plan to create a new homeless resource center<\/a> at 419 Emancipation Avenue. However, some neighbors in east downtown say they still have questions about how it will impact their community.<\/p>\nThe city plans to convert the former migrant children shelter into a \u201clow-barrier\u201d facility, previously referred to as \u201csuper hub,\u201d offering up to 320 beds and wraparound services such as mental health care, substance abuse treatment, and pathways to housing.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Mayor John Whitmire called it a \u201cfirst step\u201d toward addressing homelessness citywide with the resource center model.<\/p>\n
The proposal passed 14\u20131 on Wednesday, with Councilmember Edward Pollard casting the lone vote against it, citing concerns about safety and long-term costs.<\/p>\n
In response to safety concerns, Whitmire announced that nine Houston Police Department officers, eight officers and a sergeant, will be stationed at the site full-time.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The city also plans to expand Houston\u2019s civility ordinance to the surrounding area, which prohibits public camping and storing personal belongings on sidewalks.<\/p>\n
\nOngoing resident concerns <\/p>\n
In the weeks before the vote, neighbors repeatedly voiced concerns about cost and safety.\u00a0<\/p>\n
After the project\u2019s approval, many told KHOU 11 they\u2019re frustrated — saying the process moved too fast and left little room for public input.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s been two weeks from the time we heard about it to the time they voted,\u201d said Maddi Egan, who lives nearby. \u201cThey\u2019re going to expand the civility ordinance, that\u2019s great, but they need to tell us how they\u2019re going to enforce it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Egan told KHOU 11 she still wants written plans that show how the city will measure the program\u2019s success and sustain it financially.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere are they going to find the funds to sustain it?\u201d she asked. \u201cWhen are they going to communicate with the community, how often are they going to hear our concerns and see how it\u2019s going?\u201d<\/p>\n
Another neighbor, Joe Thompson, said the project could alter the character of the area.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m disappointed in the city; it was very rushed,\u201d Thompson said. \u201cI think it\u2019s going to detract from what east downtown has become and what the Third Ward and East End are.\u201d<\/p>\n
City officials have said the facility is expected to open early next year.\u00a0<\/p>\n
According to the approved proposal, the purchase will be financed through the Equipment\/Projects Fund, to be reimbursed by various Tax Increment Reinvestment Zone (TIRZ) funds.<\/p>\n
On Wednesday, Whitmire indicated the east downtown site could be the first of several similar centers across Houston.<\/p>\n
Got a news tip or story idea? Email us at\u00a0<\/strong>newstips@khou.com<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0or call 713-521-4310 and include your name and the best way to reach you.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Residents in east downtown say they still have concerns after Houston approved a $16M homeless resource center. HOUSTON…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":344210,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5130],"tags":[4345,358,3187],"class_list":{"0":"post-344209","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-houston","8":"tag-houston","9":"tag-texas","10":"tag-tx"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115465625540556827","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/344209","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=344209"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/344209\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/344210"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=344209"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=344209"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=344209"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}