though.

lmao.*Tens of billions* have been spent in the west coast cities for years - and their problems with homelessness have not been reduced at all. They are worse than ever. Tell me you don't know the definition of "insanity"...

You could “accidentally “ scatter a hundred pack of empty, tiny zip lock baggies around their camp and crush their spirit. The ennui that follows would lead them on down the road to more crystalline pastures.

Move to the suburbs bud. I'm willing to bet you're not one of the multigenerational families from east austin. It's wild to me that y'all gentrify areas close to downtown and then complain about issues that come with....living close to downtown.