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Signs of rising homelessness pepper the city: a sleeping bag at a train station, a cardboard shanty under a highway, a tent tucked into the brush, a car stuffed with belongings and towels covering the windows.
Driving the news: Dallas leaders are prioritizing cleaning up debris around campsites, closing more encampments and getting people into housing.
State of play: More people are slipping into homelessness because of rising rents, high inflation, and the end of pandemic-era eviction protections and stimulus payments.
Why it matters: The city of Dallas and homeless services providers have worked for years to develop an efficient system to move people off the streets and into affordable housing, but those efforts could be thwarted by new demand.
By the numbers: Family Gateway, which serves Dallas and Collin counties, received 4,437 calls between January and June this year, up from 1,828 during the same period last year. Of those, 530 callers reported living in cars with their families.
What they're saying: Shelter providers are experiencing the crisis people expected in 2020 with "a whole new batch of people who normally wouldn't be homeless," according to Family Gateway president and CEO Ellen Magnis.
Flashback: A public-private partnership launched last year with the goal of housing 2,700 people by October 2023 by incentivizing landlords to accept government housing vouchers.
Yes, but: Moving an unhoused person off the street isn't as simple as saying, "Hey, here's a home."
How it works: Metro Dallas Homeless Alliance is the lead agency in Dallas and Collin counties' homeless response. It's responsible for directing continuum of care funding for housing homeless individuals and families.
What we're watching: How the rapid rehousing program and other homeless services keep up with the spiking demand.
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